Lifecycle Validations and Updates

Objective: Understand Duro's Change Order validation process, common validation errors, and how to update status and revision values both in bulk and individually.

Difficulty: Easy

In this article:

1. Changing values individually
2. Changing values in bulk
3. Properties unique to design
4. Error messages

Validation is one of the tools that makes Duro's software elite in the PLM game. Duro helps resolve these issues before it's too late, helping to prevent a supplier from fabricating from the wrong CAD file or BOM revision. Products and components alike progress through the various lifecycle status and revision stages; their values can be updated accordingly either independently or grouped together.

Changing values individually

To modify the status or revision value of a single product or component, simply go to the edit mode for that item by clicking on the pencil icon in the upper right of its view page.

Once in edit mode, the status drop-down menu will become active, letting you choose a new value.

Note: Only status values greater than the last released revision value can be selected. You cannot revert to a lower status value than that of the last released revision. 

Once a new status value is selected, a confirmation modal will appear with a new default revision value preset for the corresponding status value selected. You can choose to accept the default revision value, or set a new value that meets the requirements for the selected status. Select Continue, then Save Changes. 

Note: The only time a revision value can be manually set for Prototype or Production status is when a product or component enters a new status state. All subsequent revisions within the same status value will automatically increment to the next sequential value.

Now that the item is in a revision-controlled status value (Prototype, Production, Obsolete) a red triangle icon will appear next to the revision value and in the upper right corner noting that the product or component has now been modified, but not yet approved for release. It must now be submitted through a Change Order for the new status and revision values to be ratified and the item revision to be considered released.

Changing values in bulk 

It is also possible to change the status and revision to a group of components at once in bulk. Simply go to the Components Library page and use the checkboxes to select the components you wish to update.

In the toolbar above the table, select the Update Status button and a modal window will open with the selected components pre-populated.

As described in the individual section above, select the new status or revision values, then select Apply. If no issues or errors are discovered, the banner will turn green and the Continue button will become active.

Select Continue and the requested updates will be made.

If there are any issues, the corresponding components will be highlighted in red. To be able to continue, you must fix the issues, or remove these components from the table.

Once all issues have been addressed, select Reload in the upper banner, and the app will pull in the latest updates and revalidate there are no errors.

Properties unique to design 

Design is the only lifecycle stage in which the revision value of a component or product can be changed without submitting a Change Order. Furthermore, unless a component is in the Design lifecycle stage, its revision value can only be manually reset during promotion from one status to the next.

Additionally, Design is the only lifecycle stage in which the category of a component or product can be changed. Restricting major changes to the design lifecycle stage offers several benefits. It ensures that downstream processes like procurement and manufacturing always reference the correct, approved version of a design. This prevents confusion, costly errors, and the potential for misaligned parts or materials. Additionally, confining major changes to the design phase helps maintain cost control and predictable scheduling. Late-stage design changes can lead to significant delays and rework that disrupt budgets and timelines. Furthermore, this strategy aids supply chain stability by providing accurate forecasts for materials and components, minimizing the need for sudden changes that can disrupt suppliers.

Validation & error messages

Duro's Change Order workflow has a powerful validation engine to help detect and correct common mistakes and issues that could lead to problems in production. Validation is a powerful resource that helps you monitor revisioning and begins the minute you open a new change order. Validation helps to prevent the possibility of incorrect CAD files or BOMs being released to outside suppliers, contractors, or manufacturers. Catching these errors before launching into the next lifecycle stage will save your company the headache of going back and untangling the mess of updating a product already in the throes of manufacturing and assembling. 

Here’s how the validation process works:

• Add Products and Components: Add all desired products and components to the Change Order. 
• Validate: Once you've added your components, click the Validate button at the top of the Change Order form. Duro will check each component against the validation rules. The system will flag any errors or warnings. This displays an icon for the product or component in the leftmost column.
• Address Errors and Warnings:
  • Errors: Errors must be resolved before you can submit the Change Order for approval.
  • Warnings: Warnings indicate potential issues but do not prevent you from submitting the Change Order.
• Line-by-Line Validation: If needed, validate a single product or component by clicking the validate icon within its row.

Submit for Approval: Once all errors are resolved (warnings can be ignored if appropriate), the Submit for Approval button will become active, and you can proceed with the approval process.

The following are possible error messages:

"Component must have a status of Prototype or Production to submit a Change Order for approval."

Change Orders apply only to products and components that are ready for release, meaning they are ready to be fabricated either for a prototype or production run. Therefore, items still in Design status must first be promoted to Prototype or Production before the Change Order can be submitted for review.

"Nested child components must be at an equal or greater status value than their parent assembly." 

When you attach another component or a child component, Duro's validation system checks to ensure that the child components are ready to be incorporated into the parent product. For a parent assembly to be at a Prototype or Production status level, it requires all of its child components to also be at the same status level or higher. For example, an assembly component could not be ready for Production if one of its child components is still in Design status. 

"This component is included in one or more existing open Change Orders."

To prevent a race condition, products, and components can only be submitted in one Change Order at a time. Allowing a component to be included in multiple simultaneous open Change Orders would increase the risk that conflicting edits would be approved out of sequence.

"One or more issues were found in this Item. All issues must be resolved before submitting a Change Order for approval."

Duro's validation engine looks for any risks or errors in all data associated with a product or component. The validation rules get more strict as the status level increases from Design to Prototype to Production. Therefore, new issues may be found during the Change Order workflow when the status level is changed for a product or component. Example issues include missing sourcing information or missing documentation (i.e. Production CAD files).