Creating a loop

You can create a loop to build the pipeline of tasks across the integrated applications in HCL DevOps Loop.

Before you begin

You must have completed the following tasks:

About this task

When you create a loop, DevOps Loop creates specific resources in each of the applications and also, installs and configures the required plugins. During the loop creation, when the plugins are installed and configured, personal access tokens are created in Plan, Control, Test. On loop creation, the respective users are added to the specific resources in each of the applications.
Note: Loop creator is granted the highest permissions for the resources in the integrated applications that are created by the loop. The other invited users are granted basic access. The loop creator can elevate the other users' access as required. For information on resource-specific permissions in each application, refer to the respective documentation.
Loop creation stage Description
Plan Creates an application within the same teamspace in which the loop is being created.

Also, the loop creation sets up the email for notifications related to changes in work items.

The name of the application created in Plan uses the first five characters of the loop name that is being created.
Control Creates a repository with the same name as the loop that is being created. The repository is created within the organization that is associated with the teamspace in which the loop is being created.
Code Creates no resources at this stage.
Test Creates a project with the same name as the loop. A project is created within the teamspace in which the loop is being created.
Deploy Creates an application with the same name as the loop and a team with the name, <TeamspaceName~LoopName>. Within the application, there are three empty environments such as Development, QA, and Production environment are created. Also, a template pipeline and an empty application process are created.
Plan plugin Installs and configures the Plan plugin in Measure. Installation of the plugin is a one-time activity during the creation of the first loop, whereas configuration is repeated with the creation of each new loop.

A personal access token is generated in Plan, which is used to configure the Plan plugin in Measure. These integrations facilitate data exchange between these applications.

The plugin auto-synchronizes once every 5 minutes.

The default version of the DevOps Plan plugin that is installed is 1.1.58.
Control plugin Installs and configures the Control plugin in Measure. Installation of the plugin is a one-time activity during the creation of the first loop, whereas configuration is repeated with the creation of each new loop.

A personal access token is generated in Control, which is used to configure the Control plugin in Measure.

The plugin auto-synchronizes once every 5 minutes.

The default version of the DevOps Control plugin that is installed is 1.0.5.
Deploy plugin Installs and configures the Deploy plugin in Measure. Installation and configuration of the plugin is a one-time activity during the creation of the first loop in the platform.

An access token is generated in Deploy, which is used to configure the Deploy plugin in Measure.

The plugin auto-synchronizes once every 5 minutes.

The default version of the DevOps Deploy plugin is 4.0.9.

Test plugin Installs and configures the Test plugin in Measure. Installation of the plugin is a one-time activity during the creation of the first loop, whereas configuration is repeated with the creation of each new loop.

An offline user token is generated in Test, which is used to configure the Test plugin in Measure.

The plugin does not auto-synchronize. For more information, refer to the Test Hub plugin documentation.

The default version of the DevOps Test plugin is 1.0.27.
Control Plan integration Integrates Control and Plan so that any change in the repository such as pull requests, commits, and branch creation in Control is linked to the work items in Plan. The title of the pull request ID should start with the work item ID. The branch name that you use should be the work item ID for proper syncing of data.

The changes are logged in the SCM Event section of the respective work item in Plan.

A personal access token is created in Plan to configure a webhook in Control.
Test Plan integration

A personal access token is created in Plan to create an integration with Test Hub. This integration helps to create work items in Plan from Test Hub.

You can verify this integration by opening your project in Test Hub that is associated with the loop and navigating to Manage > Integration > Change Management.
Test Control integration Maps the repository that was previously created in Control to the project that is associated with the loop in Test Hub.

You can view the Control repository that is configured in Test Hub by navigating to Manage > Configuration > Repositories. This integration enables Test Hub to pull test assets from the Control repository.
Measure Creates a value stream and a pipeline associated with the team that is created as part of loop creation:

  • Creates a team (with name as <TeamspaceName~LoopName Team). Adds the creator and admin user to that team with all team-level permissions to them. The other invited members are added just as a viewer.

  • A value stream is created, and inside the value stream, a pipeline is created by using the application data from Deploy. This value stream is associated with only the team of the current loop.
Analytics

Creates a set of dashboards in OpenSearch for the loop that is being created.

Procedure

  1. Click Teamspace > <teamspace_name> to navigate to your teamspace.
  2. Perform one of the following actions:
    • Click Create Loop on the home page of your teamspace.
    • Click Add New Loop on the My Loops page.
    The Define Loop tab is displayed.
  3. Enter a name for the loop in Enter loop name in the Define Loop tab.
    Important: The first five characters for the loop name must always be unique, and they should not be reused while creating another loop.
  4. Optional: Enter details about the loop in Description.
  5. Click Next.
    The Invite Members tab is displayed.
  6. Enter the email ID of the team member to be added to the loop in Search members.
    The search results are displayed as you start typing the email ID. You can also select an ID from the search result.
  7. Click Add.
  8. Click Create.
    A progress bar is displayed, which is followed by a success message.
  9. Click Go To My Loops.
    The My Loops page is displayed with the dashboard of the newly created loop.

Results

You have created a loop to build the pipeline of tasks across the integrated applications.

What to do next

You can perform a set of tasks after the loop creation. See Tasks after creating a loop.