A Typical Release Control Flow Using Release Trains

This section describes a typical successful flow using release trains. The flow you use in your implementation may be different.

The steps in this section assume that Release Control has been installed and configured, and that release elements have been created using the steps in Creating Release Elements.

1. Create the release train.
2. Create standalone release packages.
3. Complete construction on the release packages.
4. Deploy and validate release packages through the pre-Production environments in the deployment path.
5. Deliver production-ready release packages to the release engineering team for acceptance.
6. Optionally organize the release packages in a logical parent/child hierarchy for attachment to a release train.
   Tip: This is typically done in preparation for deploying the release train, and is therefore done after candidate release packages have been tested through test environments in a pre-production deployment path. Once it has been determined which release packages are ready to be released as part of a particular release train, the release package hierarchy can be added to the release train.
7. Add all standalone and parent release packages targeted for this release to the release train.
   Tip: Ensure the top-level release packages are associated with the production deployment path.
8. Verify and send the release train for release approval.
9. Initiate deployment so the release packages are deployed to production on their scheduled date.

After release package deployment to production is verified, the release train is closed by the release manager or a release engineer.