Common Questions: Workflow

This week’s topic: Workflow

Here are some highlights of Workflow features supported in Windchill:

Arbortext Content Manager supports standard workflows as well as sophisticated capabilities for routing change information to the correct process participants. Arbortext Content Manager provides tools to support the creation of processes that are unique or dictated by industry-specific standards.

Because document components share common security properties, permissions and workflows vary based on the version and lifecycle of the document. Content changes are tracked and traceable to the individual user who initiated them

Powerful configuration and workflow management capabilities enable users to choose whether to manage each component individually or manage entire documents with a single workflow.

The ability to “burst” Arbortext-authored documents into document components within Windchill, which enables configuration and lifecycle management, including check in, check out, revise, promote, and workflow capabilities, at both the component and document “assembly” level.

The ability to implement workflow-driven process automation to speed document review and approval, optimize change management, and deliver audience-specific publications in the appropriate format

Today, we're answering some of the more common and general questions about Workflow support in Arbortext Content Manager.

Question: GUI for Workflow

Does ACM have a graphical representation of the workflow?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Automating output production

Can you automate the generation of deliverables by using a workflow?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Translated content workflows

Can translated content be integrated into the workflow process?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Creating outputs

Can a writer produce his or her own deliverables, including language-specific deliverables?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Updating workflows

Can you update workflows on the fly?

Answer:

There is an “Instance of a Workflow” and a “Template of a Workflow”. Changing the Template does not change any Instances currently running.

Question: Changing completed workflows

If content is being processed through a workflow that has changed and the change affects a process that has already been completed, does the process remain unchanged?

Answer:

It depends on what you’ve specified should happen in this case

Question: Changing in-process workflows

On the other hand, if the content has not yet reached that point in the process, does the contents then get processed using the new workflow automatically?

Answer:

It depends on what you’ve specified should happen at any point in the workflow (each case)