Working with Traces
Traces provide the ability to track relationships between external items, such as requirements, and other data. For example, a trace might describe the relationship between a requirement that is managed in Integrity and a part in Windchill. Traces are established by associating, or linking, an external item to a Windchill object.
Traces help project managers and engineers understand these relationships. Using trace links can improve your ability to understand design intent and assess the impact of changes.
Trace Link Types
Following are the types of trace links that can exist between a Windchill object and an external item:
• Allocate—Assigns a high-level part or assembly to a high-level external item. Allocate indicates that the data has full or partial responsibility in fulfilling the obligations of the traced item. Examples include: a requirement document, a specification document, or a section.
• Satisfy—Specifies the Windchill object that fulfills the traced item, indicating that the purpose of this object is to complete or fulfill the traced item.
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The Allocate link is best used early in the design process to assign an external item to a high-level part, such as an end item or assembly. Later in the design process, you can use the Satisfy link to associate an external item to a specific part within the assembly.
For example, you can link a requirement document to an assembly using the Allocate link. Later, you would assign a component within that assembly to an individual requirement item using the Satisfy link.
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Suspect Links
Suspect flags on trace links indicate to users who are working with downstream objects that modifications have been made. Marking links as suspect provides an easy way to notify other users that their object definitions may need to change based on changes to the traced item.
A trace link is automatically considered suspect if a significant edit has occurred to the traced item after the trace link was created, or since the last time the suspect flag was cleared. Trace links can also be marked as suspect manually. Once a suspect trace link has been reviewed, the suspect flag should manually be cleared.
