Managing process templates across the CLM platform
I need some advice or best practices for managing process templates across the CLM platform. We have used RTC for workitem management for some years now. We have started using RTC for SCM and build also and have started pilots using the entire CLM platform. Until now the management of the process templates has been fairly simple, but with the enablement of CLM, SCM and therefore more users and features, I need to form a process and describe how to maintain, upgrade and control our process templates/MASTER Project Areas We have a rather large installation and we have 3 RTC(CLM) environments (development, system test and production) which may not, at all time, have the same version. Could you provide me or guide me to some best practices on this issue. Additional information: In RTC we are using inheritance from a master template Project Area to most Project Areas. I have 3 main Process Templates PAs in RTC. The original WIM one, one with SCM enablement and a simple one. Only a few Project Areas are really customizing their process. |
Accepted answer
Geoffrey Clemm (30.1k●3●30●35)
| answered Aug 03 '14, 11:51 p.m.
FORUM ADMINISTRATOR / FORUM MODERATOR / JAZZ DEVELOPER
You will want to manage your project area processes through a "master process area", not through a "master template". In particular, your project areas should "share" the process of one of your master project areas. In order to allow project areas to easily switch between older and newer versions of the process, you would create a separate project area for each of your process versions.
See https://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSCP65_5.0.0/com.ibm.jazz.platform.doc/topics/c_sharing_project_area_process.html?lang=en for details. Henrik Sloth selected this answer as the correct answer
Comments Thanks! This is kind of how we are doing it. I have a MASTER PA from which all PA inherits the process and a MASTER CHANGE PA from which the changes are first tested and later copied to the MASTER PA. Before copying from the MASTER CHANGE PA to the MASTER PA I am saving the process XML as a Process Template to be able to fallback. I will consider creating MASTER PAs for each version, but usually I would like to push the change to the PAs without having to change the inheritance for all PAs. |
3 other answers
Hi Henrik,
The management using master process area is correct approach here. So the missing gap is how to synchronize between development, system test and production. To answer that, I need an information how you have created these environments and how you synchronize them in general (e.g. duplicating database only, using server rename feature etc.). Please share with us that information. Comments Hi Krzysztof We do not synchronize the environments in regards of data. We have Project Areas in each environment that suits different purposes i.e. developing processes, testing a new process etc. Some pilots are using the system test environment during the test phase, but in general production is used also for pilots on new processes. For now I have done one of two things. Either copying the process template source code to MASTER copy or adding changes in all environments to MASTER copies to be able to switch back and forth if something may go wrong. So my question is also how to preserve versions of my MASTER template and the CHILD from which a new project area is initialized. I would like to consider the process template as source code and therefore apply and approach corresponding. And what about RQM, RRC, LPAs that works differently.
And thanks for your answer btw. |
If you want to keep versions of the process configurations you use in the process provider (master), you may want to take a look at the first couple of labs of the Process Enactment Workshop. We discuss a way to use SCM to keep versions of older projects.
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