Entity Data Elements

Entity Elements Available in this Section

Attributes

What is an Attribute?

A shortened definition of an attribute, as described in the Lifecycle Modeling Language (LML) Specification:

An attribute is an inherent characteristic or quality of an entity. It further describes the entity, enhancing its uniqueness.

Every attribute shall have a name to identify it uniquely within an entity. The name is a word or small collection of words providing an overview of information about the attribute. The attribute data type … specifies the data associated with the attribute. Attribute names shall be unique within an entity, but may be used in other entities, …

In terms of the English language, an attribute is like an adjective.

We applied this LML definition of an attribute to the individual pieces of information, which can be stored within an entity. An attribute is one of the basic components of an entity.

Each entity in Innoslate includes a name, number, description, possible additional attributes, and relationships with other entities. The current acceptable set of attribute data types as defined by LML Specification 1.4 is as follows:

Core Data Types
Innoslate implements the following standard LML attribute data types:

• Text

  A single character, single word, or multiple words.

   

• Number

  Any individual real number.

   

• Boolean

  The two possible logical values: true or false.

   

• Percent

  A special case of Number where the value is restricted to the range between 0 and 100, inclusive.

   

• URI

  A special case of Text where the value must be a valid Uniform Resource Identifier (web address).

   

• DateTime

  A specific format for storing a date and time value.

   

• Enumeration

  A set of predefined choices where only one selection is permitted.

   

• GeoPoint

  A longitude and latitude pair representing a point on the surface of a body (typically Earth).

Extended Data Types
In addition to the core data types, Innoslate extends the available options with the following specialized types:

• Big Text

  Any amount of multi-line text.

   

• Equation

  A LaTeX-based formula editor for entering and displaying mathematical equations.

   

• File

  An uploaded file attached to the attribute.

   

• Duration

  A specific format for storing a length of time value.

   

• Quality

  A Boolean parameter used to identify better (higher quality) requirements.

   

• Multiplicity

  A number or number range (commonly used to define quantity or occurrence ranges).

   

• Computable

  A feature that allows automatic computation of user-defined attributes based on formulas.

   

• HTML

  A rich text field that supports HyperText Markup Language (HTML) for advanced formatting.

   

• Multiselect

  A list of predefined options that allows the selection of multiple values.

   

• User Team

  References any user or team within the current Innoslate organization.

Relationships

What is a Relationship?

A shortened definition of a relationship, as described in the Lifecycle Modeling Language (LML) Specification 1.4:

A relationship connects entities to each other. …

In LML, all relations shall be defined in both directions and shall have unique names with the same verb. … Each relationship and its inverse shall have unique names. Relationship names shall also be unique across the whole schema.

The relationships enable an English reading of the way entities connect.

We applied this LML definition of a relationship to the bi-directional connections, which can be made between two entities in Innoslate. For example, the standard parent-child relationship (used by all LML entities) is ‘decomposed by’ and its inverse is ‘decomposes.’

The relationships that are available in Innoslate mirror those defined in Table 3-3. Summary Table of LML Relationships (recreated below) of the LML Relationships Specification 1.4:

What is a Relationship Attribute?

Relationship attributes provide additional information about a specific instance of a relationship between two entities. These attributes enable more precise modeling, querying, simulation, and visualization (such as in Gantt charts or action diagrams) within your Innoslate model.

Built-in Relationship Attributes

• Amount

Specifies the quantity or number of times the relationship functions. It can be expressed as a fixed value or a distribution.

Example: An Action entity "consumes" a related Resource entity with a defined Amount (e.g., X units of the resource)

• Multiplicity

Indicates the number of instances or occurrences of the related entity in the context of the relationship. This is a plain text numeric field.

Common use: Controls how many clones of an Action or Asset are created during decomposition or simulation.

• Origin

A Boolean (Yes/No) value that identifies whether the related entity serves as the origin point for the relationship.

Common use: Used with "connects to" relationships on Conduits to ensure a single true origin and prevent duplicate connections in diagrams.

• Dependency

A Boolean field related to Gantt chart scheduling. It determines the dependency type between linked entities (typically Start-to-Finish).

Common use: Defines sequencing constraints in project or Task scheduling views.

• Trigger

Applies specifically to relationships between Input/Output entities and Action entities. A Boolean value that makes the Action dependent on the presence or arrival of the Input/Output.

Common use: Controls simulation flow—when set to "Yes," the Action waits for the Input/Output; when "No," it treats the item as optional.

• Context

A plain text (Big Text) field for providing an open-ended textual description or additional details about the specific relationship instance.

• Responsibility

Defines the nature of involvement in the relationship as Primary or Secondary.

• Bidirectional 

Controls the directionality of the relationship, allowing it to be configured as one-way (unidirectional) or two-way (bidirectional).

• Choice

Used with alternative relationships (e.g., between a Decision entity and related Statements). It specifies whether the alternative path is selected as Yes or No.

Labels

What is a Label?

A label is an identifying short word or phrase used to classify similar entities into categories, much like a folder system, which is used to group together like entities from the same class. Differing from project folders, however, more than one label can be applied to each entity, allowing the user to categorize, and subsequently filter, similar entities as they see fit.

Innoslate users have the ability to label entities using the ‘Metadata’ tab found in the left sidebar within most views, inside a project.

Label options vary, depending on the ‘Class’, or type, of the entity that is selected. Innoslate users may also customize new labels using the Schema Editor.