What’s New > Windchill > 11.0 F000 > End User > Change Associations
  
Change Associations
Product: Windchill, Windchill PDMLink, Windchill Integrations for Embedded Software
Release: 11.0 F000
Benefit
Change associations enable users to configure relationships between change objects (for example, a manufacturing change notice to an engineering change notice, a problem report to a change notice, or an item-specific change request to a block change request). This capability allows the Windchill system to better align with the actual change management processes in a company instead of having to customize the system to meet these needs. Additionally, if a closure mechanism is enabled, an organization can configure closing of processes based on states specific to the type and process. The new Associated Process Objects table renders associated changes with parent and child relationships for a context change in one consolidated table. This consolidation makes it easier to view and manage change management objects. Previously, these changes were rendered in different tables for parent and child relationships for each type of change.
Additional Details
Now, administrators can create, read, update, delete, export, import, and perform other actions on change association rules under Utilities > Business Administration > Business Rules. The Change Association Rules table gives administrators the ability to dictate how change objects can associate to one another through both the user interface and the Windchill services; for example, the objects in this table can allow linking of change requests to change notices, variances to change requests, and problem reports to change requests:
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Windchill provides some rules by default, and these rules are identical to the existing change object relationship model. You can create change association rules at any time in Windchill 11.0; however, to make the Windchill system enforce the rules, the system must be in Mixed or Flexible mode. If the system is still in Legacy mode, then the association rules changes make no changes to the system.
The business rules determine which objects can be linked in the Associated Process Objects and Associated Reference Objects tables. Process links support closure through a workflow process, so the objects can be closed at the same time if each object is in the correct state. Reference links are references to other objects and do not support closure through a workflow process.
The Associated Process Objects table renders associated changes in one consolidated table on the Details tab of the information page. This table supports problem reports, variances, defects, change requests, and change notices, along with several quality objects. The table defaults to the All view. Customers can define a unique set of table views for the associated changes table in the information pages and windows of the following change management object types:
Problem reports
Variances (deviations and waivers)
Change requests
Change notices
The Associated Process Objects table replaces the following related tables in the Details tab of a change object:
The Change Requests table on the problem report information page
The Change Requests table on the variance information page
The Change Requests table on the defect information page
The Issues and Variances and Change Notices tables on the change request information page
The Change Requests table on the change notice information page
If these components are used in custom tabs of information pages or in the configurable workflow task form templates, PTC recommends that you replace these components with the new Associated Process Objects component.
For more information, see Change Association Tables, Creating New Change Association Rules, and About Change Associations.
For information on how these changes apply to quality objects, see Windchill Quality Solutions: Linking Quality Objects.