Managing procedures

In the context of BMC Release Process Management, a procedure is a reusable group of sequential steps. Some steps are repeated over and over in multiple requests. To simplify the process of creating requests, you can combine the repeated steps into a procedure and then add the procedure to the appropriate requests. A request can contain single steps, single and multiple procedures, or single steps and one or more procedures. After you create a procedure, you can reorder the steps of the procedure.

This topic consists of the following sections:

Reusable and conditional procedures

You can create a reusable procedure and assign it to multiple requests, or you can create an individual procedure for a single request. Reusable procedures can be added only to requests with the same application assigned as the procedure. Individual procedures can be copied to other requests only if you create a request template from the original request or if you clone the original request.

Conditional procedures are procedures that are executed only when a preset condition is met during the execution of the request. You can set conditions that depend on the properties, runtime phases, environments, or the environment type used in the step or the whole request.

To create a reusable procedure

1. Go to Environments > Metadata > Manage Procedures.
2. Click Create Procedure on the right.
3. In the Name field, type a name for the procedure.
4. (Optional) In Description, enter a short description for the procedure.
5. From the Applications list, select the application that you want to assign the procedure to.
6. Click Create Procedure.

To add steps to a reusable procedure

1. Go to Environments > Metadata > Manage Procedures.
2. From the Procedures list, click the appropriate procedure.
   The procedure information page opens.
3. In the Steps section, click New Step.
   The New Step dialog box opens.
4. Enter the necessary step details as described in the Managing steps topic.
5. (Optional) Click Add Step and Continue if you want to add another step to the procedure.
6. Click Add Step and Close.
   New steps are added to the procedure.
7. (Optional) To reorder the steps in the procedure, click Reorder Steps, and then drag and drop the steps as needed to change their order.
   Click Done Reordering to save your changes.

To edit a reusable procedure

1. Go to Environments > Metadata > Manage Procedures.
2. From the Procedures list, click the appropriate procedure.
   The procedure information page opens.

3. Make the necessary changes.

4. (Optional) To reorder the steps in the procedure, click Reorder Steps, and then drag and drop the steps as needed to change their order.
   Click Done Reordering to save your changes.

5. Click Update to save your changes.

To add a reusable procedure to a request

1. From the Requests tab, select the appropriate request from the list or create a new request.
2. In the Steps section, click Add Procedure.
3. From the list of available procedures, click Add next to the appropriate procedure.
   The selected procedure is added to the request.

To create an individual procedure for a single request

1. From the Requests tab, select the appropriate request from the list or create a new request.
2. In the Steps section, click Add Procedure.
   The Add Procedure dialog box opens.
3. Click Add New Procedure.
   A new dialog box with the list of the procedures displays.
4. Click Add New Procedure next to your required procedure in the list.
   The procedure is added to the request as the last block of steps.

To add steps to a procedure in a request

1. From the Requests tab, select the appropriate request from the list or create a new request.

2. In the Steps list, next to the appropriate procedure, click add serial procedure step.

   Note

   If you add new steps to the reusable procedure assigned to the request, these steps are added only inside this request and they are not added to the original procedure from Environments > Metadata > Manage Procedures.

   
   The New Step dialog box opens.

3. Enter the necessary step details as described in the Managing steps topic.
4. (Optional) Click Add Step and Continue if you want to add another step to the procedure.
5. Click Add Step and Close.
   New steps are added to the procedure.

To reorder a procedure within a request

1. From the Requests tab, click the appropriate request.
2. In the Steps section, click Reorder Steps.
3. Drag and drop the procedure to change its order.
4. Click Done Reordering to save your changes.

To reorder steps within a procedure

1. From the Requests tab, select the appropriate request.
2. In the Steps section, click Reorder Steps.
3. Click the required procedure.
4. In the procedure block, drag and drop steps to change their order.
5. Click Done Reordering to save your changes.

To create a conditional procedure

1. From the Requests tab, select the appropriate request.
2. For the request opened, click Conditional Procedure Execution  next to the procedure.
3. In the Edit Execution Condition dialog box, set the appropriate option:
   
   • Property Value
     1. From the Step list, select the required step.
     2. From the Property list, select the required property.
     3. In Required Value, enter the needed value.
   • Runtime Phase
     1. In the Edit Condition dialog box, select the required step from the Step list.
     2. From the Runtime Phase list, select the runtime phase.
   • Environment
     1. From the Environment list, select one or more environments.
   • Environment type
     1. From the Environment Type list, select one or more environment types by holding Ctrl.
4. If you set any conditions earlier that you want to remove, clear the Remove Condition field.

5. Click Add Condition.

   Notes

   The Conditional Procedure Execution icon changes depending on the  conditional procedure applied to the step:

   • — No conditional procedure is applied to the step.
   • — The applied conditional procedure matches the values for the current step or request.
   •  — The applied conditional procedure does not match the values for the current step or request.

   For conditional procedures applied to a step or a request, move the pointer over the Conditional Procedure Execution icon to see the applied conditions and their type.

Related topics

Managing requests

Managing steps