Work on a timeline-oriented release for a single product or service

Monitor and work on a release that follows the timeline-oriented release process to release a single product or service.

Before you begin

Role required: sn_dpr_model.product_manager or sn_dpr_model.release_admin

Procedure

1. Navigate to Workspaces > Digital Product Release Workspace.
2. Select the releases icon ().
3. Select a release from the list to open.
4. Optional: Select the Details tab and add or update the schedule in the Schedule list to account for holidays during the release period.

   The list shows schedule entries that are of the type Excluded from the Schedule [cmn_schedule] table.

   Note:

   The selected schedule must be within the release duration (release target date).
   The phase start and end dates are updated and the release duration is recalculated by considering the non-working days in the schedule. For more information on how schedules impact the dates of phases and release target, see Holiday schedules in a release.
5. If the release isn't in progress, select Start release.
6. Select the Overview section to review and modify release details, get an overview of its status, or change its readiness target date.
   For more information, see Review and update release details and Retarget a release.
7. Select the Release scope section to review and update the scope of the release by adding or removing the product features and enhancements.
   For more information, see Update the scope of a release.
8. Select the Configuration items section to review and manage the configuration items in the release.
   You can add more configuration items or remove the existing ones as needed. For more information, see Manage configuration items in a release.
9. Select the Change requests section to review and manage the change requests in the release.
   You can add new or existing change requests or remove the existing ones as needed. For more information, see Manage change requests in a release.
10. From the Release form header, select the number under the Artifacts to manage artifacts added to the release.
    For more information, see Manage artifacts in a release.

Execute the release

View the release status and work on its phases and tasks, and policies.

Before you begin

Role required: sn_dpr_model.product_manager or sn_dpr_model.release_admin

Procedure

1. Select Release execution to view the release status and work on its phases and tasks, and manage key dates.
   
2. Update a release phase.
   1. From the timeline, select a phase or use the arrow buttons to navigate to the previous or next phase.
   2. When all tasks in the current phase are complete and mapped policies comply, mark the phase as complete by selecting Complete phase.
      Note:

      Only a release admin can manually complete the phase.
      The state of the current phase is updated to Completed and the next phase is started. The actual end date of the current phase is updated to the current date.
3. Optional: Add a task to a release phase.
   1. From the timeline, select a phase or use the arrow buttons to navigate to the previous or next phase.
   2. Select Add task.
   3. On the Create task dialog box, add details for the task like its name, phase it belongs to, end date, and description.
   4. If the task needs approval, perform the following steps:
      Note:

      You can select whether the task needs approval when creating it. This option can’t be changed after it’s saved.

      1. Select Yes in the Need approval field.

         The Assigned to and Approval definition fields appear.

      2. From the Assigned to list, select the user who would approve the task.
      3. From the Approval definition list, select an approval definition to trigger the approval based on the predefined condition.
   5. Select Create task.
   The task is created in the Pending state and added to the selected phase.

   For an approval task, an approval record is created for the approver to review and take action. For more information, see Approve or reject a release task.

4. Track and manage the progress of tasks for the selected phase.
   1. From the timeline, select a phase or use the arrow buttons to navigate to the previous or next phase.
   2. Select the Tasks tab to view all tasks in the phase.
      You can apply filters to view specific tasks or change the view type by selecting the Kanban or List option.
   3. Select a task to open in the Task details pane.
   4. Review the task in the Task details pane, or select Full details to open the task record in the form view.
   5. Assign the task in the Assigned to field to the user who will work on it.
   6. Review the approval status for an approval task in the Approval field.
   7. Update the State field with the status of the task that doesn't need any approval.
      The state of an approval task is automatically updated when approved.
   8. Select Save to save the changes.
      If you complete the current task and the system property sn_dpr.sequential_task_execution is set to true, the next task in the order moves to the Open state.
5. Optional: Map policies to a release phase to validate it.
   1. From the timeline, select a phase or use the arrow buttons to navigate to the previous or next phase.
      Note:

      Policies can’t be mapped to a completed or cancelled phase.
   2. Select the Policies tab, and then select Add.
   3. On the Map Policies dialog box, select one or more policies from the list to map to the phase.
   4. Select Map policies.
6. Select Run policies to run policies on the current phase.
   All mapped policies are executed in the background for the current phase (In Progress state). You can check the execution status by refreshing the list on the Policies tab.

   A scheduled job runs daily to execute the policies that are mapped to the phase. The Execution status column on the Policies list for each phase is updated to show the compliance status after each run.

7. Optional: Add or update key dates in a timeline-oriented release that should be in relation to the release target date.
   These key dates help you define and track important events that can happen during the release period.
   • Add a new key date to the release:
     1. Select the more actions icon next to the Add task button and then select Add key date.

        

     2. In the Add key date dialog box, fill in the fields.

        For more information, see Release key date form.

     3. Select Save.
   • Update the existing key dates in the release:
     1. Select a key date in the timeline bar to open the Key date details form in the side-panel.

        Alternatively, you can select the number under Key dates in the form header to view a list of key dates for the release, and then open a key date.

     2. On the Key date form, update the fields.
     3. Select Save.
8. Close a release after verifying its completeness.
   For more information, see Close a release.