Environment Management

Activate User's Guide
Version
2025.1
Environment Management

The environment selector enables you to use wizards in the Stage, Configuration, and Train environments. This ability makes it possible for every project to use Activate to the fullest, no matter how the environments are being used or how the project schedule/phase planning plays out.

However, it’s important to understand the following when using this powerful functionality:

  • Activate doesn’t offer the ability to merge two environments with divergent configuration.
  • It’s still the project team's responsibility to manage and track which environment to promote to Production at any given time throughout the project lifetime
  • The Earnings, Deductions, and Benefits wizards rely on mapping. Activate doesn’t support concurrent configurations for the same codes, plans, or options.

    For example, the following isn’t supported: loading a new earning code into the Stage environment and then loading that same earning code into the Configuration environment without a backfill from the Stage environment to the Configuration environment.

The following information helps to ensure that the project is successful.

Tracking changes across environments

Some elements in Activate are tracked per environment, and some are tracked only one time per customer. Functions that work with Dayforce configuration or data directly are tracked in each environment. Functions that deal with project phases, process steps, or testing are tracked one time per customer.

When an item that is tracked per environment is changed, only the current environment reflects that change. For example, a pay policy installed in the Stage environment isn’t reflected in any other environments. These items usually move with the Dayforce database. For example, a pay policy installed in the Stage environment only shows up in the Configuration environment if you backfill the Configuration environment with a copy of the Stage database.

When an item that’s tracked one time per environment is changed, the change is reflected in all of the Activate environments. For example, steps marked complete in the AIC in the Stage environment also show as complete in other environments.

The environment name shows next to each installation in Activate Central to ensure that you’re always aware of which environment you’re signed in to.

If the initial Activate setup (for example, project and scope) has been saved in an environment and you log in to the other Activate environments, you aren’t prompted to go through the initial Activate setup again.

Promoting to Production

Before promoting to the Production environment, keep the following information in mind.

What Does and Doesn’t Do, and Your Responsibilities
  • Activate doesn’t track which environment is going to be promoted to Production.
  • Activate doesn’t merge different configurations across environments.

    If merging configuration data between environments is required, use a backfill or the Dayforce Migration (COMIT) tool.

    For example, if Benefit configuration is completed in the Stage environment and Payroll configuration is completed in the Config environment, Activate doesn’t the merge the configuration for either module between the Stage and Configuration environments. The resulting Benefit and Payroll configurations exist in the Configuration environment.

  • It’s the project team's responsibility to manage which environment is promoted to Production throughout the project.
Ideal sequence for using different environments

The following sequence ensures that only one environment is actively configured at any time. It also enables the project team to manage which environment is promoted to Production:

  1. Configure in the Stage environment.
  2. Backfill the Config environment with the Stage environment.
  3. Perform any additional configuration in the Configuration environment.
  4. Move the Config environment to the Production environment.
To make configuration changes after promotion to Production:

If you’re required to make configuration changes after promoting the customer environment to Production, the following process enables you to use Activate post Live and ensures that the Production migration path is as clean as possible.

  1. Backfill the Stage environment with the Production environment.
  2. Complete further additional configurations in the Stage environment.
  3. Use the Dayforce Migration (COMIT) tool to migrate delta configurations from the Stage environment to the Production environment.