Transport Workflow

The transport workflow provides a framework for transporting enhancements or new developments of existing business functions in a system landscape. It provides a direct connection between development and transport administration. The transport workflow manages the transport process, determines the user for each individual step automatically, and then displays an interface which they can use to perform the task directly.

It is an efficient method of transporting a selected number of requests into a group of transport targets, and uses clearly defined approval steps to ensure the quality of your target systems. The requests can be transportable change requests, Customizing requests, relocation transports or transports of copies. The transport targets do not need to be located on defined transport routes. However, the transport workflow can involve some risks, caused by the dependencies between transport requests:

Import sequence

It is important that you import requests in the correct order, so that development work is up-to-date in the target system.
Incompleteness:

It is important that the functions transported in the transport proposal are complete; otherwise errors may occur in the import system.

Example
A request is not imported, but it contains an important data element. You use another request to transport a table that references this data element. Since the referenced data element does not exist in the target system, activation errors will occur when you import the second request.

The transport workflow is a generic workflow. Its ability to process the transport route configuration in TMS enables it to adapt itself to any system landscape. This means you can transport multiple requests into multiple targets, even if these targets are not located on the transport routes.

This reduces the amount of work for the transport administrator significantly. The automated nature of the workflow also reduces the likelihood of errors during transports.

You can use the transport workflow in two different ways.

Transport workflow as a transport strategy

If you have production systems in your landscape that can only accept approved transports, we recommend that you use the transport workflow to organize and coordinate the transport process.

To do this, set Workflow-controlled transports as your transport strategy and configure the transport workflow.

Note
When you release a transport request, the transport workflow starts automatically and the screen Create Transport Proposal appears. The requests are then released implicitly when the transport proposal is sent to the transport administrator.
Special transport workflow (mass transports)

You can use the special transport workflow to make transports that do not follow the defined transport routes or that take place outside the normal transport schedule (part of the mass transport strategy). These transports may be corrections made in the development system that have to be transported into the production system without delay.

To use the special transport workflow, set Mass transports as your transport strategy and configure the transport workflow.

Prerequisites

You have configured the transport workflow for your system.
The users involved in the transport workflow have a user in the Workflow Engine system/client.
One or more users have transport administration authorization.

Process

The developer creates a transport proposal in the Transport Organizer. This proposal contains the required transport requests. The transport proposal then appears in the TMS worklist of the transport administrator. The administrator can then approve or reject the transport proposal. The transport administrator can also make changes to the transport proposal, for example change its contents and the transport target.

After a transport proposal has been approved, the TMS imports the transport requests automatically into the specified target systems. If the proposal is rejected, it is sent back to the transport proposal inbox for revision by the responsible developer. If the import is successful, the proposal is sent back to the transport proposal inbox to be confirmed by the creator of the proposal. The developer can complete the proposal by confirming it, or apply to have it transported into other systems.

We recommend that you only use the transport workflow to transport into those target systems defined by the direct transport routes. Only in the next step should you work out which are the next direct target systems, and then apply to transport into them. This is the best way to keep the transport landscape consistent and complete.

Note

The transport administrator can also set the transport workflow so that only the direct target systems defined on the transport routes can be selected in the Create Transport Proposal step, and not the whole transport landscape. (See also Setting Direct Target Systems).

The transport workflow writes an action log for each transport proposal. This log contains all development and transport activities, allowing you to check on the entire process.

Developers and transport administrators can communicate directly by writing notes.