WC Change Management

[DonSenchuk]

All,

I'm looking for info on Change Notice/Activity. Specifically, is it possible to have two (or more) different Change Activity type events happen at different times in the Change Notice workflow?

What I'm aiming for is to have a down-stream user create a sub-task that is self-contained the way that Change Activities are self-contained (separate attachments, list of CAD files, due dates, titles, etc.) This secondary process would allow me to customize it with regards to the assignment titles, descriptions, instructions, set-up participants, and so forth.

Thanks,
Don

[DarrenStorey]

Don

Users can create as many change tasks as required within a change notice. You can also create soft types of change activity, each implementing different attributes, life cycles, workflow, team, permission etc if you need to.

Take care with these kind of changes though as change object workflows reference lifecycle states of other change objects. (not just the primary business object)

The change notice workflow then listens for state COMPLETED or CANCELLED on all the related change activities before delivering the change audit work item. This means all the change tasks have to be resolved before the change notice can complete.

In 10.1 it is possible to sequence the delivery of change tasks, if you have ProjectLink installed.

http://www.ptc.com/cs/help/windchill_hc/wc101_hc/index.jspx?id=ChgMgmtSeqImplPlansAbout&action=show

Regards

Darren

[DonSenchuk]

That is… not great news. I really wanted to do this as much OOTB as I could.

I also thought about looking into having the CN fire a different workflow (than CN/CA types) and have it wait for that outside workflow to complete through a sync of some sort. Or if syncing on complete isn’t possible outside of the existing ‘sync on CA complete’ node, just having one workflow fire a different one and ending the first without waiting for the sync on complete from the second one.

Thanks for the input.

[JeffZemsky]

Don,

There is support for Change Task Sequencing if you have ProjectLink installed. You can created an ordered list based upon a sequence number and the subsequent tasks will only fire after the prior ones are complete. You can multiple tasks at the same sequence number and there is the ability to update the sequence (assuming that number is not completed – eg you can’t set an item to sequence 1 if you already are at sequence step 3)

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[DonSenchuk]

Thanks Jeff, that’s a great explanation. Unfortunately, we don’t have ProjectLink and I don’t see it in our future at this time. I assume with this it allows the tasks to use different workflows as well?

[JeffZemsky]

Workflows are determined by Task types.

You can create Soft types of Change Tasks – eg Task can have its own workflow process (and attributes, lifecycle, etc.). That is supported regardless of the Sequencing.

Further with 10.2 F000 we introduced Change Notice templates. If you have a common pattern of creating Change Notice, say for example always have a BOM Task, CAD Task and Publications Task you can create a Change Notice Template with the tasks and then leverage that template to create the new Change with the Tasks created for you. This reduces redundant typing and effort. You can even use Association Constraints to make sure that certain data gets to certain task types – eg Parts to BOM Task, EPMDocs to CAD Task, Manuals to Pubs Task. Of course there can still be some work and need for additional tasks, but this gives you a great way to reduce the initial effort of creation.

Additionally – you can prefill in attributes – so you might have a strawman for a Description or Proposed Solution to guide users in what to fill in