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Quick start guides

Role-specific guides to help you get productive with VDC quickly. Choose the path that best matches your responsibilities and goals.

Choose Your Role

Validation Engineers

Goal: Find and use existing ingredients for validation activities, testing, and platform integration.

Prerequisites

Quick Start Steps

Step 1: Learn to Find Ingredients

  1. Visit VDC Portal
  2. Try ingredient search: Click "VDC Ingredients" in top navigation
  3. Search for common components: Try "BIOS", "IFWI", or "unified-patch"
  4. Explore results: Click ingredient names to see details and releases
  5. Understand dependencies: Check what each ingredient depends on

Step 2: Master Download Process

  1. Find a release you need through ingredient search, or using the release search by ID at the top navigation
  2. Navigate to Ingredient View by clicking the ingredient name
  3. Browse releases table to find the version you want
  4. Download packages using the download icon
  5. Check release details by clicking on release rows

Step 3: Set Up Basic CLI (Optional)

  1. Install VDC CLI: Follow CLI installation guide
  2. Set up authentication: Request token and store as environment variable
  3. Explore CLI commands

Key Resources

Pro Tips

  • Use dependency trees to understand component relationships
  • Check Used-By tabs to see what might be affected by changes
  • Bookmark frequently used ingredients for quick access
  • Set up CLI for batch downloads if you work with many components

Developers

Goal: Create and manage your own ingredients, submit releases with proper versioning and dependency tracking.

Prerequisites

  • VDC-USERS AGS group membership
  • Access to VDC Portal
  • Project User access to relevant project (contact project admin)
  • Understanding of your ingredient's dependencies and validation requirements

Quick Start Steps

Step 1: Create Your First Ingredient

  1. Navigate to your project's feed in VDC Portal
  2. Follow Creating a new Ingredient instruction

Step 2: Submit Your First Release

  1. Follow submission instruction

Step 3: Set Up CLI for automation

  1. Install and authenticate: Follow CLI getting started
  2. Practice Release commands
  3. Integrate with builds: Add CLI commands to your build scripts

Key Resources

Pro Tips

  • Plan your versioning strategy before creating ingredients
  • Use meaningful descriptions in releases for better traceability
  • Set up dependencies carefully to enable impact analysis
  • Automate submissions through CI/CD pipelines for consistency

DevOps Teams

Goal: Automate ingredient management, set up workflows, and integrate VDC into CI/CD pipelines.

Prerequisites

  • VDC-USERS AGS group membership
  • Project Admin access (for workflow creation) or Project User access (for workflow execution)
  • Experience with CI/CD tools and automation scripting

Quick Start Steps

Step 1: Master VDC CLI

  1. Install CLI on automation systems: Use CLI installation guide
  2. Set up secure authentication: Generate tokens and store in CI/CD secrets
  3. Practice essential commands: Ingredient commands , Release commands

Step 2: Create Your First Workflow (if Project Admin)

  1. Plan workflow structure: Identify build stages, dependencies, and triggers
  2. Create workflow through VDC web interface
  3. Configure build steps: Define ingredients to build and their baselines
  4. Set up triggers: Ingredient triggers for automatic execution
  5. Test execution: Run workflow manually first, then with triggers

Step 3: Integrate with CI/CD

  1. Choose integration pattern:
    • Submit releases: Build artifacts and submit to VDC
    • Download dependencies: Get components for builds
    • Monitor workflows: Track VDC workflow execution
  2. Implement in pipeline: Add VDC CLI commands to your existing pipelines
  3. Handle errors: Add proper error handling and retry logic

Key Resources

Team Leads

Goal: Plan VDC adoption, understand capabilities, organize team access, and drive successful implementation.

Prerequisites

Quick Start Steps

Step 1: Understand VDC Capabilities

  1. Read platform overview: Review VDC getting started to understand full capabilities
  2. Explore existing projects: Browse other teams' ingredients and workflows for inspiration
  3. Assess current processes: Identify where VDC could add value to your team's work
  4. Plan adoption strategy: Determine phased approach for team onboarding

Step 2: Plan Project Structure

  1. Decide on project needs:
    • Single project for entire team vs. multiple focused projects
    • Feed organization strategy (by product, by validation type, etc.)
    • User access levels and role assignments
  2. Create project: Follow creating your first project guide
  3. Set up AGS groups: Plan admin hierarchy and user management

Step 3: Drive Team Adoption

  1. Identify champions: Find team members excited about VDC adoption
  2. Start with high-value use cases: Focus on areas with immediate benefits
  3. Provide training: Help team members learn VDC concepts and tools
  4. Establish processes: Create team guidelines for VDC usage

Key Resources

Pro Tips

  • Start small and iterate - begin with core use cases and expand
  • Get buy-in early - involve team in planning and decision making
  • Measure success - track metrics like time saved, error reduction, etc.
  • Connect with other teams - learn from successful VDC implementations
  • Be patient - adoption takes time and requires cultural change

Common next steps

After Quick Start Success

  1. Explore advanced features relevant to your role
  2. **Join VDC community** discussions and best practice sharing
  3. Provide feedback to help improve the platform
  4. Mentor others in your organization who are adopting VDC

Getting Help