Lifecycle Management

This guide covers how to create and configure lifecycles, workflows, and lifecycle effects for ECO-to-Item coordination.

Overview

Cascadia uses two types of state machine definitions:

• Lifecycles: Passive state machines for Parts, Documents, Requirements
• Workflows: Active approval processes for Change Orders

The key innovation is lifecycle effects, which coordinate ECO workflow transitions with affected item lifecycle transitions.

Creating a Lifecycle

Via the Workflow Builder

1. Navigate to Admin > Workflows
2. Click New Lifecycle
3. Configure the definition:
   • Name: e.g., "Parts - Default"
   • Description: Purpose of this lifecycle
   • Applicable Item Types: Select Part, Document, etc.
4. Use the visual editor to design states and transitions
5. Click Save

Lifecycle Structure

A typical part lifecycle:

┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────┐
│ Preliminary │ ──→ │ Under Review │ ──→ │ Released │
└─────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └──────────┘
                                               │
                                               ↓
                                         ┌───────────┐
                                         │ Obsolete  │
                                         └───────────┘

State Configuration

For each state, configure:

Property	Description	Example
Name	Display name	"Under Review"
Color	Badge color	blue, green, yellow
Description	What this state means	"Item is being reviewed by engineering"
Is Initial	Starting state for new items	Yes for "Preliminary"
Is Final	End state (typically locked)	Yes for "Released", "Obsolete"

Transition Configuration

For each transition, configure:

Property	Description
Name	Action name (e.g., "Submit for Review")
From State	Source state
To State	Destination state
Guards	Conditions required for transition
Allowed Roles	Who can execute this transition

Creating a Workflow

Workflows are similar to lifecycles but include additional features for approval processes.

Via the Workflow Builder

1. Navigate to Admin > Workflows
2. Click New Workflow
3. Configure:
   • Name: e.g., "ECO - Standard"
   • Workflow Type: Strict (enforced path) or Flexible
   • Applicable Item Types: Select ChangeOrder
4. Design states and transitions
5. Configure actions, approvals, and lifecycle effects
6. Click Save

Workflow-Specific Features

In addition to states and transitions, workflows support:

• Actions: Operations performed during transitions
• Approval Requirements: Voting requirements for transitions
• Lifecycle Effects: ECO-to-Item state coordination

Configuring Lifecycle Effects

Lifecycle effects are the key feature for ECO-to-Item coordination. They define how affected items should progress through their lifecycles when an ECO transitions.

Accessing the Configuration

The visual workflow builder with states and transitions for ECO workflows.

1. Open a workflow in the Workflow Builder
2. Select a transition (click the arrow between states)
3. In the properties panel, scroll to Lifecycle Effects

Adding a Lifecycle Effect

Click Add Lifecycle Effect and configure:

Field	Description
Effect Name	Descriptive name (e.g., "Release Parts to Production")
Change Action	Which affected item action this applies to
Target Lifecycle	The lifecycle definition to use
From State	Current state the item must be in
To State	State to transition the item to
Validate Guards	Check lifecycle guards before ECO transition

Change Actions

Effects are specific to the change action assigned to affected items:

Action	Description	Typical Effect
release	First release of new item	Preliminary → Released
revise	Create new revision	Applies to new revision
obsolete	Mark obsolete	Released → Obsolete
replace	Replace with another	Obsolete original, release replacement
add	Add to assembly	May not need lifecycle effect
remove	Remove from assembly	May not need lifecycle effect

Example Configuration

For an ECO workflow transition "Submit for Approval":

Effect 1: Release Parts

Effect Name: Promote Parts to Review
Change Action: Release
Target Lifecycle: Parts - Default
From State: Preliminary
To State: Under Review
Validate Guards: ✓

Effect 2: Release Documents

Effect Name: Promote Documents to Review
Change Action: Release
Target Lifecycle: Documents - Default
From State: Draft
To State: Under Review
Validate Guards: ✓

This ensures when an ECO is submitted for approval, all parts and documents with the "Release" action are promoted to "Under Review" state.

Guard Pre-validation

When Validate Guards is enabled:

1. Before the ECO transitions, all affected items' lifecycle guards are evaluated
2. If any guard fails, the ECO transition is blocked
3. The error message indicates which item and guard failed
4. User must fix the issue and retry

This prevents partial transitions where the ECO proceeds but some items can't be updated.

Chained Transitions

You can define multiple lifecycle effects for the same change action to create chained transitions:

Effect 1: Preliminary → Under Review
Effect 2: Under Review → Released

When the ECO transitions, the system will:

1. Find items in "Preliminary" state
2. Transition them to "Under Review"
3. Then transition them to "Released"
4. All guards are validated at each step

This enables "express release" workflows where a single ECO transition promotes items through multiple lifecycle states.

Design Patterns

Standard Release Workflow

ECO: Draft → Impact Review → Technical Review → Approved → Released

Lifecycle Effects:
├─ Impact Review → Technical Review
│   └─ Release items: Preliminary → Under Review
│
└─ Technical Review → Approved
    └─ Release items: Under Review → Released

Express Release Workflow

ECO: Draft → Released

Lifecycle Effects:
└─ Draft → Released
    ├─ Effect 1: Preliminary → Under Review
    └─ Effect 2: Under Review → Released

Revision Workflow

For revise actions, effects apply to the new revision:

ECO: Draft → Approved

Lifecycle Effects:
└─ Draft → Approved
    ├─ Release items: Preliminary → Released
    └─ Revise items: Preliminary → Released (new rev)

Obsolescence Workflow

ECO: Draft → Approved

Lifecycle Effects:
└─ Draft → Approved
    └─ Obsolete items: Released → Obsolete

Troubleshooting

Effect Not Firing

1. Check change action: Effect must match the affected item's change action
2. Check current state: Item must be in the "From State" specified
3. Check lifecycle match: Item's lifecycle must match the effect's target lifecycle
4. Check transition exists: The lifecycle must have the specified transition

Guard Validation Failing

1. Identify the failing guard: Error message shows which item/guard failed
2. Fix the item: Update the item to satisfy the guard
3. Retry the ECO transition

Items Already Past Target State

If an item is already in or past the "To State", the effect is skipped with a warning. The ECO transition proceeds, but that item isn't modified.

Multiple Lifecycles for Same Item Type

If multiple lifecycles apply to the same item type:

1. Each item is assigned a specific lifecycle
2. Effects only apply to items with the matching lifecycle
3. Configure effects for each lifecycle separately

Best Practices

Design Lifecycles First

1. Define lifecycles for all item types before creating ECO workflows
2. Ensure lifecycles have clear, progressive states
3. Add appropriate guards at critical transitions

Map ECO to Lifecycle Transitions

1. Determine which ECO states correspond to lifecycle states
2. Configure effects at the appropriate ECO transitions
3. Enable guard validation for critical transitions

Test Before Production

1. Create test items in initial states
2. Create a test ECO with affected items
3. Execute the workflow and verify item state changes
4. Check guard validation works as expected

Document Your Configuration

1. Use descriptive effect names
2. Document the expected behavior in workflow descriptions
3. Create a visual diagram of ECO-to-lifecycle mappings

See Also

• Workflows & Lifecycles - User guide
• Change Orders - Using change orders
• Custom Item Types - Assigning lifecycles to item types