Releasing items in Upchain

In this lesson, we’ll walk you through how to send an item to a Change request, provide a brief overview of a Change request interface, discuss the necessary steps in a Change request workflow, and the basic steps needed to complete the release of an item. 

This process is applicable for both MCAD and ECAD items.

Before you start:

You must already have an assembly item with several component items in a development state in a sample project. It is not necessary for the items to contain CAD, drawings, or any other files. It is also not necessary to have item maturity configured. 

Sending an item to a Change request

In this video, we’ll show you how to send an item to a Change request and explore where you can find all Change requests for a project.

Before sending items to a Change request, the items must not be checked out and should be considered ready to be released. Item maturity does not need to be configured to release an item.

Key takeaways

1. You send items to a Change request from the BOM section of a project in the Web application. This is true for all item types.
2. All Change requests on a project can be found in the Business processes section of a project.
3. You can also send items to a Change request from the mechanical CAD plugin by first adding them to the Cart. From the Cart, you can send the items to a chosen Change request process. 

Exploring a Change request and starting the workflow

In this video, we explore the Change request interface in a bit more detail and then begin the workflow process.

Note in our example, a Change request has been created and contains at least one item. The workflow has not yet been started and the Change request is in Draft state.

Key takeaways

1. When preparing a Change request, you must choose a workflow to govern the release process. This is found in the header of the Change request.
2. The Items tab is where you view all items being released on the Change request. Only those that are still in development will be released on the current Change request.
3. The additional tabs are where you can find additional information about the current step in the workflow, any additional documentation to refer to, and any previous Investigation requests that led up to the Change request.
4. You start the Change request workflow by clicking the appropriate button in the top right corner.

Exploring and completing a Change request workflow

In this video, we explore the key steps that a Change request workflow must contain, and demonstrate the basic steps that must be taken to successfully complete a Change request and release the items.

Note in our example, a Change request has been created and contains at least one item. The workflow has been started.

Key takeaways

1. A Change request workflow should include key steps, such as updates to Change request and item statuses, approval tasks, and the crucial step of actually releasing items.
2. Tasks generated by a Change request workflow are often found in the assignee's email inbox, as well as on the Upchain dashboard and project dashboards.
3. Completion of a Change request task can be completed on the Change request or from its details on the Change request dashboard.