Working with Traces
Traces associate, or link, external resources to traceable Windchill objects, letting you track their relationships. For example, a trace might describe the relationship between a requirement that is managed on an external system and a part in Windchill.
Traces help project managers and engineers understand these relationships. Using trace links can improve your understanding of design intent and help you assess the impact of changes.
Types of Trace Links
The types of trace links between a Windchill object and an external item are:
• Allocate—Links a high-level remote requirement domain item to a high-level part or assembly. Allocate link indicates that the requirement data at least partially fulfills the obligations of the traced item. For example, early in the design process, link a requirement document to an assembly.
• Satisfy—Links a Windchill object to a remote requirement domain item. The object fulfills the traced item. For example, link an assembly component to a finalized requirement document.
• Implement—Links a Windchill traceable object to a remote architecture domain item. The link indicates traceable objects that are mechanical, electrical or software design implementation of system design entities. For example, link a part to a remote architecture item or its soft types.
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Early in the design process, use the Allocate link to assign an external item to a high-level part, such as an end item or assembly. Later in the design process, use the Satisfy link to associate an external item to a specific part within the assembly.
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When you add a Satisfy or Implement trace link to an object, a new iteration of the part is created.
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About Copy Forward
When a Windchill object is iterated or revised, the following occurs:
• Trace links that are added to an object are carried forward.
• Allocate links are copy forwarded to all iterations of a revision. For example, if a part is revised from revision A to B, then B carries all the trace links forward.
• Satisfy and Implement links are available on the iterations they are added to, and the later iterations and revisions. For example, if a Satisfy or Implement link is added on iteration A2, then it is available on A3 onward, but not on A1. If a Satisfy or Implement link is added on any iteration of revision A, then it is available on revision B.
Similar to copy forward, copy backward works as following:
• Allocate links are copied back to all iterations of a revision. For example, if an Allocate link is created on iteration B2, it is also available on B1. It is not available on earlier revisions.
• Satisfy and Implement links are available on the iterations they are added to and are not available on earlier iterations or revisions. For example, if a Satisfy or Implement link is added on iteration B2, then it is not available on B1 and revision A.
About Suspect Links
In the
Traced To table, a
Suspect Alert flag is displayed when an external resource is modified in an external system. Then, you can manually mark these links as suspect using the
Mark As Suspect action.
After reviewing a suspect trace link, use the
Clear Suspect action to remove the flag.
| Mark As Suspect and Clear Suspect actions are available only on the latest version of a revision. |
