Create a Change Activity Plan

When you create a plan, you specify the tasks required to complete the plan. When you define tasks, you:

Associate targets with the tasks.
Define dependencies between tasks. By setting dependencies, you provide a warning signal that a dependent task should not be started until the task it is depending on is completed or canceled either automatically or when marked as completed by the task owner. This provides the ability for task owners to detect when their tasks should be performed.
Specify a task hierarchy that contains nested groups of tasks with related dependencies. Using task groups, you can organize your tasks and structure the flow of how your plan should be processed.
Either auto-assign tasks on plan activation or manually assign tasks on plan activation.
Specify custom instructions for completing the task or select a patch template that should be applied to the targets.
Specify whether the system will automatically detect that the task is complete or whether the owner of the task will manually close the task.

To create a Change Activity Plan:

From the Enterprise menu select Configuration, then select Change Activity Plans.
On the Change Activity Plans page, click Create. This activates the Create Plan Wizard.
On the Create Plan: Properties page, provide general information:
- Name
- Target type - A plan's target type determines the types of targets that can be associated with the plan's tasks.
- Priority - When managing a plan, priority may be used to indicate the order of importance of ensuring task ownership is assigned and completion dates are met.
- Description - Provide pertinent information.
- External Links - You can also add Links to documentation pertinent to the plan. For example, a link could be one document that explains a specific patch set, a specific internal procedure or policy, the set of applications impacted by the task, and so on. Provide a name for the link and type the URL.
Click Next.
In the Create menu on the Create Plan: Task Definitions page, select either Task Group or Task Definition to create a hierarchy of task actions to perform in this plan.

See Creating a Task Definition and Creating a Task Group for detailed information.

Click Next.
On the Create Plan: Schedule page, you can:
- Activate the plan immediately or at a time in the future.
- Determine the duration or date by which the plan needs to be completed. Specify either the exact date by which the plan needs to be completed or the completion date relative to when the plan is activated.
- Assign tasks automatically or manually. If you choose to manually assign tasks, assign the tasks after the plan has been activated. If you choose to assign tasks automatically, tasks will be assigned to target owners when the plan is activated. See Assigning Tasks to the Group Owner for information on how to create a Task Owner.
Note:
You can leave this Activate page blank until you are ready to activate the plan.

Click Next.
On the Create Plan: Review page, ensure all the information you have entered is as you intended. If updates are necessary, click the Back button and make the necessary changes.

To save your in-progress plan definition, go to the end of the flow (the Review step), and click the Save and Exit button.

Note:

The information on this page is not saved until you click Save and Exit or Activate Plan on the Create Plan: Review page.

Creating a Task Definition

When creating a task definition, provide the following information:

Type the name for the task. Task group and task definition names should be unique within a plan

Note: If you select an existing task, you can create a task before, after, in parallel, or inside the selected task. If you select Before or After, it specifies the order in which the tasks should be performed, and sets the task dependencies accordingly. If you decide that you do not like the order, you can change the order by using Move or Set Dependency.
Select the target type the task definition is associated with.

Use the NONE option when a task definition is not based on a target.
Select the task type. The options are:
- Custom (or Manual)
  
  A custom task is one that you define. Custom tasks may include tasks you do manually, typically outside Enterprise Manager, but want to account for as part of the plan.
  
  Provide enough information in the Action field for the task owner to complete the task, or add a URL to the Links section with instructions for the task.
  
  In addition, specify how to verify that the task is completed.
  - Select Task owner will update the status to indicate that the task owner will manually mark the task as completed when appropriate. Tasks can be marked as completed from the Manage Plan page or from the My Tasks page.
  - Select Use evaluation results from the compliance standard rule to update the status to indicate that the task should be automatically marked as completed when a target is compliant with the selected compliance rule. Click the magnifying glass to access the Search and Select Compliance Standard Rule dialog box to select the compliance rule from the list of rules appropriate for the task target type.
- Patch Plan
  
  When you select this option, use the Patch Template dialog box to select a patch template which specifies the list of patches that should be applied to the targets for the task.
  
  The tasks for each target in this task definition will be closed automatically when the system detects that the patches have been deployed to the target.
  
  You can add more instructions in the Action field, or add a URL in the Links section that leads to more information for the task owner.
- Job
  
  This option enables the plan creator to create tasks based on jobs. Click the magnifying glass to access the Search and Select Job dialog box to select the job to be executed.
  
  The task owner submits a job for the task or associates the task with an existing job execution. Use either the My Tasks page or the Manage Plan Tasks tab for submitting jobs and associating tasks.
  
  A library job must be associated with the task. Only those library jobs whose target type matches the task's target type will be available for selection.
  
  There are a number of ways to specify when a task is completed.
  - Task is marked as complete when the job completes successfully. This is the default.
    
    Once a day CAP updates the job-based tasks based on the status of their associated job executions. To immediately update the status of a job-based task, select it in the My Tasks page or the Manage Plan Tasks tab.
  - Task is manually marked as complete by the task owner.
  - Task is marked as complete based on the evaluation of a compliance rule.
  Note: When selecting a job for use with a CAP task, ensure that task owners have the appropriate access to the job and any appropriate job runs or executions. You can change the access to a job from the Job Library page. When creating a job, or editing the job later, select the Access tab. Add access for the appropriate users. Failure to grant the proper access will prevent task owners from viewing the job associated with their task.
- Deployment Procedure
  
  Enables the plan creator to associate a deployment procedure with a task definition. Click the magnifying glass to access the Search and Select Deployment Procedure dialog box and select the appropriate deployment procedure.
  
  Note: Only configured deployment procedures will be available for selection. To create a configured deployment procedure, select a procedure from the Procedure Library page. Click the Launch button, fill in desired attributes, and then save the configuration.
  
  The task owner can associate a CAP task with a procedure run which has been launched from the Procedure Library. Ensure that the task owners have permission to view the necessary procedure runs.
  
  There are a number of ways to specify when a task is completed.
  - Task is marked as complete when the deployment procedure completes successfully. This is the default.
  - Task is manually marked as complete by the task owner.
  - Task is marked as complete based on the evaluation of a compliance rule.
  Note: When selecting a deployment procedure for use with a CAP task, ensure that task owners have the appropriate access to the procedure definition and any procedure runs for the selected procedure. You can edit the access for procedure definitions from the Procedure Library page. You can edit the access for procedure executions from the Procedure Activity page. After launching a procedure, Edit Permissions for the procedure execution associated with the CAP task, and grant permission to the appropriate administrators. Failure to grant the proper access will prevent task owners from viewing the procedure associated with their task.
Provide the action for this task definition, for example, schedule a blackout, backup a database, and so on.
Select the verification method. The methods displayed are dependent on the type of task. Methods include:
- Task owner will manually update the status
- Use status from job execution to update the status
- Use status from procedure run to update the status
- Use evaluation results from the compliance standard rule to update the status. Select the compliance standard rule.
Patch plan deployments are automatically verified by the system.
Click Add to add links to documentation pertinent to the task definition. Provide a name for the link and type the URL.
Click Next.

Note: The information on this page is not saved until you click Save and Exit or Activate Plan on the Create Plan: Review page.

Setting Dependencies

When you add task definitions to the plan, using the Add After or Add Before options automatically set a task dependency to specify the order in which the tasks should be completed. If you want to change the order, use the Move option to move a single task before or after another task.

You can manually specify a dependency between task definitions to indicate whether a task definition should be completed before another one starts. Use Set Dependency to move a task and all the tasks after it to be performed after another task. To set a dependency, select a task definition and click Set Dependency located in the toolbar. Specify the task definition that should be completed before the selected one starts. This does not prevent the task owner from completing a task definition out of order, but the task owner will be able to see the dependency and will be warned that the task definition should wait until the dependency is completed.

Dependencies can only be created on task definitions that are defined at the same level of the task definition tree, and that appear above the selected task definition.

Moving Task Definitions

Task definitions can be moved to a different location in the tree by selecting a task definition and clicking the Move button. Note that this does not affect the order of task definition execution, unless by moving the task definition a dependency must be removed. Moving a task definition in or out of a task group can affect the targets added to the task definition if the target is inherited from the task group.

Note: The information on this page is not saved until you click Save and Exit on the Create Plan: Review page.

Adding Targets

Click Add Targets to select the targets associated with the task. To activate the plan, there must be at least one target associated with each task except for tasks with None as the target type.

If the target type for the plan is a system, tasks will only be created for targets in the system appropriate to the task definition.

Note the following:

You can only add targets that correspond to the target type for the plan. If the target type for the plan is a system, tasks will only be created for targets appropriate to the task definition.

For example, if the plan target type is a Database System and the task definition is for a Listener, tasks will be created for any Listener targets associated with the Database Systems you select.
Assigning targets to task groups

If you assign targets to a task group, the targets will also be added to all the tasks within the group.
If a task specifies a target type, at least one target must be associated with it before the plan can be activated.
To see which targets are added to a task or task group, select the task definition and click the Edit Targets button, or the target count in the table.

The Edit Targets dialog box will show the targets added directly to the selected task, as well as the targets inherited from enclosing task groups.

Creating a Task Group

Use task groups to organize tasks. Task groups are useful for assigning targets to tasks. When targets are added to a task group, the targets will also be added to the tasks inside the group.

Provide the following information:

Type the name for the task group. Task group and task definition names should be unique within a plan.

Note: If you select an existing task group, you can create a task group (or task definition) before, after, in parallel, or inside the selected task group. If you select Before or After, it specifies the order in which the task groups (or task definitions) should be performed, and sets the task group (task definition) dependencies accordingly. If you decide that you do not like the order, you can change the order by using Move or Set Dependency.
Provide a description of the task group, for example, what is the purpose of the group. A task group is a folder used to group related task definitions.
Click OK.

Note: The information on this page is not saved until you click Save and Exit on the Create Plan: Review page.