Drawing Checker using Markup - vs - Promote

[davehaigh]

Version: Windchill 12.1

Use Case: What the users want is a promotion that goes to a drawing checker first, and then goes to an approver, that is a different person. The out of the box promotion request doesn't allow staged approvals like that. It get's sent to all approvers at the same time. My thought is that there is no reason to conflate the drawing checking process with the promotion to release process. A checker can mark up the CreoView viewable without a need for a lifecycle state change. The issue is how to notify the checker that a drawing needs to be checked. Simplest way is for the drafter to email the checker, or use whatever chat system the company has in place to notify them that the drawing is ready to be checked. I suppose you could create a workflow specifically for assigning a task to the checker, but the end result after approval would be to assign a task to create a promotion request for the drawing/model. But then you have the issue of determining if this is an initial release, in which case you would send a task to someone to create the promotion request, but if it's a change process it would send a task to the person assigned to make the change to complete their task so the change task move on to the approvers.

Description:

Promotion Request send a task to all approvers at the same time. When what is wanted is a checking loop that can be rejected multiple times before moving on to second level approvers. 

How to you send a task to someone to just markup a viewable?

How does the checker send back to the requestor that the markup is available?

This loop can go on multiple times, how do you indicate that it's done?

When the checker is satisfied with the drawing does that person just initiate the promotion request?

[HelesicPetr]

Hi @davehaigh 

There are many options how to achieve what you need.

I would imagine, that you can use a Review process.

In the workflow you can also use a conditions if the object is in initial revision then it needs a promotion request, if not then change process.

Also I would create small automatization for a Promotion Request auto creation :D.

PetrH 

[avillanueva]

You are free to modify the Promotion Request workflow (make your own copy would be best practice) and add the tasks in as you see fit. This would be a pre-check step to the checker and their role would be selectable when you initiate the promotion request. This can be done at any point, preferably before things get locked. Note that if any iterations occur during this workflow, you want to make sure the promotion request is updated to include latest iterations. The workflow would have options for the checker to kick back or allow to proceed ahead to the approver. 

[BenLoosli]

I don't think I would combine the drawing check process with the release process for a couple of reasons.

1. The checker is only concerned with the drawing and is usually a single person, so only 1 person is needed to approve or reject a checked drawing. If your company has multiple checkers, the request could go to the 'pool' and then 1 checker could do the review and that would kill the workflow when approved or rejected. If rejected, it would go back to the engineer for correction and then another Drawing Check submitted.
2. In our release process, we have a pool of people who can approve a release and it takes 2 for the release to be approved. One rejection will cause the workflow to be rejected and sent back to the engineer. We are also verifying that the assembly/part and WTparts are being promoted along with the drawing.