Workflow Training

[STEVEG]

I am looking for some training for workflows.  Does anyone know if this:

PTC University - PTC Training - Class Schedule Search

is the same as the PTC University classes or does it go into higher detail?

[bsindelar]

Steve,

What in particular are you looking for?  A general understanding of the tools and how to use them?  Or more of a comprehensive, detailed instruction and how you can apply it to your needs?

We'd be happy to help you out - feel free to send me an e-mail directly if you are interested.

[STEVEG]

Bob,

I am looking to get a much better understanding of workflows in change management.  I have an eLearning license available to me through my company but it doesn't seem to go into too much real detail.  I was just wondering if that class has a higher degree of detail.

[bsindelar]

Having not taken this specific course but reading the description, to me it seems this course will definitely give you more detail than, say, the Business/System Administration courses regarding how to actually use the workflow administrator and hook workflows in to object types.  At only 16 hours though, I highly doubt it will do much help towards showing how to accomplish actual, practical use-case scenarios.  It will likely just run you through some of the common OOTB workflows and show you how to place the necessary components in with some generic best practices to keep yourself from shooting yourself in the foot, but not so much on forethought on those workflows or cool things you can do with them, like hooking them into reports, for example.  Those kinds of things would come from people experienced in building specific workflows to meet specific client needs in actual production systems.

In other words, definitely good for "how to do it", but may fall short on "the best way to do it".

[kpritchard]

Steve,

It sounds like you're looking to understand the process behind the Change Management workflows, and in my experience none of the available training is going to help much with this (I think I've taken most if not all of it).  Windchill Change Management is, for the most part based on the CMII methodology although after having gone through all of the CMII training and getting CMII certified I do see there are some missing pieces.  For the most part the constructs are the same... Problem Report, Change Request and Change Notice for example and the OOTB role names are slightly different (WC Change Administrator X = Change Specialist X).  I have yet to figure out what Change Admin III really does in a workflow that is more automated and does not require the maintenance of logs or manually "Releasing".

You can take the first 4 or 5 CMII courses online from The Institute of Configuration Management https://icmhq.com/, or in the alternative, I am coin operated and you can "feed the meter" for as much or as little mentoring/informal knowledge transfer as you like.  Please feel free to contact me directly if interested.

I will say, and this is strictly my opinion that it's worth having a look at CMII before developing your own workflows or automating your current ones.  For companies with informal or non-existent processes there is an opportunity to mature by adoption of a methodology that embodies best practices and can be applied in virtually any industry.  For companies that are transitioning to PLM it's an opportunity to take a huge step towards improvement and avoid the common pitfall of automating bad process.       

[MikeLockwood]

I almost always gravitate toward attempting to use diagrams (creatively, and iteratively) for things like this.  For change management especially there are lots of things to address, interconnected.  The PTC diagrams are extensive but so far haven't "gelled" the understanding for me.

For change management, have to lay out (at least):

- the data (e.g. drawing, related models, possibly WTParts at Rev B (Affected Objects, at Released state)

- the data ((e.g. drawing, related models, possibly WTParts at Rev C (Resulting Objects, first at In Work state, then later at Released state)

- each of the change objects (Request, Notice, Task) and their states, and relationships to affected and resulting

- each of the change object workflow processes, and where they effect state changes to the change object and data

- each of the change object team instances, their Roles and principals

- more but you get the idea

I've moved toward always laying out vs. time what is happening to the product data (e.g. Rev B Released >> Rev C In Work, then Released)

Then and only then, laying the change object states next these

Then and only then, laying out the change object workflow processes

[STEVEG]

Keir,

I want to be able to create my own workflows.  I understand the basics.  We have a partner company that created our workflows and I have modified them slightly...very slightly.

I was looking to get a deeper understanding of them and was looking to see what's out there for training.

I will probably just end up contracting with our partner for the training.

[kpritchard]

PTC offers a web based Workflow Administration course that goes beyond eLearning and Business Admin.  I have taken it and found it beneficial, but to get real traction you'll want to learn some Java for use in Expression and Synchronization Robots... as well as download the Windchill JavaDoc and explore it.

[STEVEG]

Is this the class you are talking about?  It's from the link I originally provided.  Or is it something else?

[kpritchard]

That's the one... It covers workflows, but not Change Management Objects (Problem Report/Change Request/Change Notice/Change Task) or the process behind Change Management.  It does go over all of the constructs in the Workflow Administration Utility such as Activity Nodes, Robots and Logical Nodes (AND/OR/etc).  A lot of it I had figured out through trial and error and help files but I did come away having learned some new things and I found it valuable overall.

Again, understanding workflows and understanding the CMII Change Management objects/process are different animals.  Understanding how they relate in Windchill another still. 

[STEVEG]

Interesting.  Thank you for that overview.

It does sound like it's different than the one in the eLearning.