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Change Orders (ECO/ECN)

Change Orders are the formal mechanism for managing modifications to released items in Cascadia PLM. They provide traceability, approval workflows, and coordinated state management.

Types of Change Orders​

TypeFull NamePurpose
ECOEngineering Change OrderProposes changes to engineering items
ECNEngineering Change NoticeNotifies stakeholders of approved changes
ECREngineering Change RequestRequests a change (precedes ECO)

Cascadia uses a unified Change Order item type that can represent any of these through configuration.

Change Order Lifecycle​

A typical ECO workflow:

Draft → Impact Review → Technical Review → Approved → Released → Closed
                                                    ↘ Cancelled

Workflow States​

StateDescription
DraftInitial creation, gathering affected items
Impact ReviewAssessing scope and impact of changes
Technical ReviewEngineering validation of proposed changes
ApprovedChanges authorized, ready for implementation
ReleasedChanges implemented, affected items updated
ClosedChange order completed
CancelledChange order rejected or abandoned

Change Orders List Overview​

The Change Orders page displays all ECOs with summary statistics and filtering options.

Summary Statistics​

At the top of the page, you'll see summary cards showing:

StatisticDescription
Total ECOsCount of all change orders
DraftECOs in initial creation
In ReviewECOs awaiting approval
ReleasedECOs that have been implemented
  • Search: Find ECOs by item number or title
  • Column Sorting: Click column headers to sort
  • Status Filters: Filter by workflow state

Creating a Change Order​

  1. Navigate to Change Orders in the sidebar
  2. Click + Create ECO in the top right
  3. Fill in the required fields:

Required Fields​

FieldDescription
DesignThe design this ECO affects
Item NumberUnique identifier (auto-generated, e.g., ECO-001)
TitleBrief description of the change

Optional Fields​

FieldDescription
DescriptionDetailed explanation of the change
Reason for ChangeWhy this change is needed
PriorityUrgency level (Low, Medium, High, Critical)
TypeECO, ECN, or ECR
  1. Click Create to save the ECO in Draft state

ECO Detail View​

ECO Affected Items Viewing an ECO: overview, affected items tree, and workflow history.

Click on any ECO number to open the detail view. The detail page has three tabs: Overview, Affected Items, and History.

Header Information​

The header shows:

  • ECO number with state badge (Draft, In Review, etc.)
  • ECO title
  • Branch indicator showing the ECO's working branch
  • Action buttons based on available workflow transitions

Overview Tab​

The Overview tab displays:

Basic Information

  • Item Number and Title
  • Current State
  • Description and Reason for Change

Change Details

  • Priority level
  • Type (ECO/ECN/ECR)
  • Target completion date (if set)

Affected Items Tab​

The Affected Items tab shows all items included in the change order with a hierarchical tree view.

Tree Structure

  • Expand/collapse affected items to see their children
  • Each item shows: Item Number, Revision, Name, Type, State
  • Change action badge indicates what will happen (Release, Revise, etc.)

Adding Affected Items

  1. Click + Add Affected Item
  2. Search for the item to include
  3. Select the change action
  4. Confirm the addition

History Tab​

Shows the complete workflow history:

  • State transitions with timestamps
  • User who performed each action
  • Approval votes and comments
  • Guard evaluation results

Adding Affected Items​

Affected items are the parts, documents, or other items that will be modified by the change order.

Change Actions​

Each affected item has a change action that describes what will happen:

ActionDescriptionEffect on Item
ReleaseFirst release of a new itemItem transitions through lifecycle to Released
ReviseCreate a new revisionNew revision created, original superseded
ObsoleteMark item as obsoleteItem transitions to Obsolete state
ReplaceReplace with another itemOriginal obsoleted, replacement released
AddAdd to an assemblyItem added to BOM
RemoveRemove from assemblyItem removed from BOM

Adding Items​

  1. Open the Change Order
  2. Go to the Affected Items tab
  3. Click Add Affected Item
  4. Search for and select the item
  5. Choose the change action
  6. Optionally specify a target state

Workflow Transitions​

Executing a Transition​

  1. Open the Change Order
  2. View available transitions in the toolbar or sidebar
  3. Click the transition button (e.g., "Submit for Review")
  4. If required, add comments
  5. Confirm the transition

Guards and Validation​

Before a transition executes, guards are evaluated:

  • Field guards: Required fields must be populated
  • Role guards: User must have appropriate roles
  • Approval guards: Sufficient approvals must be received
  • Lifecycle effects: Affected item guards are validated (if configured)

If any guard fails, the transition is blocked with an error message.

Approvals​

For transitions requiring approval:

  1. Designated approvers receive notifications
  2. Each approver reviews and votes (Approve/Reject)
  3. Approvers can add comments
  4. Once sufficient approvals are collected, the transition can proceed

Lifecycle Effects​

Lifecycle effects coordinate the state of affected items with the ECO workflow. When an ECO transitions, its affected items can automatically progress through their lifecycles.

How It Works​

ECO Workflow State    │ Part Lifecycle (Release Action)
──────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────
Draft                 │ Preliminary (no change)
        ↓             │
Impact Review         │ Preliminary (no mapping defined)
        ↓             │
Technical Review      │ Under Review ← triggered by effect
        ↓             │
Approved              │ Released ← triggered by effect

When the ECO transitions to "Technical Review", parts with the "Release" action automatically transition from "Preliminary" to "Under Review".

Configuration​

Lifecycle effects are configured per ECO workflow transition in the workflow builder:

  1. Change Action: Which affected item action this applies to (Release, Revise, etc.)
  2. Target Lifecycle: The lifecycle definition to use
  3. From State: The current state the item must be in
  4. To State: The state to transition the item to
  5. Validate Guards: Whether to check lifecycle guards before the ECO can transition

Guard Pre-validation​

When "Validate Guards" is enabled, the ECO transition will fail if any affected item's lifecycle guards don't pass. This ensures:

  • All items are ready before the ECO proceeds
  • Issues are caught early in the process
  • No partial transitions occur

Example: Requiring Description​

  1. Part lifecycle has guard: "description is_not_empty" on "Under Review → Released"
  2. ECO has lifecycle effect: Release items transition to "Released" when ECO becomes "Approved"
  3. User tries to approve ECO with a part that has no description
  4. Transition fails: "Part P-00001: Description is required before release"
  5. User adds description to part
  6. Retry succeeds

Impact Assessment​

Before approving a change, assess its impact:

Where-Used Analysis​

View all assemblies and products that use affected items:

  1. Open the Change Order
  2. Go to Impact tab
  3. Review the where-used tree for each affected item

Change Summary​

The impact assessment shows:

  • Total number of affected items
  • Items by change action type
  • Downstream impacts (where-used)
  • Related change orders
  • Estimated scope

Workflow History​

Every state change is recorded in the audit trail:

  • Transition name and timestamp
  • User who executed the transition
  • Previous and new state
  • Comments and vote records
  • Guard evaluation results

Access history from the History tab on any change order.

Best Practices​

Planning Changes​

  1. Gather all affected items first: Add all items before submitting for review
  2. Document the reason: Explain why the change is necessary
  3. Assess impact early: Review where-used before proceeding
  4. Coordinate with stakeholders: Notify affected teams

During Review​

  1. Use comments: Document discussions and decisions
  2. Track issues: Create tasks for action items
  3. Iterate if needed: Return to draft for significant changes

After Release​

  1. Verify implementation: Confirm changes were applied correctly
  2. Close promptly: Don't leave released ECOs open
  3. Archive documentation: Ensure change rationale is preserved

Troubleshooting​

Transition Blocked​

If a transition is blocked:

  1. Check the error message for which guard failed
  2. For field guards: populate the required field
  3. For role guards: ensure you have the required role
  4. For approval guards: wait for more approvals
  5. For lifecycle effects: fix the affected item issue

Affected Item Not Updating​

If an affected item doesn't change state:

  1. Verify a lifecycle effect is configured for that transition
  2. Check the change action matches the effect configuration
  3. Confirm the item is in the expected "from state"
  4. Review the item's lifecycle for the transition path

See Also​