Transition
Stage 5 in the Lifecycle
Transition moves new or changed products and related resources into live environments safely and encompasses supplier onboarding and offboarding when those relationships affect live operations.
Official purpose
The purpose of transition is to introduce new or updated products into operational environments smoothly, and to manage effective onboarding and offboarding of suppliers.
Built solutions must reach live environments -- whether the organization's own, consumer-facing, or marketplace environments. Modern products aim for smooth updates while legacy systems often require careful planning.
Key definitions
- Deployment means moving a service component into a controlled environment
- Release refers to a version or set of products made available for use
- Continuous delivery allows deployment to production anytime (human approval required)
- Continuous deployment automatically deploys changes passing automated tests
High-level workflow (four steps)
Assess solutions and transition requirements
Plan transition activities; confirm resource availability
Execute transition plans
Communicate transition results to stakeholders
Related management practices
| Practice | Role in Transition |
|---|---|
| Change Enablement | Controls change |
| Release Management | Plans and packages releases |
| Deployment Management | Executes deployment |
| Service Validation and Testing | Final checks |
| Knowledge Management | Knowledge transfer |
Success metrics
Examples include:
- Change success rates
- Failed changes
- Lead time to deploy
- Release frequency
- Rollback rates