Using Collision Detection

You can use the Collision Detection feature of Change Management to detect collisions in the change request.

Understanding the Collision Detection dialog box

The following image shows the Collision Detection dialog box when accessed from a change request.

The Collision Detection dialog box is composed of the following sections:

1. The upper area of the dialog box displays basic details about the current change request, such as the request ID, Scheduled Start Date, and Scheduled End Date. If you access the Collision Detection dialog box from a release request, only the change request ID or release request ID is displayed, depending upon which console you access the dialog box from.
   Additionally, when you access the dialog box from a change request, you can perform a mouseover on the change request ID at the top to view a a tooltip that displays the summary, location, customer information, and change coordinator information for that change request.

2. This area is followed by a table that lists all of the collisions that exist between the current change request and other change requests. If you access the dialog box from a release request, the table displays a list of collisions for all of the change requests that are included in the release manifest. The Filter By menu enables you to filter the collisions that are displayed in the table by their collision statuses. For more information, see Collision status.
   A tooltip is available in this section as well, which is displayed when you access the Collision Detection dialog box from either change requests or release requests. This tooltip is described in the table below.

3. The Refresh button that is located above the table updates the list of collisions.
   The Preferences button enables you to add or remove columns displayed in the table. You use the check boxes to select multiple collision records simultaneously. The table also displays collisions that are caused by CIs which are owned by a different company than the one that you belong to.

   The table below provides the following details about the collisions in the current change request:

   Detail	Description
   Collision Status	The status of the collision between the current change and the colliding change. Important: Changing the status of a collision to Resolved does not actually resolve the collision. You must manually modify the scheduled start and end dates for one of the colliding changes to resolve the collision.
   Configuration Item	The name of the CI that is causing the collision.
   Change ID	The request ID of the change request in the release manifest that has a conflict. This column appears only when you access the Collision Detection dialog box from a release request. When you access the dialog box from a change request, the change request ID is displayed at the top of the dialog box.
   Scheduled Start and End Dates	The scheduled start and end dates of the current change. These columns appear only when you access the Collision Detection dialog box from a release request. When you access the dialog box from a change request, these details are displayed at the top of the dialog box.
   Conflicting Change ID	The request ID of the conflicting change request.
   Conflicting Scheduled Start and End Dates	The scheduled start and end dates of the conflicting change request.
   Check boxes	Click to select the relevant collision. You can select multiple check boxes at the same time. Any actions that you perform in the Collision Detection dialog box will affect all of the selected collisions.
   Tooltip	If you access the Collision Detection dialog box from a change request, a tooltip appears when you perform a mouseover on the conflicting change request ID column of the table. However, if you access the dialog box from a release request, the tooltip appears when you perform a mouseover on either the request ID of a change request, or on the request ID of the conflicting change request. The tooltip displays the summary, location, customer information, and the change coordinator information for the change request that the cursor points to. Important: You must select the collision in the table before performing a mouseover.

   Best practice

   BMC recommends that you run an impact simulation in BMC Atrium Impact Simulator to detect CI dependencies before you use the Collision Detection feature in BMC Change Management. Saving the simulation automatically relates all dependent CIs to your change request, which ensures that any collisions are detected. For more information, see Viewing the impact of CIs on change requests.

4. The Update Collision Status and Business Justification pane below the table of collisions enable you to change the status of the selected collision. You can also enter a business justification for the status change.

5. The collapsible Collision Status Audit Trail panel at the bottom of the dialog box enables you to view the history of status changes for the selected collision. It provides the following information:

   • Date and time of the status change
   • ID of the user who updated the status
   • New status of the collision
   • Reason for the status change

Collision status

The following statuses apply to collisions in the Collision Detection dialog box:

Using the chat feature with collision detection

When a collision is detected, you might need to consult the Change Coordinator and Change Manager of the colliding change request before taking any action.

Perform the following steps to initiate a chat conversation:

1. Open the change request. If you start from a release request record, click the Manifest tab, and open the related change request that you are working on.
2. Select Functions > Collision Detection.
3. In the Collision Detection dialog box, select the collision that you want to discuss. 
4. Click the Chat icon at the top right corner of the Collision Detection dialog box to open the Start Conversation dialog box. The Change Coordinator and Change Manager of the the colliding change request are visible in the Context Users list in the dialog box.
5. To start the chat conversation, double-click the user with whom you want to discuss the collision. You can invite more users to the conversation later.

When you end a chat conversation, the conversation is log is saved on the Work Details tab of the current change request the the colliding change request.

To enable the chat feature, refer to the instructions that are provided in Enabling chat, Twitter notifications, and RSS feeds.

Changing the status of a collision

1. Open the change request. If you start from a release request record, click the Manifest tab, and open the related change request that you are working on.
2. Select Functions > Collision Detection.
3. In the Collision Detection dialog box, select one or more collisions that you want to update.
4. In the Update Collision Status and Business Justification panel, select the new status in the Collision Status field.

5. Type the reason for the status change in the Business Justification field.

   Important

   A Business Justification value is mandatory whenever you update the status of a collision to either Ignored, or Resolved.

6. Click Update to apply the new status to the selected collisions and save the business justification that you entered.

Viewing the audit trail of collision status changes

You can use the Collisions Status Audit Trail panel of the Collision Detection dialog box to view the history of status changes for a collision with a particular change request. It provides the date and time of the status change, the ID of the user who updated the status, and the new status of the collision.