Simplex Release Cycle Overview

The Simplex release cycle is organized into three sequential stages that guide an extension from active editing through to publication, see the diagram below.

1. Editing

   • This is the active development phase.

   • Key activities include:

     • Dependency configuration (linking to a parent or international edition and updating dependency versions).

     • Content development, where content managers upload and modify extension content.

     • Validation, where automated checks are run to identify issues (with the ability to rerun validation if errors occur).

     • Review, allowing users to inspect changes via a daily build and download reports (e.g., XLS).

   • Any system or validation errors must be resolved before moving forward.

2. Preparing Release

   • This stage begins once editing is complete.

   • It focuses on:

     • Release validation, ensuring the content is technically and semantically sound.

     • Final content review, confirming that all changes are correct and approved.

   • The release cannot proceed until these checks are completed and content changes are approved.

3. Release Ready for Publication

   • The final stage before completion.

   • Includes a technical review to confirm the extension meets publication requirements.

   • Once ready, the extension can be published, completing the release cycle.

Accessing the Release Cycle in Simplex

1. Open your extension in Simplex.

2. From the left-hand menu, select Manage Edition.

3. The Manage Edition page displays the current release cycle, showing progress from editing through to publication and providing access to validation, review, and release actions.

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Overview

Release Management in Simplex ensures that new versions of SNOMED CT Extensions or Editions are delivered in a controlled, consistent, and predictable way.

The release process involves multiple stakeholders and may include third-party contributors. Effective release management ensures that technical, content, and governance aspects of a release are considered holistically, from the end of the Editing cycle through to publication.

Scope of Release Management

In Simplex, Release Management covers all activities required to move an extension from content completion to publication, including:

• Release design and configuration

• Validation of content and dependencies

• Coordination and scheduling of release activities

• Review, approval, and publication of releases across environments

These activities ensure that releases are traceable, secure, and aligned with agreed quality standards.

The Release Manager is accountable for ensuring that all content created during the Editing cycle is ready for release in Simplex.

This role acts as the central point of coordination between contributors, validators, and stakeholders, ensuring that content is complete, validated, approved, and suitable for publication.

Key responsibilities include:

• Confirming that externally developed content is complete and correctly integrated into Simplex

• Managing dependencies and release configuration

• Running and reviewing validation checks

Validation and review are central to Release Management in Simplex.

During this phase, the Release Manager ensures that:

• Release-level validation is run and passed

• Validation findings are reviewed and resolved

• All content changes are formally reviewed and approved

Only once these conditions are met can the release progress toward publication.

Successful publication marks the completion of the release cycle and makes the SNOMED CT Extension available for use.

Before publishing a release, the Release Manager ensures that:

• The exact scope and content of the release are agreed and finalised

• All checks, validations, and approvals have been completed

• Communications and stakeholder expectations are managed

Simplex provides structured workflows and controls to support a wide range of release scenarios, from small incremental updates to complex, multi-stakeholder releases, while maintaining consistency and quality. The effort required for Release Management, therefore, depends on factors such as:

• The scope and complexity of the release

• The volume and type of content changes

• The involvement of external contributors or third-party suppliers

Overview

In Simplex, the Editing cycle represents the phase in which extension content is created and prepared for release. While Simplex manages the overall lifecycle of an extension, the actual content development and editing activities take place outside of Simplex, using SNOMED International’s open authoring tools.

The Editing cycle brings together content produced by contributors and prepares it for validation and release through Simplex.

Content Development Outside Simplex

Simplex does not function as a primary authoring tool. Instead, it acts as an integration and release management platform that consumes content developed in external systems.

During the Editing cycle, content may be created and maintained using the following tools:

• Snap2SNOMED

  Used for creating and maintaining maps. Please see

• Refset and Translation Tool

  Used for creating SNOMED CT subsets, including simple reference sets within the extension. Please see

• SNOMED CT Translation Tool

  Used for creating and maintaining translations of SNOMED CT content. Please see

• Spreadsheets

  Used for creating new concepts, including simple modelled concepts required for the extension. Please see

These activities are typically carried out by extension contributors including subject matter experts (clinical and terminological), and members of the National Release Center.

The purpose of the Editing cycle in Simplex is to bring externally created content together so that it can be validated and prepared for release.

At the end of the Editing cycle:

• Content must be in a format suitable for import into Simplex

• All required content types must be complete

• Dependencies must be correctly configured. This means that the content of the various derivatives and extension content should depend on the version of International Edition specified as the dependency for this release, please see )

Once content has been successfully integrated and validated, the Editing cycle is considered complete and the extension can progress to release preparation.

Video

This video explains how to start a new release cycle in Simplex. - You will learn how to select and upgrade your extension's dependency version to prepare for content development.

Step by Step Instructions

1. Navigate To Manage Edition

To start a new release cycle in Simplex, navigate to the Manage Edition section to begin managing your extension's release cycle.

2. Open Current Editing Site Window

The "Manage Edition" interface shows the different phases of the release cycle - starting with the editing phase. - Steps for preparing the release and publication are grayed out. These steps will be actionable once the new editing process is complete.

3. Review Dependency Configuration

In the editing phase, first set the dependency configuration. -- The parent edition that the extension in this example depends on is the International Edition, January 2024 version.

4. Identify New Version Availability

The blue link indicates a new version is available due to one or more releases of the International Edition since the current version.

Start the release cycle by clicking the link to select the new version your extension will depend on.

In this demonstration, we will select the January 2025 version.

Now - Run the dependency upgrade process to set the new version as the dependency for your extension.

The system upgrades the dependency and enters maintenance mode to apply the new version settings. This may take a bit of time.

The new version will be used to validate all artifacts and derivatives within your extension. It will also be the version used for classifying any concepts created in your extension.

Once complete, the new version, such as the January 2025 edition, is set as the dependency.

You are now ready to proceed to the content development phase, where you update all artefacts and derivatives.

For more information, see the related videos on content development and release management.

Validation is a key step in the Editing Cycle in Simplex. Its purpose is to ensure that all content incorporated into the extension forms a technically valid SNOMED CT Edition package before release preparation can begin.

Simplex runs the full set of SNOMED CT validations provided by SNOMED International. These validations are applied after content from multiple external authoring tools has been compiled into a release structure within Simplex.

Validation helps identify issues early, ensures consistency across content types, and protects the quality of the final release.

Validation is initiated directly from the Editing stage.

To run validation:

The Review stage begins once validation has completed successfully. At this point, all automated checks have finished and the focus shifts to confirming and understanding the changes that have been made since the last release.

The review stage is used to:

• Confirm what content has changed

• Check that changes align with the intended scope of work