Key terminology#

This topic included terms and concepts used within the UrbanCode Velocity environment.

• Activities

  Refer to item such as: releases, events, and deployment plans.

• API

  The application program interface (API) describes how clients interact with UrbanCode™Velocity services. You can use an HTTP client to access the API endpoints.

• Application

  The term 'application' refers to processes integrated into UrbanCode™Velocity from tools such as UrbanCode Deploy, Jenkins, and SonarQube. You can also load applications into UrbanCode™Velocity by using the API.

• Auto task

  Refers to task that start automatically as soon as they are eligible to run. Examples of auto task types include: UrbanCode Deploy, Continuous Delivery pipeline, email, and Slack.

• Dashboard

  Dashboards contain collections of user-defined data filters and metric charts. Dashboards are used to analyze project data for their quality and efficiency.

• Dependent task

  A task that is dependent on another task to complete before it starts. The task that a dependent task waits for is called a prerequisite task. Dependent tasks cannot start until all its prerequisite tasks are resolved. Dependent tasks are used to ensure that tasks run in the expected order.

• Deployment

  The activities used to deliver a software project to a deployment target. Typically, you run deployments for each stage of your release lifecycle, ending with the production stage when the software becomes generally available. The activities that are performed during a deployment, called tasks, are defined in deployment plans. You start a deployment by starting one of the plan's eligible tasks. You complete a deployment by resolving all the tasks in the deployment plan.

• Dots

  see Particles.

• Duration

  The time a task takes to run. Duration is measured from the time a task starts until it is resolved. When you create some task types, you can estimate its expected duration. Duration is reported in minutes.

• Environment

  A collection of resources that identify the components that can be deployed by the parent application, along with the agents that do the work.

• Events

  Events are release-related activities that are applied to releases and tracked with the calendar. You can use events to organize your releases and other time-dependent activities, such as holidays and blackouts.

• Execution pattern

  Refers to the order in which tasks in a deployment plan become eligible to run. By default, a plan's execution pattern is sequential. Sequential tasks run in order beginning with the first task in the plan. You can combine tasks into groups and assign the parallel execution pattern to the group. Parallel tasks can run in any order and run simultaneously.

• Insights

  Refers to a set of related features: metric data dashboards, UrbanCode Deploy reports, and the application portfolio.

• Integration

  Refers to regularized communication between UrbanCode Velocity and external products and services. Communication with integrated products can be bidirectional.

• Metric data

  Tools, such as charts and graphs, applied to project data in order to assess project quality and progress.

• Metric definition

  A JSON object that defines expected value types and chart default. You can create your own custom metric definitions.

• Particles

  A particle, or dot, is a value stream unit of work, such as a pull request, build, or deployment. Units of work can be combined, such as commits and pull requests, which significantly enhances the data quality of value streams.

• Pipeline

  A pipeline is a sequence of stages that retrieve input and run applications and jobs, such as builds, tests, and deployments.

• Plug-in

  A separately installable software module that adds function to an existing program, application, or interface.

• Portfolio

  This feature collects application information in one location where you can analyze the data with metric charts and graphs.

• Process

  In UrbanCode Deploy, processes define automation activities, such as deploying components.

• Tag

  A label that you can apply to tasks or releases. When applied to tasks, tags can determine task applicability for a given deployment. When applied to releases, tags can be used to organize and filter releases.

• Task

  Represents a business-meaningful activity that has starting and ending points and a measurable duration. Durations are used to estimate deployment times. You add tasks to deployment plans. When you run a deployment, you complete the tasks in the plan

• Task group

  You can combine two or more tasks into a task group. When you form a group, you define the group's execution pattern, either sequential or parallel.

• Team

  A team is a collection of users and groups.

• Value stream

  A value stream represents the objects and activities that you employ to deliver customer value, from initial concept to final delivered project. The value stream provides a strategic window into your project workflow and enables you to drill-down to individual objects. The objects, such as builds, pull requests, issues, and tests, come from tools that you integrate into the value stream. Individual objects are represented graphically by dots or particles.

• Version

  Represents an UrbanCode Deploy application snapshot.

Parent topic: Overview of UrbanCode Velocity