iWise Enterprise Release Management (ERM)

It is extremely difficult to describe a work of art in words rather than pictures. iWise software is a "see" rather than a "what." But we will do our best to describe it in both words and images. Below is a summary of iWise Enterprise Release Management.

This iWise application is known as "Enterprise Release Management" or "ERM." ERM is used to manage the administration, development, inspection, and testing of a product release before scheduling a change to perform the distribution.

iWise Enterprise Release Management (ERM) manages the various components of releases, including deployment of new, in-house applications, modifications to existing in-house applications, and deployment and management of third-party vendor products, including patches and upgrades.

iWise ERM delivers a solid foundation and development methodology support by providing a comprehensive approach to quality management issues. You can track each phase of a development project with quality checkpoints, design, coding, document, and implementation reviews, and other management processes that your company wants to put in place.

Each step in the release process can be assigned to authorized groups or individuals, from the overview level down to specific tasks within a subset of a functional activity. iWise ensures the process follows a logical development flow with built-in checkpoints and numerous notifications to assignees, reviewers, managers, and other interested parties.

iWise ERM is a full-lifecycle, release management system that can be used to standardize methods, deliverables, documentation, and project management, resulting in lower costs, higher quality of developed systems, greater customer satisfaction, on-time delivery, and better project management and budgeting.

iWise ERM uses iWise CMDB, iWise Change Management, and iWise Request Management to aid in the management of software control and distribution. To use the full functionality of iWise ERM within your company, all of your enterprise software should be defined in iWise CMDB and include the product/item name, model/version, vendor, vendor catalog identifier, maintenance levels, etc., as well as the support and availability rules that apply to each product or component.

What You Can Define

ERM can be used to define releases, functions, design units, test cases, documents, and inspections. Functions and documents serve a dual role - they can be used for both administrative and project purposes. From an administrative viewpoint, you can track functions and documents associated with a product. From a project viewpoint you can track the development and implementation phases of a function or product.

Releases

A release is a change or group of changes to a service or product. It usually consists of a software release or hardware upgrade, or an emergency software or hardware fix. There may be a dependency between a software release and the hardware it requires. For example, a new version of software may require a computer upgrade, such as a faster processor or more powerful graphics card. These changes would be part of the release.

Functions

You can use ERM functions to subset a product into smaller areas. Functions can also be used with iWise Request Management for project completion. When used in this manner, functions become parts of a product that must be completed prior to build and integration.

• Authorization: You must have authorization to access a function. This includes entry, update, copy, print, and purge. In addition to authorization, each function has an "owner." This restricts update access to a specific group, while still allowing other users (if authorized) to display its contents. iWise defaults the ownership of a function to the group that entered it.
• Progress: The progress dialog is used during function development. This dialog allows you to define estimated and actual days, estimated and actual "lines of code" and other administrative data. If you are using ERM functions for product subset purposes only, the entry of the majority of this information can be bypassed.
• Drivers: A driver is the name assigned to the process of moving or combining implementation areas into a test environment. Drivers are entered and managed using iWise Request Management. A driver plan allows you to group or identify completed functions and testing for implementation scheduling. In iWise for Information Management, an ERM report (driver build plan) is provided specifically for this purpose. Once implementation commences, the frequency and scheduling of drivers depends on when completed areas of the product are made available. Both functions and design units have an attribute used to identify the driver.

Documents

You can use ERM to manage documentation associated with products, including document creation, ownership, and enhancements. As with functions, you can use ERM documents for project completion or administration.

You can define as many document objects as required to manage publications associated with a product. Each document allows you to identify assignment, scheduled completion dates, distribution requirements, and other administrative information.

• Authorization: You must have authorization to access a document. This includes entry, update, copy, print, and purge. In addition to authorization, each document object has an "owner." This restricts update access to a specific group, while still allowing other users (if authorized) to display its contents. ERM defaults the ownership of a document object to the group that entered it.
• Assignment: ERM allows you to identify two "owners" for a document:
  1. The person responsible for completing and/or writing a document.
  2. The "developer" or "technician" responsible for its technical content.
• Progress: The progress dialog is used during document development. This dialog allows you to define estimated and actual days, estimated and actual "pages," and other administrative data. If you are using documents for product subset purposes only, the entry of the majority of this information can be bypassed.

Design Units

A function is used to categorize or group features of a product into specific areas. Input/output interfaces, duplexing, and steering assemblies are examples of functions. If you wish, you can subset these functions into smaller parts, or design units. The number of design units you identify depends on the complexity of the function. For the most part, design units are used during build or enhancement activities. Assignments, estimated work-efforts, schedules, resources, and other information can be entered in each design unit.

Test Cases

Development and implementation activities should be tested. You can define test cases for each function or design unit. This information is then used for quality assurance and historical trends. Each test case allows entry of estimated variations, initial work estimates, scheduled dates, resources, and other pertinent data.

Inspections

ERM can also be used to schedule inspections or reviews. This includes product design, testing, and publications. The word inspection is used in ERM to denote publication reviews, design reviews and walk-throughs, code reviews, and other applicable quality assurance processes.

Role Of Request Management

iWise Request Management is used, in part, to manage requests and enhancements. Many times, a request results in the building of a new product, or extensive enhancements to existing ones. Your organization can use Request Management to manage the activities associated with this development effort, and ERM functions for development and implementation. In iWise Information Management for z/OS (host-based iWise), a set of ERM reports interface with Request Management, whenever applicable, to obtain chargeback information and other applicable data.