Modifying the lifecycles for individual assets

If you are the lifecycle manager for a lifecycle, you can modify the lifecycle for an individual asset to extend a lifecycle that was created at the repository or community level. For example, you can invite reviewers to a state or change the conditions for a transition.

Before you begin

To modify the lifecycle for an asset, you must be a lifecycle manager. A community administrator can add you as a lifecycle manager for a lifecycle in a community.

About this task

Any changes that you make to the lifecycle configuration of an asset through the General Details page apply to only that asset; your changes do not apply to other assets that are using the same lifecycle.

At the asset lifecycle level, you cannot remove the requirements set for master or community lifecycles. Only the repository administrator can modify the master lifecycles and the community administrator can modify the community lifecycles.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the IBM® Rational® Asset Manager web client.
  2. Click My Dashboard.
  3. In the Assets to Manage section, click the name of the asset. The General Details page for the asset opens.
  4. Click Review. The configuration panel for the current state of the lifecycle opens.
  5. Click Edit lifecycle configuration.
  6. Optional: To view the workflow diagram of the lifecycle, click Load lifecycle diagram.
  7. To modify a different element than the state the asset is currently in, from the Currently configuring list, select a different element and then click Go. Or, if you loaded the workflow diagram, you can click the elements on the diagram.
  8. Add or modify lifecycle managers. Lifecycle managers can adjust the lifecycle for individual assets and invite more reviewers:
    1. To navigate to the general configuration for the lifecycle, in the workflow diagram, click the name of the lifecycle at the top. Alternatively, from the Currently configuring list, select the first item.
    2. Click Add Lifecycle Managers.
    3. In the Add Lifecycle Managers window, from the Search scope menu Search scope icon, select Users or User groups. Type any part of a user or group name and click Search. Select a user or group, and then click Add.
    4. To automatically assign the role of lifecycle manager to the owners of the assets in this lifecycle, select Include asset owners as lifecycle managers.
    5. To remove users or user groups that you added, click the Remove link for the user or group.
  9. Add users or user groups to review the asset while the asset is in a certain state. Reviewers can view and comment on assets, and optionally modify and vote on assets. To add reviewers:
    1. In the workflow diagram, click a state to modify, or select a state from the Currently configuring list. Click Go. The details for that state are displayed.
    2. Optional: To make this review visible only to the reviewers and lifecycle managers, select the Private review check box. When this check box is selected, a locked icon is added to the state in the workflow diagram.
    3. Optional: To select whether to use community permissions for viewing or updating assets in the selected state, in the Permissions section, select one of these options:
      • No change:
        • Users can view the asset if they have a role in the community that can view the asset.
        • Users can view and modify the asset if they have a role in the community that can update the asset.
        • Users can view the asset if they are Asset reviewers in this lifecycle state.
        • Users can view and modify the asset if they are Asset reviewers in this lifecycle and the Allow Editing check box is selected.
        • This option is the default selection.
      • Override modify permissions:
        • Community roles do not affect whether users can modify assets.
        • Users can view the asset if they have a role in the community that can view the asset or they are Asset reviewers in this lifeycle state.
        • Users can modify the asset if they are Asset reviewers in this lifecycle and the Allow Editing check box is selected.
      • Override all:
        • Community roles do not affect whether users can view or modify assets.
        • Users can view the asset if they are Asset reviewers in this lifecycle state.
        • Users can modify the asset if they are Asset reviewers in this lifecycle state and the Allow Editing check box is selected.
    4. Click Add reviewers.
    5. In the "Add Reviewers" window, from the Search scope menu Search scope icon, select Users or User groups. Type any part of a user or group name and click Search. Select a user or group, and then click Add.
    6. To allow a user or user group to modify the asset while it is in this state, select Allow editing.
    7. To allow a user or user group to approve or reject this asset, select Approver.
    8. To clear all approvals and rejections when the asset is modified, from the Restart review list, select On asset update.
    9. To remove users or user groups that you added, click the Remove link for the user or group.
    Tip: When reviewers and lifecycle managers are added to a master or community lifecycle, their names include the term (Inherited) in the community or asset lifecycle configuration. You can see which lifecycle the reviewer or lifecycle manager is inherited from by hovering your cursor over the (Inherited) text.
  10. Add additional instructions for reviewers. You can provide additional context or specific details for the reviewers to reference when completing a review of the asset.
    1. After adding users as reviewers, go to the Reviewer Instructions section.
    2. Click Add to add a new set of instructions or Edit if there are existing instructions to modify. If the existing instructions were entered at the master or community level, the Inherited Instructions section opens and is not editable.
    3. Enter instructions for the reviewers. You can use the rich text editor to edit the styling, create links, or include images with the instructions. Reviewer instructions are also included in the email notification that users receive when they are added as reviewers.
  11. Add or modify policies to run automatically during a state. Policies are scripts that can modify assets or test that conditions are met. For more information about the default policies, see Policies for lifecycles in Rational Asset Manager.
    1. In the workflow diagram, click a state to modify, or select a state from the Currently configuring list. Click Go.
    2. Click Add Policies.
    3. In the Add Policy window, select a policy. To filter the list of policies, type keywords in the text field. Do not use wildcard characters, such as asterisks (*).
    4. Click Add.
    5. Click Configure to select options for the policy. For more information about the options for the default policies, see Policies for lifecycles in Rational Asset Manager.
    6. Select when you want the policy to run:
      • To run the policy every time the asset is modified while it is in this state, select Asset save.
      • To run the policy when the asset enters this state, select Entrance to state.
      • To run the policy when a lifecycle manager changes the state of the asset, select Action.
      • To run the policy when someone tries to delete the asset while it is in this state, select Delete. If the policy runs successfully or with a warning, the asset is deleted.
      • To run the policy after a specified amount of time, select Timer and specify a time period for the policy to run. The timer begins when an asset enters this asset state.
    7. Optional: Configure an exit condition that uses the policy. When you add a policy and click Save to save the lifecycle configuration, you are notified that the policy is not being used in an exit condition. You are not required to add an exit condition, but if you do add a policy condition in step 13, the message is not displayed.
    8. Policies run in the top-to-bottom order. To move a policy up or down, use the arrow icons icon to move a policy up or down.
    9. To remove a policy, click the Remove link for the policy.
  12. Define the conditions that must be true for assets to change states, either automatically or manually:
    1. In the workflow diagram, click an action arrow between states, or select the action from the Currently configuring list. Then, click Go.
    2. In the Conditions section, select an action from the list:
      Manual action
      A lifecycle manager attempts to change the state. For more information, see Changing the state of the lifecycle for assets.
      Tip: If you remove the Manual action condition, an asset change states automatically if the asset meets all of the conditions that you specify. A user does not have to manually change the state of the asset.
      Asset type
      The asset must or must not be of this asset type to change states.
      Categorization
      The asset must or must not have a category to change states.
      Number of approvals
      The least number of approvals that is required from all users or from a user group to change states.
      Number of rejections
      The least number of rejections that is required from all users or from a user group to change states.
      Approved by
      One user who must approve the asset to change states. If the user that you select is not already a reviewer for the appropriate state, that user is added automatically.
      Rejected by
      A user who must reject the asset to change states. If the user that you select is not already a reviewer for the appropriate state, that user is added automatically.
      Policy: policy name
      The specified policy must or must not pass, warn, or fail to change states. To use this action, add policies to the lifecycle state that the asset is transitioning from. When you add a policy to a state, you are prompted to add an exit condition. You are not required to add a condition. However, if you add a condition to the transition, the message is no longer displayed.
    3. Configure the action and click Add.
    4. To add more conditions, select AND or OR and click the Add icon Add condition icon. You can nest conditions to build complicated queries.
    5. To remove conditions that you created, click Remove.
    Remember: If you do not configure conditions for an action between states, assets move to the next state automatically.
  13. To save your changes to the lifecycle for the asset, click Save.

Results

The lifecycle for this asset only is modified.

Users that you added as lifecycle managers or reviewers receive an email notification.


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