Product Applicability Rules
Product Applicability Rules let administrators control which Observations, Root Causes, and Solutions appear during an Investigation by matching Investigation field values, such as Product, Product Family, or custom fields, against the applicability entries defined on each item.
Applicability Rules enable administrators to define how Investigation data is matched against the Applicability entries of dictionary items. The runtime engine applies these rules to determine which Observations, Root Causes, or Solutions are applicable for a given Investigation, ensuring users view only relevant items.
In addition to Applicability Rules, the Solution tab includes Part Settings that control which parts are displayed when Remote Service Engineers add or manage parts on Solutions that are not linked to a Work Plan. Administrators can configure expression-based filters and product structure filters to refine the default parts list. For more information, see Configuring Part Settings for Solutions.
For more details on how applicability is determined for each type of dictionary item, see:
• Observation Applicabilities: How administrators scope an Observation to specific products, product families, or other criteria so it surfaces only on relevant Investigations.
• Root Cause Applicabilities: How administrators scope a Root Cause to specific products, product families, or other criteria so it surfaces only on relevant Investigations.
• Solution Applicabilities: How administrators scope a Solution to specific products, product families, or other criteria so it surfaces only on relevant Investigations.
How Applicability Matching Works
Administrators create Applicability Matching by selecting Investigation fields as criteria for matching relevant Observations, Root Causes, or Solutions. Investigation records can include fields such as:
• Product: the item involved.
• Product Family: the category of the product.
• Product Line: the broader classification or series the product belongs to.
• Custom fields: defined by your organization.
Administrators can configure rules by mapping Investigation fields to corresponding fields in dictionary items. For example, mapping the Product Family field in the Investigation to the Product Family field in an Observation ensures that only Observations relevant to that product family are displayed.
In complex product environments, not all Observations, Root Causes, or Solutions are relevant for every investigation. For instance, an Observation related to an MRI scanner should not appear when investigating an issue with an ultrasound device. Applicability Rules solve this problem by allowing administrators to specify which dictionary items apply to which products.
During an Investigation, the runtime engine evaluates the relevant field values in real time and applies the configured matching rules, displaying only items that meet the criteria.
Purpose
The key purposes of Applicability Rules are:
• Accuracy: Ensures users see only items relevant to the specific product or context.
• Efficiency: Reduces time spent searching through irrelevant data.
• Flexibility: Supports matching by various product attributes or custom fields.
• Traceability: Maintains an audit history of applicability entries, including who created or modified them and their status.
For example, your organization may service both MRI Scanners and Ultrasound Machines, but an Observation such as Magnet Cooling Issue applies only to MRI Scanners.
• Rule: If the Investigations Product Family is MRI Scanner, show the Magnet Cooling Issue Observation.
• Result:
◦ For an Investigation involving an MRI Scanner, the system displays Magnet Cooling Issue as a possible Observation.
◦ For an Investigation involving an Ultrasound Machine, the system does not display that Observation because it is not relevant.
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If no matching rule is configured, all items in the dictionary are considered applicable.
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