Accessing and navigating the release requests

Access the release requests by using Dashboard or Console. When you open BMC Helix ITSM, the release requests are displayed in Dashboard. The Dashboard view displays all the ticket types by default.

To enable Shared Ticket Console, your administrator has to set the value of CCS parameter enableSharedTicketConsole to true in Centralized Configuration as described in the Setting configuration parameters in BMC Helix ITSM topic. For more information, see Enabling and customizing the Shared Ticket Console.

Release ticket functional areas

Activity ticket functional areas

Instructions for classic interfaces

View instructions for classic Smart IT

Access the release requests by using Dashboard or Console. When you open BMC Helix ITSM, the release requests are displayed in Dashboard. The Dashboard view displays all the ticket types by default.

The following screenshot displays change tickets in the Dashboard view:

View instructions for Mid Tier

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
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: Submitted by me—All the release requests created by you. All—All the release requests, regardless of who created them. Assigned to me—All the release requests assigned to you. Assigned to my group—All the release requests assigned to a specific support group of which you are a member. If you select this option, you are prompted to select the support group. Assigned to all my groups—All the release requests assigned to all of the support groups of which you are a member. The Filter By field places conditions on the basic criteria that you select in the Show field. These conditions help you manage the number of records returned by the Show field. If you select Assigned to me in the Show field and All Open > All Priorities from the Filter By field, the Releases table contains all open release records that are assigned to you, regardless of their priority. 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. More filters provides a way for you to further filter the contents of the Releases table. If you still have a large number of records after using the Filter By field, click Advanced to open a dialog box that contains fields in which you can indicate even more precise information, such as product or operational categories. For example, using the Advanced field, you can add the product category Hardware to the filter. When added to the Show and Filter by fields, the Releases table now contains all open hardware releases, regardless of their priority, that are assigned to you. A check box appears in the More filters label to indicate when a filter from this area is active.
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 New Broadcast message. When there are new broadcasts, they are displayed in red color. For more information about broadcasting messages, see Broadcasting messages. 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: New Release—Opens the Release form in a New mode. For more information, see Initiating a release. Search Release—Opens the Release form in a Search mode. For more information, see Searching for records in the application consoles. My Profile—Sets your personal profile. Application Preferences—Sets your program preferences and options. This function is also available from the Release Management console. For more information, see Setting-application-preferences-and-options. Reminders—Opens the Reminders dialog box. For information, see Defining-and-sending-reminders. Reports—Opens the Reporting Console. For information, see Using-reports-flashboards-and-dashboards. KPIs—Displays the available KPI flashboards. When you select a flashboard, it is displayed in a graphical format: Process KPIs—View KPI flashboards. Total Open Releases—Filters by Service or Priority. Total Pending Approval—Filters by Service, Impact, or Business Justification. Total By Risk—Filters by Service, Impact, or Milestone. View Calendar—Opens the calendar. For information, see Viewing data by using the Calender view formats. Time Segments—Create, modify, or search the following time segments: Business Event Operational Category Location Configuration Item (CI) 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.
Print	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 To add work information to a release activity.
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.
Print	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	Back button—Takes you one link back in the breadcrumb trail. Forward button—Takes you one link forward in the breadcrumb trail. The Forward button is only visible if you have returned to a record on the breadcrumb trail that you previously viewed. Menu—Contains links to all the records that you viewed from the current release record, including records that are not currently visible in the breadcrumb trail. Home icon—Takes you to the IT Home page.
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: Copy Release—Activated only in Modify mode. Collision Detection—Determines whether there are other requests scheduled to work on the same CI during the same blackout schedule. For information, see Detecting-collisions-between-change-requests. Financials—Opens the Financials dialog box where you can add costing related information. For more information, see Adding-and-modifying-costs. Important: This option is not available when you are creating the release request. Email System—For information, see Sending-messages-related-to-records. Reminders—For information, see Defining-and-sending-reminders. Modify Business Events—Searches, selects, modifies, and deletes business events. For information, see Managing-time-segment-availability-based-on-business-event-or-operational-category. Time Segments - Business Event—Searches, selects, and creates time segments for business events. For information, see Managing-time-segment-availability-based-on-business-event-or-operational-category. Time Segments - Configuration Item (CI)—Searches, selects, and creates time segments for Configuration Items. For information, see Managing-a-CI-blackout-schedule-with-time-segments.

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: View Broadcasts—Opens the View Broadcasts dialog box. For more information, see Broadcasting messages. Select Template—Selects any templates made available for your support group. For information, see Creating and closing release activities.
Functions	Performs the following actions: Reminders—For information, see Defining-and-sending-reminders. Paging System—For information, see Sending-messages-related-to-records. View Audit Log—For information, see Monitoring-the-progress-of-a-change-request. This option is not available when you are creating the activity.
Consoles	Opens other installed BMC Helix ITSM consoles. Release Console—Opens the Release Management console Reports—Opens the Reporting console. For information, see Using reports and flashboards .
Other functionality
Save	Saves the form content.
Print	Displays a report of the form content that can be printed.