Purpose

This page outlines the standard procedure for migrating an APRA form reporting process from a development/testing setting to the live production setting.

Scope

This procedure applies to all new and existing APRA reporting processes built based on the General Submission Model, including any that undergo significant changes requiring a formal migration to the production environment.

It does not cover form-specific configurations or bespoke processes that fall outside the General Submission Model framework.

Assumption

The manual assumes that the reader has:

• Received the Solvexia Automation Explorer certification: https://academy.solvexia.com/
• Already read the APRA Reporting Solution GSM document; and
• Read the APRA – Reporting Process Build User Manual

Pre-Production Checklist

Before initiating the move to production, ensure the following steps have been completed and verified:

• User Acceptance Testing: A final round of user acceptance testing has been completed in the TEST environment.
• Process Sign-off: Obtain formal production readiness sign-off after successful UAT and before initiating any production configuration changes.

Production Deployment Steps

Once the pre-production steps are completed, follow the steps below to deploy the APRA form reporting process to production.

Environment and Data Preparation

• Move Process to Production Folder:
  • Clone the APRA form reporting process and rename it with a ‘PROD’ prefix to distinguish it from the Test processes.
• Move the PROD copy APRA form reporting process to the PROD folder so the production processes are in one place and have a clear separation from test processes.
• Data Table Separation:
• Create separate tables for the production environment to keep production data isolated from test data.
  1. Clone the necessary test tables and rename them with the standard naming convention of APRA_{Envir}_{Table Name}. For production, {Envir} will be ‘Prod’.
  2. For example, clone APRA_Test_Submission_Scope and rename it to APRA_Prod_Submission_Scope for use by all production processes.
• Identify shared tables that don’t need to be cloned. The following tables can be shared between test and production environments: APRA_log, APRA_Reviewer_Response_Log, and APRA_XBRL_Script_Rpt.

Process Configuration

APRA Form Generation Process

1. Set Environment: In Step 1.2 process configuration, set the ‘Environment’ dropdown parameter to ‘Prod’.

   

2. Link to Production Tables:
   • All instructions and queries within the process must be updated to reference the new ‘Prod’ tables.

   • Ensure the process uses the Environment variable in all SQL queries and table references, so updating the Environment parameter in step 1.2 automatically updates the referenced table to be the production table. See the image below for an example of a table reference linked to the Environment variable.

     

   • For tables manually linked in instructions, relink them to the production tables. These tables can be found by filtering the steps to those that still link to the Test tables.

     • Navigate to the Filter Steps button at the bottom right of the process page.

       

     • Select Table for the filter resource dropdown.

       

     • Search for tables with the Test prefix and apply filter. Steps that are linked to the Test tables will be shown.

       

     • Once the tables in the steps are found, click on the link icon next to the table to relink

       .

     • Select the Production table to link to the Production process

       

   • Confirm that all tables have been successfully updated by checking the ‘Managed Table’ under the resource list of the process.

3. Update Global Templates Folder:
   • Update the ‘Global Templates’ data property in Step 1.5 of the APRA form reporting process to point to the ‘Global Template SFTP Path’ in Step 1.2 of the production Config Loader. This ensures that production submissions use the correct SFTP path and do not reference test templates.

4. Verify Configuration Details:
   • Double-check all configuration settings, such as the Environment and Global Templates SFTP folder path, are correct for the production environment.

Config Loader

1. Set up form submission configuration: In the input Configuration file located in Step 1.1 of the Config Loader:
   • Add a new row for the deployed APRA form in the ‘Config’ tab to define its submission parameters.
2. Unhide columns A–E, then copy the formulas from a comparable existing form into the corresponding cells for the new form.
   • Create a named range for the cell in column A of the new row, using the form code as the range name.
   • Hide columns A-E and save the file.
   • Upload the updated file to the Configuration File placeholder in Step 1.1 of the Config Loader
3. Publish form submission configuration: In groups 5 and 6 (depending on the form type), add a corresponding step (replicating the setup used by existing forms) to publish the submission configuration into the APRA form reporting process.

More detailed instructions on the form set up in the Config Loader can be found in the Input Data and Parameters > Submission Configuration section of the APRA – Reporting Process Build User Manual.

Maintain a Test Version

Keep a Test version of the process in the designated ‘TEST’ folder, using a ‘TEST’ prefix to distinguish it from the production version. This version should only be used when a change is required, allowing for safe testing before deploying any future updates to production. 

Access Control and Permissions

This step is recommended to safeguard production APRA form reporting processes by minimising the risk of accidental changes by users.

1. Update Resource Matrix:
   • Only Admin users are authorised to update the resource matrix and permission allocations for forms being moved to production.
   • Permissions for the User Group can be changed in the Admin Portal under Directory > Groups. After selecting the group, navigate to the Resource Matrix to assign permissions by ticking and unticking the corresponding boxes.

• Set the permission allocation to ‘Executor’ to restrict modifications to Admin users only.
• Confirm Process Permission:
• Navigate to the Designer view of the APRA form reporting process
• Under the ‘Access and permissions’ section, ensure that only the relevant user group has Executor access to the process

Post-Deployment Checklist

• Initial Production Run: Perform an initial run of the process in the production environment.
• Data Validation: Verify that the output data is correct and is being written to the ‘PROD’ tables.
• Communication of Completion: Notify the key stakeholders of the successful deployment.