Set up a heads-up rule
Mark the configuration items that need extra care, write down why, and choose who hears about it.
This walks through one rule end to end: the fields feeding a product catalogue, where a rename would stop the feed. Read Heads-up rules first if you want the idea before the steps.
Create the rule
- Open Heads-up. It's in the left-hand menu, under Track.
- Choose New rule. You get a blank rule to fill in.
- Give it a name. Something a colleague would recognise in a list, like “Product catalogue fields”.
- Write what people should know. This is the note, and it's the part that does the work. Say what these items are for and what goes wrong if they change. It appears on the change set and in the email.
- Choose which parts of your configuration. Under Add a name match, pick the type of item, choose starts with, and type the prefix. For this example that's fields whose name starts with PIM_.
- Decide about things that use them. Tick Also cover anything that uses these if a change to something reading these fields should count as well.
- Choose what should happen. Either someone has to read the note first, or specific people have to approve. Pick approval when a particular person needs to weigh in; pick reading when the point is that nobody is surprised.
- Name the people. Add members or groups. If you chose approval, also choose how many need to approve, and whether to set a time limit.
- Add anyone else to tell. These people are emailed when the rule comes up. Nothing is asked of them.
- Choose Create rule. It starts working straight away, on the next change set that touches something it covers.
The rule's screen shows how many items it covers right now. If that number is zero or looks wrong, the name match probably doesn't say what you meant — choose Edit and adjust it.
Add specific items to a rule
Some items have nothing in their name to group them by. Add those from your configuration.
- Open Configuration and find the items you want to cover.
- Select them using the checkboxes.
- Choose Add to a heads-up rule in the bar at the bottom.
- Pick the rule. Its note is shown so you can check it's the right one, then choose Add to rule.
What a reviewer sees
Next time a change set touches a covered item, its screen shows the rule and note above the list of changes, along with who it's waiting on. The people named get an email with the same note. Whoever was asked opens the change set and chooses Approve or I've read this on that rule.
The change set carries on once every rule it tripped has been answered, along with any approval the workspace asks for.