New set up strategy

[cdspk]

Go easy with me, this is our first look at the World of Windchill. Here we go....

We just gained access to a PTC server with PDMLink and ProjectLink on an Education License - Winchill 9.1 soon to migrate to 10

We are a University department with 370 students and 8 staff who have an account on the server.

The students are in 3 groups - Year 1, 2 and 3

Each member needs a simple workspace for simple parts and small assemblies - all very light weight.

Staff need to be able to access students work but students can't access other students work unless they are given permission.

Students will sometimes be workingon small group projects - max 10 members.

So what I'm trying to get my head around is the quickest, most efficient method to set up a workspace for each student.

Initial consultation seems to suggest that ProjectLink will be more appropriate?

If so, do I;

a. set up a project for every student? sounds like a lot of work as feedback suggest there is no way to do this en masse or automate it- I would have to repeat the process 378 times

b. create fewer projects which have lots of members. Could the members then create their own folders? Can the permissions be worked out easily for the students folders - staff but not other students?

Or is there a way I can get them to set up there own workspaces, say if I include everyone in an initial project and does that them allow them to set up their own projects? somehow? maybe?....clutching at straws.......?

Any comments, suggestions, (offers to come to sunny Leicestershire and sort it out for me before term starts on Monday!) gratefully recieved,

Cheers, Sean

[patrick.chin1]

From what little detail requirements you have, you students will probably work on all object types:

• WTDocuments


• EPMDocuments


• WTParts


• Change Objects (Problem Reports, Change Request and Change Notice)

I don't believe OOTB have "Workspaces" for WTDocuments for Windchill 10. Windchill Workspace functionality sole purpose is to integrate to Workgroup Managers Integration with CAD tools. If you look at ServerSide workspaces not integrated to the CAD tool, there is no option to create CAD or WTDocuments. Only when you view the imbedded workspace via CAD tool, you are allowed to "Save and Upload, Check Into" the Windchill central system.

For WTDocuments,students documents can only be directly checked into Programs, Projects, Product, Libraries and Organization Contexts. There is a architectural uniquenss issue between the Programs, Projects and Organizational PDMLink. You will get uniqueness issues with object having the same number when trying to "SEND to PDMLink". Refer to my attached files. PTC WGM product line managers seems to completely disagree and not support this solution and try to block it with a WGM encoded uniqueness check for the filename.

So, it all depends on what you want to use in Windchill:

1. If you wan to create change notices against the objects.
   
   
   
   • The objects must be stored and managed in PDMLink.
   
   


2. If each student should not see other student cannot see other students' work:
   
   
   
   • a project for each student to store WTDocuments, WTParts, EPMDocuments
   
   
   • one time done
     
     
     
     • you can use a loaderto load/create all the375 student projectswith a standard Student Project template (10 minute job)
       
       
       
       • windchill wt.load.LoadFromFile –d /ptc/Windchill/loadFiles/Comdev/contextLoader.xml –CONT_PATH /wt.inf.container.OrgContainer=ORG_NAME > /ptc/Windchill/loadFiles/ORG_NAME/contextLoader_output.log
       
       
       • windchill wt.load.LoadFromFileSet -file /ptc/Windchill/loadFiles/Comdev/folderLoaderFileSet.xml -UAOps –NOSERVERSTOP > /ptc/Windchill/loadFiles/ORG_NAME/folderLoaderFileSet_output.log
       
       
       • the format is from the $WT_HOME/loadFiles/csvmapfile.txt. Just remove the method callout and you'll have all your columns for your CSV to convert to xml. PTC support can help you out with that.
       
       
     
     
     • and the professor role with ACL read access for Under Review, Released, Rejected, Obsolete states
     
     
   
   
   • Like I said, I don't think OOTB has Workspacesfor WTDocument.
   
   


3. Students to collaborate between each other:
   
   
   
   • either work together in a Productor Project
   
   
   • Have collablration between the Product or Project to the user Projects
   
   


4. For the ability for professors to see student objects at a mature state

• 
  
  I would use ACLs on Lifecycle states of an object
  
  


• 
  
  you can use the simple Promotion Request to send the object to Reveiw and Approved stated.
  
  


• 
  
  All objects in the "IN Work" state cannot be read by the professor.
  
  

Ibelieve in Windchill 10, enhancements are being made to have ability to create Problem Reports and Change Request in Programs and Projects. Currently Change Objects can only be made in Products and Libraries.

Welcome to the world of windchill and PLM. Fun and easy stuff with the right team. PTC User Org is a great resource of customers and implementors who have been and are in the same boat.

Good luck,

Patrick

[cdspk]

Thanks for the detailed response Patrick, I shall go away and endeavour to process your suggestions,

Cheers, Sean