Traceability of Common Attribute Changes

[Turko]

Version: Windchill 13.0

Use Case: I have a requirement to provide information to users which provide details of when common attributes were modified. For example, if the number of a part with significant development history needed to be changed, how can I provide visibility of the details of the change to the user in the GUI? For example, when the change was made, who made the change, what the number was changed to, what it was before etc...

Description:

Without this ability, users are not able to obtain full traceability of how a part has developed which is required for legislative compliance. 

[joe_morton · Accepted solution]

You can add the Rename History table, either to an existing tab, or to a new tab. It shows all that information

But the bigger issue is, if a part has significant development history, the number should not be changed. 

[Turko]

Thanks Joe. I have included the "Rename History" table against my parts and I can see that it included columns that tell me previous names/numbers assigned to the part and the user who made the change at a certain date. Do you know if it possible to show history relating to other common attributes such as "Default Unit", for example? 

My understanding of the risk involved with re-numbering parts is that the part number is often referenced by various different systems/applications/documents. By re-numbering parts, it can make it significantly more difficult to maintain traceability between the part and the number that is used to represent it in the systems/applications/documents. Do you agree with this and have you got anything more to add in terms of the risks associated with re-numbering parts?

[joe_morton]

I don't know of any way to capture changes to Common Attributes besides the Identity ones. 

I agree with how you described the risks of re-numbering. Sometimes we have to do it for exceptional cases, but you wouldn't want it to be standard practice.