Transport Release — CTS Workflow Management

This skill manages the release and promotion of transport requests through the SAP transport landscape. It enforces quality gates before each release and ensures proper CTS discipline.

Iron Laws

1. NEVER RELEASE WITHOUT PRE-RELEASE CHECKS. Every transport must pass: syntax check on all objects, ATC run clean, unit tests pass, no inactive objects, and no missing dependencies.

1. NEVER SKIP IMPORT SEQUENCE. Transports release in dependency order. If Transport B depends on Transport A, A must be imported first. Out-of-sequence imports cause dump-at-import.

1. NEVER RELEASE DIRECTLY TO PRODUCTION. All transports follow DEV → QAS → PRD. No direct modifications to production objects. No emergency transports without documented justification and post-release review.

1. ALWAYS VERIFY AFTER IMPORT. After importing into each target system, verify: no import errors, objects active, no short dumps in SM21, application works as expected.

<HARD-GATE> Before releasing any transport:

1. All objects in the transport compile without syntax errors
2. No inactive objects remain (SE80 → Inactive Objects)
3. ATC run completed with zero P1/P2 findings
4. All unit tests pass
5. Transport description follows standard: "[Module]-[Type]-[Brief description]"
6. No unauthorized objects included (cross-check with the development task scope)

</HARD-GATE>

Release Process

Step 1 — Transport Inventory

Document the transport contents:

• Transport number and description
• All objects included (type, name, action: create/modify/delete)
• Owner and development task
• Dependencies on other transports

Step 2 — Pre-Release Checks

Run all checks before releasing:

• Syntax check on every object
• ATC with project check variant
• Unit test execution for all modified classes
• Inactive object check (must be zero)
• Cross-reference check (no missing includes/dependencies)

Step 3 — Release from Development

• Release the task (developer level)
• Release the request (project lead level)
• Verify transport log is clean (return code 0 or 4, NOT 8 or 12)

Step 4 — QAS Import & Verification

• Import into quality assurance system
• Verify import log (RC 0 or 4)
• Run smoke tests in QAS
• Verify no new short dumps (SM21)
• Get QA sign-off

Step 5 — Production Import

• Schedule production import during maintenance window
• Import with appropriate options (R3trans flags)
• Verify import log
• Run production verification tests
• Monitor SM21 and ST22 for 24 hours post-import

Transport Description Standard

[MODULE]-[TYPE]-[Description]

Examples:
FI-ENH-Custom payment block logic for vendor invoices
MM-FIX-Purchase order pricing condition type determination
SD-NEW-Customer credit check enhancement via BAdI
BC-CFG-Transport route configuration for new QAS client

Verification

• [ ] All pre-release checks passed
• [ ] Transport released with clean log
• [ ] QAS import successful with RC ≤ 4
• [ ] QAS verification completed
• [ ] Production import scheduled/completed per process
• [ ] Post-import monitoring confirms no issues

Next Skill

After transport release: hypercare (for post-deployment monitoring)

Cross-References

• autopilot — Creates objects that need transport management
• go-live-readiness — Verifies all transports are released and imported before go-live
• self-correcting-loop — Fixes issues found during pre-release checks