Document the application lifecycle

The application lifecycle describes the succession of stages that the application goes through over time. Alfabet FastLane allows all stages of an application's lifecycle to be documented from its phase-in to its phase-out of the organization. This can include any or all stages from the application's identification, planning the build and deployment, putting it into production, and sundowning it. A robust application lifecycle management includes versioning and planning for successor applications to ensure that IT continues to support critical business areas.

Not all company's document their application lifecycles and it is not mandatory in Alfabet FastLane. However, robust application lifecycle management is key to the health to the business and helps you to understand identify and manage lifecycle conflicts. By documenting the lifecycles of the applications in your application portfolio, you will be able to identify which applications are approaching end-of-life but have no defined successor applications. Furthermore, you can understand whether relevant technologies are in place during the lifecycle of an application. With this insight, you can plan, communicate, and take corrective action for applications that are at risk and ensure the availability and reliability of applications for the company.

In Alfabet FastLane, an application lifecycle consists of the following stages:

• Plan: The application has been identified and evaluated for possible use in company
• Pilot: A test system has been set up and the application is undergoing detailed testing.
• Production: The application is being used in company.
• Sundown: The application is still available but it is not intended to be used for daily work.
• Retire: The application should no longer be used but could be temporarily restored if urgently needed.

The object state specifies the operational status of the application in the enterprise. The object state Active corresponds to the start and end dates of the application.

Gantt reports that visualize the application lifecycle will also reflect the application’s active period which is when the application is actually being used in the enterprise. This object state typically corresponds to the application’s start and end dates and should be set to Active when the active is in use.

The active period usually corresponds to the lifecycle phases that represent when the application is in production, but this will depend on your company's lifecycle management methodology. For example, the active period could begin when the lifecycle phase Pilot starts and end when the lifecycle phase Production ends. Or it could be that the active period begins when the lifecycle phase Production starts and ends when when the lifecycle phase Production ends.

Define the application's lifecycle. To do so, either:

• Click the Edit button to open the wizard and select Lifecycle in the Go to Step field
• In the data table, click the navigate  button of the application you want to define. Click Overview and scroll to the Lifecycle page and open it.

• Add lifecycle phases to the application lifecycle. Include lifecycle phases by setting a checkmark in the checkbox for the lifecycle phase in the left pane. Only lifecycle phases that are selected can be defined.
• Set the start and end of a lifecycle phase. In the timeline, select a lifecycle phase (colored bar) and drag the handles to define the start and end dates for the lifecycle phase. Select the Keep Phases Duration checkbox to retain the current definition in the adjacent lifecycle phases . If you do not select the Keep Phases Duration checkbox, the adjacent lifecycle phases will increase or decrease proportionally.
• Set the start and end of the active period. Click the red bar for the active period and drag the handles to define the start and end dates for the active period. The selected object’s start and end dates will change correspondingly.
• Align the start and and of the active period with the lifecycle phase. Click Align Active Period to automatically align the start/end dates of the active period with the start/end dates of the lifecycle phases that begin and end the active period.