Release Management Release, Release Features and Migration. Release Management

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Re

lease M

ana

gement

Release Management

Release, Release Features and

Migration

Prepared by: SDT Phase 2 Project Team

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Resources

Service desk

www.griffith.edu.au/servicedesk

Service Desk Tool training (self-help resources and reference guides)

https://intranet.secure.griffith.edu.au/computing/service-desk/service-desk-tool/training

About ITIL

https://intranet.secure.griffith.edu.au/computing/service-desk/about-itil

Incident Management, Change Management and Problem Management Handbooks

https://intranet.secure.griffith.edu.au/computing/service-desk/about-itil

SQISS

https://poc-app.secure.griffith.edu.au/SQISS/

SharePoint

https://sharepoint.griffith.edu.au/icts/cita/ins-consulting/SQISS%20Documentation/Forms/AllItems.aspx?InitialTabId=Ribbon%2ELibrary&Visibi lityContext=WSSTabPersistence

Glossary

Acronym

ITIL Information Technology Infrastructure Library

QA Quality Assurance

RFC Request for Change

SDT Service Desk Tool

SLA Service Level Agreement

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Release Management

Release & Deploy Process Flow

C lie n t/ B u s in e s s R e le a s e M a n a g e m e n t P ro c e s s D e p lo y m e n t/ M ig ra ti o n P ro c e s s C A B

Support Team Process

Automatic Notification Start Create a Feature Reqeust Change Management Process Accept Proposed Solution Identify Requirement Create placeholder RFC Work with Teams

and client to propose a solution. Approve Migration Completion Notification RFC Process Completion Notification Yes End All Tasks Completed Final Migration Final Migration Ready Yes No – Update Migration

No – Update Migration

Automatic Notification

Analyse, develop and build a solution

Create a Migration Migration

Complete

Requestor and Ownership Group Manager

Testing/QA the solution Update Feature Request All Tasks Completed Accept Final Solution/Test Liaise Verify Start Start Identify configuration changes and work with

Team to propose a solution. Resolve Feature Request End No Yes Notification End Awaiting Migration

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Release Application

Release Management is the process responsible for the planning, design, build, configuration and testing of hardware and software to create a defined set of release components. Release

Management can be effectively used to coordinate releases as a vehicle for planning releases, composed of individual features.

The Release Application handles releases using the task record system. Each planned feature is generated through a variety of means as a task record, populated with the pertinent information in individual fields. These tasks are assigned to release management team members, who will deal with the task as appropriate until the release has been properly deployed.

The Release Application contains the following modules:

 Release

 Release Features

 Migration

Figure 2: Release Application

SDT Roles

Access to the Release Application modules is based on Service Desk Tool (SDT) role:

 EIS Managers have access to Release, ReleaseFeatures and Migration modules. They can

o create new Product records

o create new Release requests from a Product record and assign them to the

appropriate group/group member

o create new Feature and Migration records

o access tasks assigned to them from the Assigned to Me and Assigned to My

Group(s) modules

o view all Product, Release, Release Features and Migration records

 EIS Users have access to ReleaseFeatures and Migration modules. They can

o create new Feature and Migration records

o access tasks assigned to them from the Assigned to Me and Assigned to My

Group(s) modules

o view all Feature and Migration records

Release Module (EIS Managers)

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Products

Products represent the hardware or software for which releases are built. A Product record is associated with a Configuration item in the CMBD and stores information about the product for reference purposes, as well as grouping together all of the releases and features for a single product. This enables independent processes to be maintained while at the same time combining them together into a single notion of a Release.

To create a new Product record:

1. Go to the Release module and select Products.

2. Click New at the top of the Products list.

Figure 4: Products list

3. A new Product form opens.

Figure 5: New Product form

4. Complete the required fields.

Field Input value

Number Unique identifier for the Product record, beginning with PDCT. Configuration item The CI that corresponds to the product.

Assignment group Group responsible for the product. Assigned to A user responsible for the product.

Summary A short description of the product.

Description A more detailed description of the product. Internal Notes A journal field for logging notes about the product.

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5. Select Save to activate the Related Links and Releases related list.

Figure 6: Product form

Note: The Configuration item active tasks icon indicates that the configuration item has other active Service Requests, Change Requests, Problems or Features recorded for it. Click the icon to display the records.

Click the CI map icon to display the hierarchy of configuration items. Right click on a map node

and select ‘Set as CI’. This will replace the value in the record’s CI field with the name of the selected CI.

Releases

Releases represent a planned release for a Product. The content of the Release is defined by the Features that it implements.

There are no Service Level Agreements (SLAs) attached to a Release. To create a Release:

1. Navigate to the appropriate Product record

2. Scroll down to the Releases related list and select New to open a new Release form or

Edit… to add existing Release records.

Figure 9: Create a Release from a Product record

Product record

Release record

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Figure 10: New Release form

1. Complete the fields and select Save to remain in the record. This will activate the Related

Links and the Features related list at the bottom of the form.

Note: Schedule tab – the child Features will drive the schedule. Planned start date and Planned end date rollup occurs when child tasks (or features) are created. The duration of the parent automatically adjusts to cover its child tasks.

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2. Features define tasks associated with the Release. Go to the Features related list in the

Release record and select New to open a new Feature form or Edit… to add existing Feature

records.

When a new Feature form is opened from a Release record, the Release number will

automatically populate the Parent field and the Product record number will populate the Top

task field. A breadcrumb trail will display as a series of links below the Parent field.

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Release Statuses

Statuses Use when

Open The initial status for all records.

On Hold The Release and all associated tasks are not currently being progressed or scheduled for movement into production.

Scoping The Release is being assessed to determine the amount of work involved.

Work in Progress The Release has been acknowledged by the assigned analyst and is in the process of being analysed, designed and developed.

Testing/QA The Release is going through a process of quality assurance and testing. Deploy/Migrate The Release is being moved into the appropriate environment.

Feature records Release record

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Resolved The Release has been moved into production and all required tasks are complete. The record can be reopened within three days from the resolved date.

Closed Final status for all records. The record cannot be reopened.

Cancelled The record is no longer required or it is a duplicate. This results in a status of Closed. Table 2: Release Statuses

The Release, Feature and Migration forms include a process flow formatter, which displays the current status of the record based on the Status field.

Figure 15: Process flow formatter

Release Features Module (all EIS)

Release Features represent the individual changes being made to the product.

Figure 16: Release Features Module

A new Feature record can be created from

1. Release form Features related list (refer to section on Releases) (EIS Managers only)

2.

Release Application > Release Features Module > Create New Feature (all EIS)

3. An existing Service Request record – right mouse click the form header bar and select Create

Release Feature (all EIS)

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A confirmation button will appear. Click OK to continue.

Figure 18: Confirmation button

Feature Form

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Feature Categories

The Category field is mandatory (refer to the SDT Feature form for an up to date list of Category

options).

Categories Enhancement Defect

Documentation Testing Other

Table 3: Feature form categories

Feature Statuses

A Status code may be assigned automatically (e.g. upon creating a new record) or manually updated by the analyst assigned when activity progresses.

Note: The Release, Feature and Migration forms include a process flow formatter, which displays the current status of the record based on the Status field.

Statuses Use when

Open The initial status for all records. A notification is sent to the requestor. Awaiting External

Response

Waiting for the external service provider to provide information/service.

Awaiting Client Response

Waiting for the client to provide further information.

Scoping The Feature is being assessed to determine the amount of work involved.

Work in Progress The Feature has been acknowledged by the assigned analyst and is in the process of being analysed, designed and developed.

Testing/QA The Feature is going through a process of quality assurance and testing. Deploy/Migrate The Feature is being moved into the appropriate environment.

Resolved The Feature has been moved into production and all required tasks are complete. A notification is sent to the requestor. The record can be reopened within three days from the resolved date.

Cancelled The record is no longer required or it is a duplicate. This results in a status of Closed. A notification is sent to requestor.

Closed Final status for all records. The record cannot be reopened. Table 4: Feature Statuses

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Feature Prioritisation

The priority is the value given to a new record to indicate its relative importance in order to ensure the appropriate allocation of resources and to determine the timeframe within which action is required. Priority is determined by impact on the business and urgency i.e. how the affected end users work processes is affected.

There are no SLAs attached to a Feature record.

Refer to the Service Desk Tool Quick Reference Guide Priority Matrix to determine the appropriate priority.

Feature Schedule

Planned start date and Planned end date rollup occurs when features are created. The duration of the release will automatically adjust to cover its child tasks (features).

Figure 20: Feature Schedule

Release and Feature Percent Complete Details

The Percent complete column appears as a progress bar in Releases and Features lists.

The percentage figure in a Release record is automatically calculated based on the Percent

complete of the related Feature/s records.

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The percentage figure in a Feature record is automatically calculated based on the status of the Feature record.

Percent %

Status

0 Open

20 Scoping

40 Work in Progress 60 Testing/QA 80 Deploy/Migrate 100 Resolved

Figure 22: Features list – Percent complete column

Linking Records

1. Record Linking tab

 Feature records can be linked to a Related Change Request (standard RFC), a RFC

Link (non-standard RFC) to the SQISS database or a Related Problem.

2. Migration Requests tab

 View related Migration Requests. Select New to create a new Migration Request record.

The Feature record number will auto populate the Related Release Feature field in the

new Migration Request record.

3. Child Feature Records tab

 Child FeatureRecords can be added to a Parent Feature record by selecting New (to

create a new Feature record) or Edit (to add existing Feature records).

4. Related Service Requests tab

 View Related Service Requests. Existing Service Request records can be added by

selecting Edit.

Figure 23: Feature form tabs – linking records

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Note: If a Feature record is created from a Release record, details of the Top task (Product record) and Parent (Release record) will appear under Classification.

Figure 24: Feature record Top Task and Parent fields

Feature Communication and Notifications

Communication via

1. Requestor communications tab – details sent to the Requestor upon saving. 2. Stakeholder communications tab – details sent to all Stakeholders upon saving.

Feature email notifications are automatically sent when the following occurs:

1. The Requestor receives notification when a record is created.

2. The Assignment group receives notification that a record has been assigned to their group.

3. The Assignment group Manager receives notification that a record has been assigned to their

group.

4. The Assigned to analyst receives a notification that a record has been assigned to them.

5. Priority 1 and 2 records – the Service Desk Management Team receives notification.

6. Record work noted (Internal notes) – if anyone other than the Assigned to analyst enters details

in this field, a notification is sent to the Assigned to analyst. Details entered in this field are not visible to the Requestor or Stakeholder/s.

7. Record work noted (Internal notes) – if the Assigned to field is empty, the Assignment group

will receive the notification.

8. Details entered under the Stakeholder communications tab – all Stakeholders are notified.

9. Assignment group changes – notification is sent to the Assignment group Manager and Assignment group if the Assigned to field is empty.

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Migration Module (all EIS)

A Migration Request tracks release features to different environments.

Migration Request Form

Figure 25: Migration Request Form

Migration ‘View All’ List Symbols

Symbol Meaning

Approved and ready to migrate.

Not yet approved.

Migration Request Date is in the future and the request has been approved. Figure 26: Migration List Symbols

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Updating Migration Request Records

1. Approve Target button: Select this button to approve the migration for the target environment. The approval history will be updated to show that the migration from the source to the target environment has been approved.

Note: This button is only available to Group Managers.

2. Migration Complete button: Select this button when the migration from the source to the target environment is complete. The work notes will be updated to show that the Migration from the source to the target environment is complete.

3. Final Migration button: Select this button when the last migration to production is complete and you want to close the record. A confirmation will be available and once confirmed the work notes will be updated to show that the Migration from the source to the target environment is complete and the job will be resolved.

Note: This button is only available when the Target Environment is a Production Environment.

4.

Reopen Migration button: Select this button to reopen a resolved Migration Request.

Note: This button is only available to Group Managers and only available for three Days after closing a migration.

5. Copy Migration list and menu option: Select this button to copy the current migration and its

details (including attachments) into a New Migration Request.

6. Cancel Migration menu option: Select this action to cancel the Migration Request. This will Close the migration.

7. Save or Save & Exit button: Select these buttons to save any changes made to the form.

8.

Cancel button: Select this button to discard any changes made to the form.

Figure 27: Migration Request Form Actions – Migration Button and Menu Actions

1

3

2

5

6

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Migration Request Process

Create Request Mandatory Assignment

Group

Assignment Group - Managers Assigned To

Empty?

YES

Assigned To and Assignment Group - Managers

NO

Update Request [Save or Save and Exit]

Assignment Group Assigned To

001 Approve Target Only Group Managers can

Approve Migrations 002 Migration Complete Production Target? No 003 Final Migration Only Group Managers can select

Final Migration Yes

Assigned To Empty?

Assignment Group - Members YES

Assigned To NO

Requestor and Ownership Group - Managers

Auto Close 3 days Successful Prod Migration? Yes 004 Reopen Migration Only Group Manager can

reopen migrations No

Cancel Request Copy Request

Assignment Group - Managers Assigned To

Empty?

Assigned To and

Assignment Group - Managers

No Yes

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Migration Request Notifications

Migration Request email notifications are automatically sent when the following occurs:

1. The Assigned to analyst and the Assignment group Manager will receive notification when a

request is assigned to them.

2. If the Assigned to field is empty, the Assignment group Manager will receive notification that a

request is assigned to their group.

3. The Assigned to analyst will receive notification when the request is approved.

4. The Assignment group will receive notification when the request is approved.

5. The Requestor and Ownership Group Manager will receive notification when the Migration is

complete.

6.

The Assignment group Manager will receive notification if a resolved Migration is reopened.

Open

Approved

Migrated

Resolved Cancelled

Closed 001 Approve Target

002 Migration Complete

001 Approve Target

003 Final Migration Assignment Group - Managers Assigned To and

Requestor and

Ownership Group - Managers Assignment Group - Members

Assigned To

Migration Request Statuses and Emails

004 Reopen Migration

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EIS SIR Migration Request Form (prior to SDT Phase 2 Project)

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Comparison of SDT and EIS SIR Migration Field Names

SDT Comments

SDT Field Name

EIS SIR Migration Field

Name

EIS SIR Migration Field

Comments

Automatic generated field – date and time record opened.

Opened Date Submitted Date and time Migration created.

Automatically assigned unique identifier (SDT has multiple forms for input: SR – Incident or Request, CO – Change Request, PRB – Problem, MIG – Migration, BLD – Build). Note: Build and Migration modules are located under the Change Application in the Navigation frame.

Number Migration Number Single form for input.

System-generated unique identifier. Number increments by one.

Migration naming standards are GUSIR + SIR NUMBER or GURSIR + SIR NUMBER for research specific projects.

Pre-populated with name of the analyst who opens the Migration record.

Opened by Submitted By Name of person who creates the

Migration.

Pre-populated with the analyst’s primary group.

Analyst primary group Submitted Team Records the EIS Team that creates

the Migration.

The person requesting the

Migration. This field is editable. The Requestor will receive notification when the Migration is complete.

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SDT Comments

SDT Field Name

EIS Migration Field Name

EIS Migration Comments

The group submitting the Migration Request. This field is editable. The Ownership Group will receive an email notification when the Migration is complete.

Ownership Group Similar to Submitted team

Mandatory field – EIS Team primarily responsible for the overall resolution of the Migration.

Assignment group Assigned to Team EIS Team primarily responsible for

overall resolution of the Migration.

Name of the analyst responsible for

the Migration. The Assigned to

analyst will receive an email notification when a request is assigned to them.

Assigned to Assigned to

Project Project

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SDT Comments

SDT Field Name

EIS Migration Field Name

EIS Migration Comments

Mandatory field – Migration time slots:

 12:00 pm to non-production

environments

 3:00pm to non-production

environments

 9.00 am to non-production

environments

 Prod

 Urgent

Migration Window Migration Window Migration time slots are at

 9.00 am to non-production

environments

 12:00 pm to non-production

environments

 3:00pm to non-production

environments

 3:00 on Wednesday to

production

Migrations are checked at the specified time slots so late

approvals or urgent migrations will need to be announced by the submitting team in order to have them done when required.

Mandatory field Migration Request Date Migration Request Date

Automatically populated with the date and time migration completed

Migration Complete Migration Completed Date

Options displayed at the top of the form: Open, Approved, Migrated and Resolved

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SDT Comments

SDT Field Name

EIS Migration Field Name

EIS Migration Comments

Mandatory field – can only select one environment. Data points to the Environments module listed under the Configuration Application in the Navigation frame. New

Environments can be added as

required by selecting the New

button.

Source Environment Source Environment In order to allow for statistical

reporting it is a requirement that migration requests be to one environment only.

Mandatory field – can only select one environment. Data points to the

Environments module under the

Configuration Application in the Navigation frame. New

Environments can be added as

required by selecting the New

button.

Target Environment Target Environment In order to allow for statistical

reporting it is a requirement that migration requests be to one environment only.

Options include Object Migration, Data Migration and Object Migration – standard GP IA Change.

Migration Type Migration Type

Related ‘Standard’ Change Request record. Use the ‘Lookup using list’ icon to locate the Change Request number or enter the number manually.

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SDT Comments

SDT Field Name

EIS Migration Field Name

EIS Migration Comments

Add link to SQISS. Click the padlock icon to activate the field. Copy the link from SQISS and paste it into this field.

RFC Link

Mandatory field – only one related Build record can be added. Use the ‘Lookup using list’ icon to locate the Build Request number or enter the number manually.

Build Request records can be added as children to a parent Build

Request record. The parent record can be entered in the Related Build field.

Related Build Related SIR 1

Related SIR 2 Related SIR Title

Work Unit Name Work Unit Name Each migration will have no more

than one work unit attached to any migration so each individual migration can be tracked to each environment easily.

General Design General Design

Auto timer details are recorded against actions taken. This can be manually updated.

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SDT Comments

SDT Field Name

EIS Migration Field Name

EIS Migration Comments

Allows analysts to enter comments on work undertaken. Also records details of the migration history. Spellcheck available.

Work notes tab Internal notes

Revision Log Comments

Approval tab: Approval Approval set Approved by Approval history

Revision Log Comments

Details all activities that have

occurred within the Migration record.

History tab Action

Date/Time

Approved/Revised by

The migration history is reviewed to ensure all environments have been migrated to.

Attachment icon located in the form header bar. Can add multiple attachments. There is no restriction on file type or size. Attachments are searchable via global search. Encrypted documents are not searchable.

Note: Email icon (form header bar) – able to email attachments to the recipient/s. Attachments sent by this method are not automatically appended to the record and cannot be viewed under the history tab.