How to edit a release record

You can edit multiple records simultaneously by selecting them in the grid and updating them in the Preview pane on the right. For more information, see Mass update.

1. From the main menu, select Build > Release. Service Management displays the available releases.

2. Select the release record that you want to edit.

   To filter the record list, click the Add filter  button. For more information, see Filters.

3. Click the record identifier in the ID column to display the selected record.

   Note Click to view the release in the change calendar. For more information, see Releases and the Change Calendar.

4. By default, the release record is displayed with the General tab selected. Click the tab you want to edit or view:

   Tab	Description
   General	Displays general information about the current record. For more information about the General tab, see General tab.
   Workflow	Displays the workflow metaphase and phase for the current record. For more information about workflow, see Release workflow.
   Plan and execute	Displays the schedule and task and planning items for the current record. For more information about the schedule, tasks and planning, see How to edit a release record.
   Included changes	Displays changes included in the release. For more information about included changes, see Included Changes tab.
   Related records	Displays records which are causes of, or effects of, the current record. For more information about related records, see Related records tab.
   Approvals	Displays approvals for the current record. For more information about approvals, see Approvals tab.
   Related knowledge	Displays relevant articles and news items for the current record. For more information, see Related knowledge tab.
   Discussions	Displays any relevant conversations about the current record. For more information about discussions, see Discussions.
   History	Displays changes to the selected record. For more information about history, see History.

   Note  

   • Click the record title to edit it.

   • To use a template, click Apply template on the toolbar.

5. Click  Save on the toolbar.

You can edit multiple records simultaneously by selecting them in the grid and updating them in the Preview pane on the right. For more information, see Mass update.

Release record tabs

General tab

The Change record's General tab has screen reader support. For more information, see Screen reader support.

This tab includes the following sections:

Section	Description
General release details	This section contains basic information about the release record. For more information about general release details, see General release details.
Classification	This section contains more details about the release record. For more information about classification, see Classification .
Attachments	Click Add attachment if you want to attach a file to the record. Note The following file formats are supported: jpg; jpeg; gif; png; doc; docx; ppt; pptx; xls; xlsx; pdf; txt; xml; zip; msg; sql; gz; rar; tar; 7z. The maximum file size of an attachment is 10 MB. If the Attachments field has been defined as encrypted for this record type and you are a member of an encryption domain, click Add encrypted attachments to attach an encrypted file to the record. Attachments are not visible in the Service Portal.

• General release details

  Field	Description
  Title	The title is a summary of the release. Best practice: choose a meaningful, descriptive, and relatively short title. Titles are often the only identification used in selection lists and in other areas to identify components.
  Description	A description that captures the details of the release.
  Reason for release	The reason for the release.
  Latest execution date	The date and time by when the release is to be completed.
  Justification	The justification for the release. What may happen if the release is not implemented? Best practice: be as specific as possible.
  Requested by	The person requesting the release.
  Change list locked	If this option is selected, only a user with the appropriate permissions may add or remove changes. This option is automatically selected, where applicable, by the system, and is not available for selection by the user. Workflow business rules define whether the list of changes included in the release can still be modified.

• Classification

  Field	Description
  Priority	The priority for implementing the release. This is a read-only calculated field.
  Urgency	The urgency value describes how important the issue is for the customer. Service Management uses the urgency value to calculate the priority for the implementation.
  Impact	The global effect on the user community. Consider whether the release affects the entire enterprise, a business unit, or an individual.
  Risk	The risk involved.
  Release type	The type of release.
  Owning group	The group responsible for dealing with the release.
  Owner	The person responsible for dealing with the release. The drop-down list displays only people who are members of the owning group.
  Service	The service affected by the release. Services are usually related to one of the following: Infrastructure. For example, database or network services. Business services. For example, email or a web portal. The selected service affects the model you can select.
  Category	The category of the release. Service Management uses the category to classify release records.
  Release model	A collection of predefined values. Selecting the model automatically populates the relevant fields and creates the tasks necessary to complete the release. The release models available for selection depend on the selected service and category. Note   After you select a release model, you may overwrite any field values which the model provided. If you do so, saving the record saves the overwritten field values, and not the values which the model provided. Service Management allows you to select a new model for a release record after you have created the record. Take care because this major operation may overwrite field values. If you try to save a release record with a new model, Service Management displays a confirmation message. To undo the selection, click Cancel and refresh the page. Note that refreshing the page also affects all edits since you last saved your work. Otherwise, continue editing and saving the record.

Plan and execute tab

This tab includes the following sections:

Section	Description
Release plan	Details of the release plan. It includes the following fields: Implementation plan: details of the implementation plan. Remediation plan: details of the remediation plan. External reference: the relevant external reference number, if available.
Release schedule	Details of the release schedule. It includes the following fields: Scheduled start time: the date and time when work on the release is scheduled to start. Click the calendar icon to select the date, and the clock icon to select the time. Scheduled end time: the date and time when work on the release is scheduled to end. Click the calendar icon to select the date, and the clock icon to select the time. Scheduled duration: the scheduled duration for the change. Click the duration to display a widget for editing the value. Service Management automatically calculates the scheduled duration from the scheduled start and end, each time the record is saved. If you increase or decrease the scheduled duration, Service Management automatically adjusts the scheduled end, when the record is saved. Actual start time: the date and time when work on the release started. Click the calendar icon to select the date, and the clock icon to select the time. Actual end time: the date and time when work on the release ended. Click the calendar icon to select the date, and the clock icon to select the time. Actual duration: the actual duration for the release. Click the duration to display a widget for editing the value. Service Management automatically calculates the actual duration from the actual start and end, each time the record is saved. If you increase or decrease the actual duration, Service Management automatically adjusts the actual end, when the record is saved.
Task plan	This is where you design, create, and edit tasks. The tabs that appear under task plan depend on the type of release, with each tab matching a workflow phase which may require completion of a task. The parenthesized number on the tab is the number of tasks in each phase. If the model used to create the release has a predefined task plan, the plan is cloned to the release. You can edit the task plan where necessary. Note Service Management sets the task plan to read-only, in each of the following cases: When the tasks for the current phase have been completed, and the release enters a new phase. When a release record enters the Abandon phase. For more information about the task plan, see How to build a task/approval plan.

Duration widget

If you have the appropriate permissions, you can configure the widget to display either of the following:

• Days, hours, and minutes

• Months, days, and hours

The length of a month is hard-coded in the widget at 30 days.

For more information, see "Precision" in Edit a field.

Included Changes tab

This tab displays the changes included in the release. You can add and remove changes, get a quick overview of the status of included changes, and send emails to change owners.

• Change tiles

  At the top of the tab a set of tiles is displayed, depending on whether the release has entered the Deploy phase.

  Change tiles - before entering Deploy phase	Change tiles - after entering Deploy phase
  The tiles at the top display the number of changes: In the release In the release and in breach of the scheduling standards In the release and unscheduled In the release and awaiting approval	The tiles at the top display the number of changes: In the release In the release, by metaphase In the release that have failed

  You can click a tile to filter the displayed changes according to the selected tile.

• How to add a change to the release

  1. Click Add or the grid icon .

  2. Select the change(s). The added items appear in yellow.

  3. Click Save.

• How to remove a change from the release

  1. Select the change(s).
  2. Click Remove. The selected items appear in strike-through text.
  3. Click Save.

  If the change list is locked, only a user with the appropriate permissions may add or remove changes.

• How to send an email to a change owner

  • Select the change, and click Notify change owner. You may select multiple changes.

  • A message box is displayed. Type in your message, and click Send. The message is sent to the owner of each selected change.

Related records tab

The records displayed are those that are the causes of the current record, and those that are the effects of the current record.

1. In each section, the default sort order is first by record type, then by phase. You can click a column heading to reverse the sort order in any column.

   Field	Description
   Id	The identifier of the record. Click the ID value to link to the record.
   Title or Name	A short description provided by the end user.
   Phase Id	The current phase of the current record in the workflow.
   Priority	The priority is a value based on urgency and business impact values.
   Active	Indicates if the related record is active.

2. In the appropriate section, do one of the following:

   • Click  Add to create a relationship between the current record and another record.

     The Add related record dialog appears. The dialog box displays a list of potential related records. If you select an individual record, Service Management displays the contents of that record in the right pane.

     • If you want to search for more records, you can use the Search box at the top of the dialog box.

     • Find each record that you want to link, and click Add to select it.

     • When you have selected all the records that you want to link, click OK.

     • Click  Save on the toolbar.

   • Click  Remove to delete the relationship between the current record and the selected record.

     • Click OK to confirm the action.

     • Click  Save on the toolbar.

     This action removes the relationship only. It does not delete either record.

For more information about related records, see  How to relate change records.

Approvals tab

The Approvals tab is where you view approvals.

The approval plan is defined out-of-the-box for releases. For more information, see Approval definitions.

Although not recommended, you can edit the approval in the Approvals tab.

1. Point to the Start node, and click the Edit   button.

2. Select an element to add to the plan. The following elements are available:

   Step	Description
   Approval	Requires one or more users to grant an approval before the workflow can move on to the next phase.
   Decision	A decision point that uses an Expression Language phrase to determine which path in the approval plan to follow.
   Join	Joins two or more nodes in the approval plan. Both must be completed before moving on to the next node in the plan.
   Path to	Creates a path between two nodes in the plan.

3. Fill in the relevant information for the selected node.

   • Approval

     Requires one or more users to grant an approval before the workflow can move on to the next phase.

     Available for the approval phases only.

     Title	A title for the approval.
     Strategy	The strategy to use to obtain the approval: All must approve. Every assigned user must grant an approval. All must approve - immediate deny. Every assigned user must grant an approval. If one user denies an approval, the approval is denied. Quorum. The majority of responses determines whether the approval is granted or denied. One must approve. Requires only one assigned user to grant an approval. The approval is granted regardless of the responses of the other users. One must approve – immediate deny. Requires only one assigned user to grant an approval. If one user denies an approval, the approval is denied. (The decision follows the first user who answers.)
     Add approver user	Adds a User line to the list of approvers where you can specify a user who must grant the approval.
     Add approver group	Adds a Group line to the list of approvers where you can specify a group that must grant the approval. When a user in the group assigns the approval to himself, the approval is removed from the Approvals queues of the other members of the group.
     Add approver expression	Adds an Expression line to the list of approvers where you can specify an Expression Language phrase to determine which users must grant an approval. You can also define a condition on which to base the resulting list of users. The condition is defined as an Expression Language phrase.

   • Decision

     A decision point that uses Expression Language phrases to determine which path in the task plan to follow:

     1. Enter the details of the decision to be made.

     2. Enter an Expression Language phrase to define when the decision must be made.

     3. For decisions that require a yes or no answer, you can use the predefined Yes/No decision options.

        Alternatively, click Advanced to define other decision options. In this case, the list of options always includes an otherwise option in case none of the defined options are met.

     4. For each decision option, define the next step.

        

4. To create a path from one node to another, click the Edit  button on the source node, select Path to, and click the destination node. A path is drawn from the source node to the destination node.

5. To ensure that certain tasks are completed before moving on with another task, you can direct them through a join node. Each task node leading into the join node must be completed before the task node leading out of the join node can be instantiated.

   

   To join nodes:

   1. Click the Edit button on one of the nodes, and select Join. A join node is added.

   2. Click the node that you want to join to the first node, and select Path to.

   3. Click the join node. Both nodes lead into the join node.

   4. Repeat to direct more nodes through the join node if desired.

6. Continue to build the plan in the same way from one node to another.
7. Save the plan.

Related knowledge tab

The Related knowledge tab is where related knowledge or news articles are displayed.

Action	Procedure
Add a knowledge or news article	Click  Add. The Add related record dialog box opens. Select a knowledge or news article. You can filter the selection using the drop-down list and the filter button. Click  Add in the right pane of the dialog box. Repeat the above 2 steps as required, and then click OK. The selected records are added to the Related knowledge tab.
Remove a knowledge or news article	Select the knowledge article or news article you want to delete. Click  Remove, and then OK.
View a knowledge or news article	Select the knowledge or news article you want to view. Click the record identifier in the ID column to display the selected record.

Related topics

• How to create a release record

• Releases - how to add or remove changes

• Releases and the Change Calendar