This topic explains the basic principles of the lifecycle based on branches with some examples. These examples are based on the following simple solution landscape with a production branch, a maintenance branch and a development branch:

As example for the Solution Documentation, we use the following scenario in the production branch with one process and three process steps:

Before any changes were made in the development branch, the content in the development branch does not differ from the production branch. In the following graphics, all unchanged elements have the same color like the elements in the production branch.

Now some changes are made in development branch. An existing process step is modified and a new process step is added. The unchanged elements have the color of the parent branch production. The changed elements in the branch have the color of the development branch.

These changes in the development branch are not visible in the production branch:

Then some changes are made in the maintenance branch. A process and a process step are modified and a new process is added:

These changes of the maintenance branch are not yet visible in any other branch context.

Now the these changes in the maintenance branch have been released, and the production branch is updated:

The non-conflicting changes that have been done in production branch are also visible in the development branch. The conflicting change of process step Post incoming invoice in the production branch is not visible in the development branch: