Considerations for Lifecycle Phases and Effective Dates

When you change the lifecycle phase or effective date, some restrictions apply.

Restrictions on Promoting Lifecycle Phase

In an item structure containing child items created in the Product Development work area and the Product Information Management work area, there's a restriction when promoting the item lifecycle phase. On promoting the parent item, the application restricts promotion of Product Development items. However, Product Hub items are automatically promoted.

For example, consider the following item structure that includes items in the Prototype lifecycle phase:

Item-1 (created in the Product Information Management work area)

• Item-2 (created in the Product Development work area)

  • Item-3 (created in Product Development)

  • Item-4 (created in Product Development)

• Item-5 (created in Product Development)

• Item-6 (created in Product Information Management)

  • Item-7 (created in Product Information Management)

On changing the lifecycle phase of Item-1 from Prototype to Production, here's what happens:

• Lifecycle phase of child items created in Product Development remains unchanged.

• Lifecycle phase of child items created in Product Information Management changes to production.

Restrictions on Demoting Lifecycle Phase

In an individual item, the application restricts demoting the item lifecycle in the following scenarios:

• Production to Design

• Production to Prototype

• Prototype to Design

Restrictions on Future Effective Date

If you set a future effective date for an item in the design lifecycle phase, the application prompts you to select whether you want to change the effective date or retain it. Note that the best practice is to make the item effective on approval. A future effective date might initiate a complex process after the item approval.