Navigating the Release Management console and the Release form
You can use the Release Management console for managing release requests.
Release Managementconsole functional areas
The Release Management console provides a dedicated workspace for managing release requests. This console provides quick access to the information you need and to the procedures that you perform most often. This console optimizes your visual work space so that you can track releases quickly and efficiently. The following figure illustrates the functional areas of the Release Management console.
The Release Management console displays important details associated with release requests (for example, change requests and activities linked to releases, tasks allocated to release requests, work information, and important broadcasts). It is designed to give you quick access to the information and procedures that you need daily, so that you do not have to open other BMC Helix ITSM applications. Finally, if you point your cursor over the Release ID, tooltip information is displayed.
The following table describes what you can do in each of the functional areas.
Functional area | Purpose |
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Console tab | Displays releases and related changes and activities. |
Release Management Console header | |
Refresh icon | Updates the console with the latest information. |
Search | Enables searching across multiple forms for records that match a key term by using the Global search option. |
Show Filter By Magnifying glass icon More filters | Filters the release records in the Releases table by using the Show, Filter By, and Search fields. The Show field has a menu from which you can select the basic criteria by which you want to filter the contents of the Releases table. The options are:
The Magnifying glass icon opens a dialog box from which you can edit, save, and delete custom searches. Saved custom searches appear in the My Searches node of the Defined Searches list. |
Navigation pane | |
View Broadcast, or New Broadcast | Opens the broadcast dialog box, from where you can view, create, modify, and delete broadcasts. When there are unread broadcasts, the icon is displayed followed by the number of new messages and the Important: If you open the Release Management console with no new broadcasts, but the View Broadcast link is in red color, open the Application Preferences dialog box and make sure that a Console View preference has been selected. |
Milestones | Displays Plan, Build, Test, and Deploy milestone metrics that are calculated when the console opens. Contains a count of release request records. The application updates this number dynamically to reflect the way that you are filtering the contents of the Release table. For example, if the Show field contains Assigned to me and the Filter By field contains By Status > All Open, the numbers that appear in the Milestones panel represent the number of open Plan, Build, Test, and Deploy requests that are currently assigned to you. |
Functions | Provides links to perform the required functions:
For information, see Registering time segments in Change Management. |
Applications | Contains links to other BMC applications, consoles, and modules. The contents of this area depend on what other applications are installed. Click the double greater than sign to open or close this panel. |
Releases table | Displays high-level details about the release records that match the criteria specified in the Company and Assigned To fields, or that were found by the most recently completed search. The RLM prefix identifies the release requests. You can filter the requests in the table by using the Show and Filter By fields. |
Create | Opens the New Release form, which you can use to create a new release request record. |
View | Opens the release request record selected in the Releases table. |
Prints the details of the release request record selected in the Releases table. | |
Process Overview | Opens a high-level diagram of the release management process. |
Service Context | Opens the Service Context summary view for the record selected in the Releases table. |
Show Details/Hide Details | When selected, displays the work information table with the details about the record selected in the Releases table. It also displays the Create and View links to create or view release activities from the Release Management Console. For more information, see Building a controlled environment for the release. |
Changes and Activities | |
Create | Opens the New Change or Activity form so you can create a new record. |
View | Opens the record selected in the Releases table. |
Displays details of the release request record selected in the Releases table as a report. | |
Show Details/Hide Details | Displays the work information and tasks table with records selected in the Changes and Activities table. You can create or view release work information on the Work Info tab. You can view tasks on the Tasks tab. |
Release form functional areas
The Release form is used to request a release and track the progress from initiation to completion. This form also displays the impact that the release has to the organization. The Release form is used to assign tasks to different support groups, and you can associate the release to configuration items that are being modified.
Before you begin searching, creating, or modifying information in the Release form, you must understand the information relationships involved in the different areas of this form. First, you must create assignment mappings to assign a release to a Release Management support group, to an individual, or to both. An individual in the Release Management group must assume the role of release coordinator. For information about functional roles and assignment mappings, see Functional roles and extended application access and Mapping assignments .
The Release form provides an excellent example of the level of integration that can occur between the various modules available among the BMC Helix ITSM. A release request can occur due to an incident, a change to a configuration item, or a known error correction as a result of problem investigation.
You might see additional links appear in the navigation pane for applications that are installed in addition to Change Management.
The Release form has the following functional areas:
Form area | Function |
---|---|
Release form header | |
Breadcrumb bar | Contains links to the related records that you opened from the current release record. |
Breadcrumb navigation controls |
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Process Flow Status bar | Takes you through the milestones in the Process Flow Status bar to go through the release request lifecycle from the Initiate milestone to the Close Down milestone. |
View Broadcasts | Opens the View Broadcasts dialog box. For information, see Broadcasting messages . |
Navigation pane | |
Functions | Performs the following actions:
|
Activity form functional areas
Release Management provides basic facilities for assignment, status, work information, and task management. The Activity form is used to manage a release and track its progress from initiation to completion. The Activity form is also used to assign tasks to different support groups.
You use the Activity form to add a set of activities to a release request. You can track release states and requester information, relate and assign tasks, and enter work log information. For more information, see Working with release activities.
Important
Any other links that are displayed in the navigation pane are determined by the applications that are installed in addition to Release Management.
The Activity form has the following functional areas:
Form area | Function |
---|---|
Navigation pane | |
Quick Links | Performs the following actions:
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Functions | Performs the following actions:
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Consoles | Opens other installed BMC Helix ITSM consoles.
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Other functionality | |
Save | Saves the form content. |
Displays a report of the form content that can be printed. |
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