T37.4: Basic Tasks in CCR

Overview

The CCR application is a web-based tool centrally hosted by InterSystems. All users access it through a browser at ccr.intersystems.com. Understanding the layout and navigation of the application is essential for daily CCR usage.

Logging In

Users access CCR at ccr.intersystems.com and log in using their InterSystems SSO (Single Sign-On) credentials. These are the same credentials used for iService and learning.intersystems.com. No separate account creation is needed; any user with valid InterSystems SSO credentials can log in to the CCR application. Organizations that use CCR include InterSystems itself, implementation partners and third-party consultants, and end-user customers. The robust security model ensures that only InterSystems employees can view records and code from other organizations. This means customer organizations can only see their own CCR records and systems, providing data isolation between different organizations using the same application.

The Home Page

The CCR Home page is the landing page after login. It contains two primary areas.

The first is the CREATE CCR section at the top, which includes a SysCode field (optional) and a Go button to begin creating a new change control record. If the SysCode is provided, the new CCR will be pre-associated with that system; if left blank, the user can select the system during the CCR creation process.

The second is the Search CCRs panel, which allows users to find existing CCR records across all systems in their organization. The search panel includes several filter categories:

• Organization selector: Filters CCRs by organization
• Restriction filters: All (no restrictions), Only those I have been involved with (default), Only where I am the current owner, Only those I opened
• Options checkboxes: Include Inactive (to show closed, cancelled, and merged CCRs), Critical Only, Pending Peer Review
• Text search: Search based on Title or Description

The search results display columns for CCR ID, System Code, Title, Related Items, Phase, State, Owner, Modify Date, and Org. By default, closed, cancelled, and merged CCRs are not shown. Users can toggle "Include Inactive" to see them. Searches and filter/pagination options can be saved for reuse.

The Navigation Menu

The navigation menu is available from the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-left corner of every page. It provides access to all major sections of the application.

The menu is organized into several sections. The Go to section provides quick-access fields for navigating directly to a specific CCR by entering a CCR Number or to a specific System by entering a SysCode or SiteCode/SysCode combination. The navigation links section includes Home, Users, Organizations, CCR Reports, Systems, Groups, Release Info, Standard Changes, and Peer Review Docs. Each link navigates to the corresponding management page within the application.

The Resources section contains links to external documentation and learning materials: Documentation (main CCR docs), Perforce Documentation, TrakCare Documentation, FAQs (with unread count badge), Known Issues, ICC Training PDFs (link to PDFs of all training PowerPoints), and ISC Quick Launch.

The CCR Record Page

When a user opens a specific CCR, the CCR Record page displays all details about that change control record. At the top of the page, a workflow breadcrumb displays all states the CCR will pass through in sequence (for example: InPREP, InBASE, BASEPendingPeerReview, BASEComplete, PendingManualMoveToTEST, InTEST, TESTComplete, and so on). The current state is highlighted, making it easy to see where the CCR is in the workflow and what steps remain.

Above the breadcrumb, an action bar shows available actions such as help, merge, clone, reassign, changeSpec, and cancel, along with the Next Transition that can be performed on the CCR.

Key fields displayed on the record include Current State, Phase, Organization, System, Open Date, Opened By, Owner, Responsible Org, Description, Priority, CCR Tier, Type-Subtype, Updates CC List, and links to related items such as iService Tickets, JIRA issues, Tech Helps, Prerequisite CCRs, and Related CCRs.

The System Details Page

The System Details page contains configuration details for each CCR System. It is accessed via Menu > Systems, where users can search for a system by name or code.

The page displays six tabs providing different views of the system:

• Info: The primary configuration tab showing System Code, Perforce Branch, Workflow Flags (which environments are enabled, e.g., "BASE; TEST; LIVE"), System Name, Description, Product, and CCR Tier. The Environment Details section on the right shows the configured environments (such as BASE, TEST, LIVE) with expandable details for each. A Create CCR button and an edit button are available.
• CCRs: Lists all CCR records associated with this system
• Advanced Controls: Provides system-level configuration options
• Recent Changelists: Shows recent Perforce changelist activity for the system
• Field Audit: Displays an audit trail of configuration changes to the system
• Undeployed Itemsets: Shows ItemSets that have been committed to Perforce but not yet deployed to all environments

The System Details page also includes an export button for downloading environment details and an Architect Controls section for advanced system management.

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Overview

CCR provides multiple channels for accessing documentation, learning resources, and answers to common questions. These resources are accessible both from within the CCR application and from external InterSystems sites. Knowing where to find the right documentation is essential for both daily CCR usage and for troubleshooting issues.

In-Application Resources

The CCR navigation menu includes a Resources section with several important links. The Documentation link provides access to the main CCR documentation. Perforce Documentation links to the Perforce Helix documentation. TrakCare Documentation links to TrakCare-specific resources. The Known Issues page lists current known problems with the CCR application. The ICC Training PDFs link provides access to PDFs of all InterSystems Change Control training PowerPoints. The ISC Quick Launch link provides shortcuts to other InterSystems tools and resources.

CCR FAQs

The FAQs section is particularly valuable for staying current with CCR changes and updates. The navigation menu displays a numbered badge next to the FAQs link showing the count of unread FAQs. This serves as a great resource for delta training, helping users learn about new features, changes, and important announcements since they last reviewed the FAQs.

The notification badge disappears after the user visits the CCR FAQs page, indicating that all current FAQs have been viewed. Any InterSystems employee can update existing FAQs or create new ones, making this a community-maintained knowledge base. Major functionality changes and updates to the CCR application are typically posted as FAQs, so checking this section regularly is important for staying current.

External Learning Resources

Several external resources support CCR learning. The All Course Content PDF is a merge of all PDFs of all training slides and is also available from the navigation menu. InterSystems Change Control (ICC) online learning courses are available at learning.intersystems.com by searching for CCR. The catalog of courses is growing, with new courses announced on the Developer Community. The CCR Online Documentation includes a full workflow diagram accessible under the State Diagram tab.

Developer Community

The InterSystems Developer Community at community.intersystems.com is an important resource for CCR questions. Users should post questions so that others may benefit from the answers. When creating a post, users should enter the group corresponding to the InterSystems product and use "CCR" as a tag. Users can subscribe to CCR-tagged posts by going to community.intersystems.com/tags/ccr and clicking the envelope icon. New courses and updates are announced on the Developer Community, so subscribing to the CCR tag is an effective way to stay informed about training opportunities.

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Overview

CCR uses specific vocabulary to describe the workflow that change control records follow. Understanding these three fundamental terms -- State, Phase, and Transition -- is essential for navigating and using CCR effectively.

State

A State represents the current position of a CCR within the workflow. At any given time, a CCR is in exactly one state. The state determines what actions are available, who is responsible for the next step in the process, and what transitions can be triggered. States are displayed prominently on the CCR Record page as both a field value and as a highlighted position in the workflow breadcrumb.

States are typically named using a combination of the environment and the status. Common states include:

• In_PREP: The CCR is being prepared; details and specifications are being filled in
• In_BASE: The CCR is active in the BASE environment; the developer is implementing the change
• BASE_Complete: Work in BASE is finished and ready for peer review
• BASE_Pending_Peer_Review: The CCR is awaiting peer review in BASE
• Pending_Manual_Move_To_TEST: Waiting for authorization to move to the TEST environment
• In_TEST: The change is being validated in the TEST environment
• Pending_Revert: Waiting for a revert action to undo a change
• Pending_Spec_Rework: The specification needs to be reworked before proceeding
• Pending_Custom_Refresh: Waiting for a custom refresh operation
• Pending_Full_Revert: Waiting for a complete revert of the change

Phase

A Phase is a collection of related states that together represent a stage in the workflow. Phases correspond roughly to the Primary Environments and provide a higher-level view of where a CCR is in the overall process. The main phases are:

• PREP: All states related to preparing the CCR before implementation work begins
• BASE: States related to implementing and reviewing the change in BASE, including In_BASE, BASE_Complete, and BASE_Pending_Peer_Review
• TEST: States related to validating the change in the TEST environment
• UAT: States related to user acceptance testing (if UAT environment is configured)
• LIVE: States related to deploying the change to production

A Phase groups together all the states that a CCR passes through while it is at a particular stage of the process. On the CCR Record page, the Phase is displayed as a field alongside the Current State, making it easy to identify both the specific position and the general stage. For example, a CCR with a State of "BASE_Pending_Peer_Review" is in the BASE Phase, indicating that it is still in the implementation stage even though coding work is complete and the CCR is awaiting review.

Transition

A Transition is the action that moves a CCR from one state to another. Transitions are triggered by users (or in some cases automatically by the system) and represent specific workflow actions. The available transitions for a CCR at any given time depend on its current state, and the CCR Record page shows the Next Transition that can be performed.

Key transitions in the default workflow include:

• markPREPComplete: Moves the CCR from In_PREP to the next state, indicating preparation is done
• markBASEComplete: Marks work in BASE as finished, advancing to peer review
• passPeerReview: Approves the peer review, allowing the CCR to proceed
• failPeerReview: Fails the peer review, sending the CCR back for rework in BASE
• authorizeAndStartMoveToTEST: Authorizes and begins the transport of changes to TEST
• authorizeFutureMoveToTEST: Authorizes a future move to TEST without starting it immediately
• startMoveToTEST: Initiates the actual transport to TEST after prior authorization
• markRevertComplete: Completes a revert action, confirming the change has been undone
• requestOverride: Requests a management override of the normal workflow
• requestCustomRefresh: Requests a custom refresh of the environment
• changeSpec: Modifies the specification of the CCR

Non-default transitions handle special situations such as reverts, custom refreshes, management overrides, and forwarding to other customer organizations. Understanding which transitions are available in each state is critical for navigating the CCR workflow efficiently and knowing what actions can be taken at each point in the process.

Default Workflow

The default workflow refers to the typical workflow path followed by most CCRs in a system. This is the standard sequence of states and transitions that a CCR passes through from creation to completion. For a system configured with BASE, TEST, and LIVE environments, the default workflow progresses through states such as In_PREP, In_BASE, BASE_Complete, BASE_Pending_Peer_Review, Pending_Manual_Move_To_TEST, In_TEST, TEST_Complete, and so on through to LIVE.

The workflow diagram in the CCR documentation shows all possible states and transitions, including non-default paths for special situations such as reverts, custom refreshes, management overrides, and forwarding to other customer organizations. The CCR Record page displays the workflow breadcrumb showing the expected sequence of states for the current CCR, with the current state highlighted. This visual representation makes it immediately clear where the CCR stands and how many steps remain before completion.

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