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Can someone explain to me what is PBO?

jfrancis
4-Participant

Can someone explain to me what is PBO?

I am working on workflows and came across PBO - Primary Business Objects and could not get a proper information as to what these are.

"A workflow process is typically launched in the context of a primary business

object (PBO)" .

I am pretty new to windchill so I will need to understand this at a very basic level

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions
MikeLockwood
22-Sapphire I
(To:jfrancis)

See attached.

Complex but powerful stuff.

No way around touching many elements of Windchill to get the desired result, but it's magic once you "get it."

View solution in original post

6 REPLIES 6
MikeLockwood
22-Sapphire I
(To:jfrancis)

Welcome to documentation written by and for people who "speak Java"

In general, think of the workflow process as walking around your building (routing) and collecting signatures (one of many things that could be in the workflow).  The PBO is the paper form on which the signatures are written.  Paper-clipped to the form may be any number of "affected objects" which will somehow change once the routed form has been completed.

You can have a workflow process directly on "product data" (e.g. CAD and non-CAD documents and / WTParts).  But, best practice and general use is to have the workflow process associated with a "change object" such as a promotion request, change request, etc.  Other situations apply in Project Link and for other types.

The workflow process is initiated when the PBO gets to a state that is mapped to the workflow process in the PBO's lifecycle template.  Change objects have the first state at "Open" and the process starts when the PBO is created.

Thank You Mike!  Your explanation was fantastic.

I have used that term "Speak Java" many times when refering to PTC Documentation.   PTC needs to take this as an example to tell the story of how the software works, and not just tell about the JAVA infrustructue beneath the story.

Hi Michael,

recently PTC created a new section in the community PTC eSupport Help

I think you should create a discussion in above section, linking this, because PTC is working to improve support and I think they should also know your opinion in a real case of frustration about documentation they provided.

Marco
jfrancis
4-Participant
(To:MikeLockwood)

"The workflow process is initiated when the PBO gets to a state that is mapped to the workflow process in the PBO's lifecycle template.  Change objects have the first state at "Open" and the process starts when the PBO is created."

Could you elaborate on this point.

MikeLockwood
22-Sapphire I
(To:jfrancis)

See attached.

Complex but powerful stuff.

No way around touching many elements of Windchill to get the desired result, but it's magic once you "get it."

GregoryPERASSO
14-Alexandrite
(To:jfrancis)

PBO is the business object that "live" in the workflow

for each business objects like WTparts, CADd Doc , Docs , Change etc... you can define an advanced Lifecycle with various lifecycle states: for example In Work, In Review, Released

for each states, you can define a workflow that will run to achieve some tasks: manual "human" tasks, automated, , code, lifecycle state change etc ...

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