The system provides a workflow-based collaborative change request management system that enables you to track, manage, and analyze solutions to various product/process related issues within your enterprise. After an issue is closed, appropriate parties can analyze proposed solutions via change requests; analysis can be conducted and proposals routed to relevant parties for review and approval.

You can link issues to new change orders, effectively copying required information from the change request to the new change order.

   To create a change request:

1. On the Create Change Request: Select Change Request Type page, select the appropriate Change Request Type and click Continue.

   User-defined change request types enable your enterprise to build categorizations for different types of change requests so that you can apply consistent review and approval processes to different categories of change requests. For example, for each change request type, there is a specialized workflow that best suits the review and resolution process required by the particular type of change request. Change request types best suited for your enterprise's product development processes are listed in the Change Request Type field. For details about your enterprise's change request types, contact your system administrator.

2. On the Create Change Request page, provide the required primary attribute information, as well as any required user-defined attribute information. Depending on the configuration of the change request type selected, you can specify a subject for the change request. Following are the possible subjects of a change request:

   • Item Number

   • Item Revision

   • Component

   • None

   The person or group in the Assigned To field is defaulted based on the item or component role specified in the assignment rule for the change request type. If no item or component is selected, you can enter a valid assignee name.

   Note: You are not required to select a subject for the change request. If you prefer not to assign a subject to the change request, select the null or empty value. If no item or component is selected, then your (the requestor's) name becomes the default value in the Assigned To field.

3. Depending on the configuration of the change request type selected, you may be required to provide data in any of the following sections (in addition to any user-defined sections or pages) when creating a change request:

   • Lines

     Change Request Lines capture all the details that comprise a change request--lines make up a "to do" list for a particular change request. Just as there are types of change requests, you have types of change request lines. These change request line types have been configured by your system administrator to best serve the needs of your business. Optionally, click Add Line Subjects to create multiple lines for the selected line type. In the Search and Select: Add Line Subjects page, you can select multiple line subjects at once to add to the change request. Start After and Complete Before fields on the line enable you to manage the line based on header statuses. If you are using a line workflow, these fields enable you to manage the line workflow initiation automatically. The line workflow starts once the header enters the Start After status specified on the line.

   • Dependencies

     The final approval or resolution of a change request may depend upon a particular Issue, Idea, New Item Request, or Change Order being approved. A change request may also be required by or implemented by another change object. To ensure this relationship is captured in a new change request, specify what the change request is related to (for example, another change object), and then specify the nature of the dependency.

   • References

     You can specify that the change request references an item. A reference to an item may also include the item revision.

   • Workflow Approval

     Workflow Routings or Approvals may be defined for any status of the change request based on the change request type. The change request type selected determines the workflow process steps defaulted in for each status. A workflow process may include steps to request approval, request comment, FYI, or a custom workflow process. For some steps you may be required to select an assignee and specify whether the assignee is mandatory or optional. You can add additional workflow process steps and update a step to add Assignees if a workflow is associated with the status; however, you cannot delete any assignees or steps that were defaulted in based on the change request type. You can remove any Steps or Assignees that you add.

   • Attachments

     You can attach files from your desktop or a repository. You can also attach text or a URL. When you attach a file you can specify an Attachment Category to classify the file. The valid Attachment Categories are created by your system administrator.

   After providing the required information you can Submit the new change request, which starts the Workflow for the first status and notifies the assignee. If you have not completed adding all the information, click Save for Later. You or anyone with the appropriate role can update the change request later on.

4. After submitting and creating a change request, you can view and update the following information:

   • People

     You can directly add people to a change request and assign them a role. Depending on how the change request type was configured, a number of people may inherit a role on the change request (based on the change request type). You cannot delete inherited people or modify their roles. If you specify an item as the subject of the change request, all people with a role on that item may also inherit a role on the change request if their item role has been mapped to a change request role; to change the role or delete any of these people from the change request, their roles must be changed or deleted at the item level.

   • Action Log

     The Action Log displays all actions (and associated comments) executed against or posted to the change request in a threaded discussion format. You can respond to requested comments or reply to specific comments, thereby creating a threaded discussion within the context of the change request.

   • Workflow

     A change request is managed via its statuses and associated workflow processes. Each status can have one workflow associated with it, and that workflow is automatically launched when a change request enters into the status. You can explicitly promote or demote a change request to its different statuses (defined by the change request type). Change requests may automatically be promoted (or demoted) to the next status after the completion of the workflow with a specific status (as defined by the change request type).

     If you abort a change request, that change request's status is changed to Not Submitted for Approval, and all dates are reset. You can reset and restart a workflow; if an aborted or reset workflow is restarted, a new instance of the workflow begins with the first step.

     If you add or remove people from a step in the workflow, be sure to Refresh Assignees--doing so ensures all new assignees are added to steps in the workflow before it is submitted.

   To perform an action

   See: Performing Actions

   To create a change order from a change request/issue/idea:

The system provides a workflow-based collaborative change management system that enables you to track, manage, and resolve various product/process related issues, change requests and change orders, across your enterprise as well as with suppliers and customers. The system change management helps to speed identification, communication, and resolution of quality problems or design changes to your product.

A simple change cycle includes the following:

1. Customers log issues against a product and/or new ideas related to the product are collected from all stakeholders

2. The issues and ideas are consolidated and analyzed

3. A change request is created to request changes to the product design to address the ideas and issue

4. Based on the change request, a change order is created to implement the design changes.

The system provides the ability to copy information from source change objects (like issues and ideas in the above cycle) and default them on to appropriate destination change objects like change requests and change orders. Thus new change objects can be quickly created with minimal data entry and with appropriate relationships established with the source change objects.

The following copy actions are allowed:

• Add a change request/Issue/Idea to a change order

• Add a change order to another change order

• Add a change request/Issue/Idea to another change request

• Add an issue/idea to another issue

• Add an idea to another idea

1. To add a change request detail page, select the action, Add to Change Order, and then choose the Go button.

2. On the Add to Change Order page

   • Select the change order category

     You can add the change request information to a change order belonging to either the seeded change order category or any user defined change order categories.

   • You can choose to add the change request information to a new change order or append relevant information to an existing change order.

     If you are adding the change request information to a new change order, then highlight the 'Create New' radio button and select the change order type.

     User-defined change order types enable your enterprise to build categorizations for different types of change orders so that you can improve the accuracy of change orders with review and approval workflows, and automatically implement changes on a scheduled effective date. For example, for each change order type, there is a specialized workflow that best suits the review and resolution process required by the particular type of change order. Change order types best suited for your enterprise's product development processes are listed in the Change Order Type pop list.

     If you are adding the change request information to an existing change order, then highlight the 'Add to Existing' radio button, search and select the appropriate change order.

     Note: You can add to an existing change order only if the change order is in 'Draft' or 'Open' status

   • By default, a dependency of type 'Implemented By' would be created on the change request. A complementary dependency of type 'Implements' would be created on the change order. You can choose not to create any dependency by unchecking the dependency check box

   • Specify what attribute values should be copied over from the source change request to the destination change order and click Continue

     If you are copying the change request to a new change order, then the following attributes are available for selection

   • Header Attributes

     The attributes entered for the change request header will be copied to the change order. These attributes include: Name, Description, Source Type, Source Name, Priority, Need By Date, Reason and Assigned To. You can overwrite these attribute values on the change order.

     Note: If the change order type is configured such that some of the attribute values entered on the change request are not valid for the change order, then the appropriate attribute value which has the lowest sequence number is defaulted on the change order. For eg: If the priority of a change request is 'High' and this value is not defined as a valid value for the change order type, then the priority value with the lowest sequence number defined for the change order type is defaulted on the change order.

   • Header Item

     The header item number, item description, and revision entered on the change request are copied over to the change order

     Note: If the subject selection criteria of the change request is 'Item and Component', then the component information is ignored when adding to a change order. Also, if the header item entered on the change request does not satisfy the subject selection criteria specified for the change order type, then you cannot copy the item to the change order.

   • Line Items (as Revised Items)

     Items specified as subjects on the open change request lines are copied to the change order as revised items.

     Change order revised items list changes to specific items. For each revised item you can specify changes to item attributes, attachments, AMLs, and structures. The revised item changes are implemented when the change order is implemented either manually or on the scheduled effective date. You can optionally schedule item changes at the revised item level. Revised items can be promoted or demoted on an individual basis.

     Note: If the item entered as a subject on the change request line does not satisfy the subject selection criteria specified for the change order type, then you cannot copy the line item as a revised item on the change order.

     If you are copying the change request to an existing change order, then only the 'LineItems (as Revised Items) is available for selection. The other attribute values are not copied from the change request. Instead, the existing attribute values of the change order are preserved.

3. On the 'Create Change Order' page enter/modify data in any of the sections. For details about creating change orders refer 'Creating Change Orders'

4. Similarly, you can add an issue or an idea to a change order:

   The process is similar to adding a change request to a change order, except for the following differences:

   • revised items in the source change order, which are in open status, are copied to the destination change order.

     Note: A change order cannot have lines

   • A dependency of type 'Composed of' is created on the change order. A complementary dependency of type 'Composes' is created on the destination change order.

   To add an issue/idea/change request to another change request:

   • The issue lines in the source issue, which are in open status, are copied to the destination change request, provided the same line types are defined for both the change categories.

     Note: An Issue, Change Request or an Idea cannot have revised items.

   • A dependency of type 'Resolved By' is created on the issue. A complementary dependeny of type 'Resolves' is created on the destination change request.

   • You can copy the following additional header item information:

     • Structure

     • Component

       Note: The issue and change request types should be appropriately configured to include these attributes

   To add an issue/idea to another issue:

   The process is similar to adding a change request to a change order.

   • The issue lines in the source issue, which are in open status, are copied to the destination issue, provided the same line types are defined for both the change categories.

   • A dependency of type 'Resolved By' is created on the issue. A complementary dependeny of type 'Resolves' is created on the destination change request.

   • You can copy the following additional header item information:

     • Structure

     • Component

       Note: The issue and change request types should be appropriately configured to include these attributes

   • Similarly, you can copy an idea to an issue.

   To add an idea to another idea:

   The process is similar to adding a change request to a change order.

   • The idea lines in the source idea, which are in open status, are copied to the destination idea.

   • A dependency of type Required By is created on the source idea. A complementary dependency of type Requires is created on the destination idea.

   • You can copy the following additional header item information:

     • Structure

     • Component

     Note: The source and destination idea types should be appropriately configured to include these.