& Construction

Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
& Manufacturing

Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
In this lesson, we’ll discuss what a workflow is, what it is for, and the sorts of objects governed by a workflow in Upchain. We'll also explore where to find the workflows in your tenant and outline their basic structure.
In this video, we discuss what a workflow is and what it is for, and list the objects that use a workflow to control its lifecycle.
You’ll need to be invited to Upchain as a Tenant administrator so that you can access the Administration pages within your tenant.
Transcript
00:09
In this video, we discuss what a workflow is, what it is for, and list the objects that use a workflow to control its lifecycle.
00:18
So, let's take a look.
00:22
A workflow is the series of steps and processes that govern the lifecycle of an object in Upchain.
00:30
Each step in the workflow is called a primitive.
00:33
Each primitive performs one specific function, such as changing the status of the object,
00:39
performing checks on items, sending notifications, and creating tasks.
00:44
Workflows are the engine of your product lifecycle.
00:48
They keep all aspects of product development moving by ensuring that the right work is sent to the right person at the right time,
00:55
in the right sequence, and with the right information.
01:01
Workflows govern the lifecycle of many different objects in Upchain, not just items.
01:07
You can configure workflows for the following eight objects in Upchain.
01:13
Investigation requests.
01:16
Different workflows can be configured for different investigation processes, such as design change instructions, feasibility studies, and so on.
01:26
Projects.
01:27
A separate workflow governs the lifecycle of each project type.
01:31
Out of the box, these include engineering, design, build to print, and a template project.
01:37
A new project always starts in a draft state.
01:41
The workflow is needed to move the project to a status of "Active", which makes it available to other users on the project team.
01:48
The workflow can later on be used to close or archive the project and even allow it to be reactivated if required.
01:57
Change notices.
01:59
These workflows govern the creation of an MBOM or a manufacturing bill of materials,
02:04
and can send it to an external ERP system if this has been set up at your organization.
02:10
However, this is not out-of-the-box functionality, so please reach out to Upchain support if you are interested in learning more.
02:17
Change requests.
02:19
The workflow governs the lifecycle of the change request and more importantly the items inside the change request.
02:27
Change requests are used to manage how and when an item is released or made obsolete.
02:37
Tasks.
02:39
The workflow governs the lifecycle of all Upchain tasks, including project tasks, business process tasks, and any other custom tasks.
02:48
Task workflows are not required for a task to progress through its lifecycle,
02:53
but they're usually helpful to ensure consistency in tracking all task progress.
03:01
Documents.
03:02
The workflow governs the review and publication of a single document.
03:07
These are documents not including those on the CBOM, drawings, or translation documents.
03:20
Quality assurance processes.
03:22
The workflow governs the lifecycle of quality assurance processes including any custom processes you might have.
03:31
And finally, requirements processes.
03:34
The workflow governs the lifecycle of requirements processes, including any custom processes, if you have any.
03:46
As you can see, the workflows are the heart of how many different aspects of your projects and products are managed.
03:54
Keep going in this lesson to learn more about where to view and create workflows.
00:09
In this video, we discuss what a workflow is, what it is for, and list the objects that use a workflow to control its lifecycle.
00:18
So, let's take a look.
00:22
A workflow is the series of steps and processes that govern the lifecycle of an object in Upchain.
00:30
Each step in the workflow is called a primitive.
00:33
Each primitive performs one specific function, such as changing the status of the object,
00:39
performing checks on items, sending notifications, and creating tasks.
00:44
Workflows are the engine of your product lifecycle.
00:48
They keep all aspects of product development moving by ensuring that the right work is sent to the right person at the right time,
00:55
in the right sequence, and with the right information.
01:01
Workflows govern the lifecycle of many different objects in Upchain, not just items.
01:07
You can configure workflows for the following eight objects in Upchain.
01:13
Investigation requests.
01:16
Different workflows can be configured for different investigation processes, such as design change instructions, feasibility studies, and so on.
01:26
Projects.
01:27
A separate workflow governs the lifecycle of each project type.
01:31
Out of the box, these include engineering, design, build to print, and a template project.
01:37
A new project always starts in a draft state.
01:41
The workflow is needed to move the project to a status of "Active", which makes it available to other users on the project team.
01:48
The workflow can later on be used to close or archive the project and even allow it to be reactivated if required.
01:57
Change notices.
01:59
These workflows govern the creation of an MBOM or a manufacturing bill of materials,
02:04
and can send it to an external ERP system if this has been set up at your organization.
02:10
However, this is not out-of-the-box functionality, so please reach out to Upchain support if you are interested in learning more.
02:17
Change requests.
02:19
The workflow governs the lifecycle of the change request and more importantly the items inside the change request.
02:27
Change requests are used to manage how and when an item is released or made obsolete.
02:37
Tasks.
02:39
The workflow governs the lifecycle of all Upchain tasks, including project tasks, business process tasks, and any other custom tasks.
02:48
Task workflows are not required for a task to progress through its lifecycle,
02:53
but they're usually helpful to ensure consistency in tracking all task progress.
03:01
Documents.
03:02
The workflow governs the review and publication of a single document.
03:07
These are documents not including those on the CBOM, drawings, or translation documents.
03:20
Quality assurance processes.
03:22
The workflow governs the lifecycle of quality assurance processes including any custom processes you might have.
03:31
And finally, requirements processes.
03:34
The workflow governs the lifecycle of requirements processes, including any custom processes, if you have any.
03:46
As you can see, the workflows are the heart of how many different aspects of your projects and products are managed.
03:54
Keep going in this lesson to learn more about where to view and create workflows.
In this video, we discuss the basics of how workflows are structured and provide an overview of the workflow section of Administration.
Transcript
00:09
In this video, we discuss the basics of how workflows are structured and provide an overview of the workflow section of administration.
00:18
So let's take a look.
00:22
As you learned in the previous video,
00:24
workflows are at the center of how many different objects in Upchain move through their respective lifecycle stages.
00:31
To help you get started, you are provided with several out-of-the-box workflows.
00:36
But it will often be the case that you'll need to create custom workflows to adhere to your organization's own business processes.
00:45
You can find all out-of-the-box workflows in the "System Workflows" tab.
00:51
These workflows are read only and cannot be edited or deleted, but they are ready to be used right away.
00:60
All workflows that you can create and manage as a tenant administrator are found in the "Tenant Workflows" tab.
01:11
To view a workflow in either section, click the drop-down menu.
01:16
Then, hover your mouse over the desired object and click on the workflow you'd like to view.
01:25
The workflow is loaded into the workflow viewer.
01:31
Here, you can zoom in or zoom out to see your workflows or different sections.
01:38
You can click and drag the viewer around and you can click on different primitives to see its details and settings on the right-hand side.
01:48
Let's discuss the structure of a workflow.
01:53
All workflows must have a start and stop primitive.
01:59
The start primitive provides the button for the end user to begin the workflow for whichever object this workflow is for.
02:08
The stop primitive is used to cleanly end the workflow.
02:14
This is necessary.
02:16
All workflows work in a linear fashion, meaning each primitive is performed 1 at a time.
02:23
The primitives in between the start and stop primitives map out the ideal process or the happy path,
02:30
as well as any possible roadblocks or the exception path that may occur.
02:37
The happy paths are displayed in green, and the exception paths are displayed in red.
02:47
Each primitive is either a user primitive, meaning it requires a user input to proceed,
02:55
or it is a system primitive, meaning it performs the task automatically according to its settings.
03:08
Each primitive is assigned an ID number as it is added to the workflow.
03:15
It's important to remember that this this number doesn't matter.
03:18
The order that the primitives are performed in depend on how they are connected together according to the happy path and the exception paths.
03:29
Each primitive also has its own shape and its own color to help visually distinguish it from all the others.
03:38
The name of the primitives are shown above it, and you can configure these to be more descriptive.
03:44
All of this helps you to visually see the order of the steps in the workflow,
03:49
what steps require user interaction, and which steps are performed entirely by Upchain according to the primitives settings.
04:05
You may feel that workflow creation is a daunting task.
04:09
And at first, it can seem like that because there are many different primitives with many different options.
04:16
However, this and subsequent courses will help to clear all of that up.
04:20
And, remember, you always have access to the Upchain help documentation that describes each primitive and all of its settings in detail.
04:28
So, keep going.
00:09
In this video, we discuss the basics of how workflows are structured and provide an overview of the workflow section of administration.
00:18
So let's take a look.
00:22
As you learned in the previous video,
00:24
workflows are at the center of how many different objects in Upchain move through their respective lifecycle stages.
00:31
To help you get started, you are provided with several out-of-the-box workflows.
00:36
But it will often be the case that you'll need to create custom workflows to adhere to your organization's own business processes.
00:45
You can find all out-of-the-box workflows in the "System Workflows" tab.
00:51
These workflows are read only and cannot be edited or deleted, but they are ready to be used right away.
00:60
All workflows that you can create and manage as a tenant administrator are found in the "Tenant Workflows" tab.
01:11
To view a workflow in either section, click the drop-down menu.
01:16
Then, hover your mouse over the desired object and click on the workflow you'd like to view.
01:25
The workflow is loaded into the workflow viewer.
01:31
Here, you can zoom in or zoom out to see your workflows or different sections.
01:38
You can click and drag the viewer around and you can click on different primitives to see its details and settings on the right-hand side.
01:48
Let's discuss the structure of a workflow.
01:53
All workflows must have a start and stop primitive.
01:59
The start primitive provides the button for the end user to begin the workflow for whichever object this workflow is for.
02:08
The stop primitive is used to cleanly end the workflow.
02:14
This is necessary.
02:16
All workflows work in a linear fashion, meaning each primitive is performed 1 at a time.
02:23
The primitives in between the start and stop primitives map out the ideal process or the happy path,
02:30
as well as any possible roadblocks or the exception path that may occur.
02:37
The happy paths are displayed in green, and the exception paths are displayed in red.
02:47
Each primitive is either a user primitive, meaning it requires a user input to proceed,
02:55
or it is a system primitive, meaning it performs the task automatically according to its settings.
03:08
Each primitive is assigned an ID number as it is added to the workflow.
03:15
It's important to remember that this this number doesn't matter.
03:18
The order that the primitives are performed in depend on how they are connected together according to the happy path and the exception paths.
03:29
Each primitive also has its own shape and its own color to help visually distinguish it from all the others.
03:38
The name of the primitives are shown above it, and you can configure these to be more descriptive.
03:44
All of this helps you to visually see the order of the steps in the workflow,
03:49
what steps require user interaction, and which steps are performed entirely by Upchain according to the primitives settings.
04:05
You may feel that workflow creation is a daunting task.
04:09
And at first, it can seem like that because there are many different primitives with many different options.
04:16
However, this and subsequent courses will help to clear all of that up.
04:20
And, remember, you always have access to the Upchain help documentation that describes each primitive and all of its settings in detail.
04:28
So, keep going.