You can modify a master lifecycle process for the lifecycle
of an asset to create a customized process for the governance, visibility,
and review of assets.
Before you begin
To create a community lifecycle, you must be a community
administrator.
About this task
Custom lifecycles are flexible and can be used
for several purposes:
At
the community lifecycle level, you cannot remove the requirements
set for a master lifecycle. Only the repository administrator can
modify a master lifecycle.
Procedure
- Log in to the web application.
- Click Communities.
- Click Master Lifecycles.
- In the Lifecycles section, click New Lifecycle.
- Select a master lifecycle to customize and click Next.
- Optional: Edit the name and description from
the master lifecycle:
- In the Name field, enter a name
for the community lifecycle.
- In the Description field, enter
a description for the community lifecycle. For example, describe which
assets are part of this lifecycle or who is on the review board.
- Define which asset types or asset categories
this lifecycle applies to:
- Click Add condition.
- In the Conditions section, from the list, select Asset
type or Categorization.
- From the next list, select is or is
not.
- Select a category or asset type.
- Click Add. The
condition is displayed.
- Add or modify lifecycle managers. Lifecycle managers can adjust the lifecycle
for individual assets and invite more reviewers:
- 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.
- Click Add Lifecycle Managers.
- In the Add Lifecycle Managers window,
- To automatically assign the role of lifecycle manager
to the owners of the assets in this lifecycle, select Include
asset owners as lifecycle managers.
- 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:
- The details for that state are displayed.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add additional instructions for reviewers. You
can provide additional context or specific details for the reviewers
to refer to when they review the asset.
- After you add users as reviewers, go to the Reviewer
Instructions section.
- To add a new set of instructions, click Add to
add a new set of instructions. If instructions exist, click Edit to
modify them. If the instructions were entered at the master
level, the Inherited Instructions section opens, but is not editable.
- Enter instructions for the reviewers. You
can use the rich text editor to edit the styling, create links, or
include images in the instructions. These instructions are inherited
by every asset lifecycle that uses this community lifecycle. Reviewer instructions
are also included in the email notification that users receive when
they are added as reviewers.
- 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.
- In the workflow diagram, click
a state to modify, or select a state from the Currently
configuring list. Click Go.
- Click Add Policies.
- 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 (*).
- Click Add.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Policies run in the top-to-bottom order. To move a policy
up or down, use the arrow icons
.
- To remove a policy, click the Remove link
for the policy.
- Define the conditions that must
be true for assets to change states, either automatically or manually:
- In the workflow diagram, click an action arrow between
states, or select the action from the Currently configuring list.
Then, click Go.
- 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.
- 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.
- Configure the action and click Add.
- To add more conditions, select AND or OR and
click the Add icon
. You can nest conditions to build complicated
queries.
- 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.
- Click Save. To save the lifecycle
and close the configuration, click Save and Finish.
Results
The community lifecycle is available and applies to the assets
in the community with the conditions that you defined.
What to do next
Now, users can review and manage assets with your lifecycle
at the community or asset level. For more information, see
Reviewing and approving assets.
You
can review user permissions for lifecycles at the community level
by clicking the Lifecycles tab and View lifecycle permission
report.