Executing the Engineering Change Request Solution Scenario using Business Space

The Engineering Change Request shows the implementation of the Engineering Change Request Solution Scenario. The user can request for engineering change by submitting the Initial Engineering Change Request using the Business Space Web portal.

The Coordinator or the Participant can execute the Engineering Change Request Solution Scenario in Business Space by logging on to Business Space, initiating a request, providing engineering change details using forms, and submitting the data for processing. The data specified in the form is processed and the decision on the engineering change request is either approved or rejected after specifying appropriate comments and reasons. A Participant or Coordinator can then use Business Space to view and analyze information using the various graphs and diagrams displayed in the reports generated.

Note: Some of the fields, used in the forms, for this Solution Scenario are programmed using basic validations. You can verify the validation for the field by moving the mouse pointer over the field.

The fields in which data is required are labeled with a * and have a different color. The Submit button in the form is disabled until you provide a value in all such fields in a form.

You can start the Solution Scenario in Business Space to view the Getting Started Widget. The Getting Started Widget lists the assets and the steps for using the Solution Scenario.

Table 1. Widgets to roles mapping
Roles Create Task Task Definition List All dashboard Process Instance / Process Check
Participant Yes Yes N/A N/A
Coordinator Yes Yes N/A N/A
Portfolio Manager N/A N/A Yes N/A
Project Manager N/A N/A N/A Yes
Before you begin
Ensure that the following prerequisites are complete before you execute the Solution Scenario.
  • Add and configure users and groups.
  • Verify that the Engineering Change Request Solution Scenario artifacts are successfully installed in WebSphere® Process Server.
About this task
Execute the Engineering Change Request Solution Scenario in the Business Space using the following steps.

Accessing the Engineering Change Request Business Space

When using Business Space to view the Solution Scenario, you need to log in to the Business Space. This involves providing login details and viewing various pages that are part of the Engineering Change Request space.

Procedure
  1. Open the Business Space portal.
  2. Log on to Business Space with the User ID as Adam.
  3. Open the Engineering Change Request Space and verify that the following pages are displayed.
    • Getting Started
    • My Tasks
    • Engineering Change Request Process
    • Engineering Change Request Dashboard
    • Engineering Change Request Analysis
    • Engineering Change Request Performance
    • Engineering Change Request Reports
    • Engineering Change Request Process Check
    Note: This Solution Scenario is configured to display the Engineering Change Request Space by default.

Submitting the initial Engineering Change Request

After logging to the Engineering Change Request space, a Submit Initial Engineering Change Request can be created. This initial request can be raised by both the Participant as well as the Coordinator.

Procedure
  1. Open the My Task page.
    Note: The My Task page is displayed by default the first time you log on to the Business Space.
  2. In the Task Definitions List widget, select the Submit Initial ECR check box and click the Create an instance from this task template icon Create an instance from this task template icon. The Initial ECR Request form is displayed in the Task Information widget.

  3. Provide the required information in the form and click Submit. The Creation of ECR Task is displayed in the Tasks List widget when Adam, the Coordinator, initiates the request. Alternatively, when Jay, the Participant, initiates the initial change request the Inquiry of ECR task is displayed in the Tasks List widget to inquire about the Engineering Change Request.
    Note: Select the All - Assess and work on tasks option from the list that is displayed in the Tasks List widget to view the task.

Verifying the initial Engineering Change Request

The Inquiry of ECR form provides details related to the initial Engineering Change Request that can be reviewed. Based on the request details, the Engineering Change Request can be accepted or rejected.

Procedure
  1. Select the Inquiry of ECR task check box from the My Tasks widget, and select Edit from the Actions list. The Inquiry of ECR form is displayed in the Task Information widget.
    Note: The Inquiry of ECR task is visible to a Coordinator only when the initial Engineering Change Request is submitted by a Participant.
  2. Review the information displayed on the Inquiry of ECR form, enter the reason for the decision, click Accept, and then click Submit. The Creation of ECR task is displayed in the My Tasks widget.
    Note: Click Reject to reject the request and view the Engineering Change Request status.

Creating the Engineering Change Request

The Creation of ECR form is used to view the initial Engineering Change Request and create the change request. This involves assigning an EC Manager to the create Engineering Change Request for approval and analysis.

Procedure
  1. Select the Creation of ECR task check box from the My Tasks widget, and select Edit from the Actions list. The Creation of ECR form is displayed in the Task Information widget.
  2. Review the information displayed in the Creation of ECR form, select an engineering change manager name from the EC Manager list and click Submit. A response is sent to the Participant to process the request.

Analyzing the Engineering Change Request

The Engineering Change Request created is analyzed by a Participant for cost analysis. Based on the details provided in the Analysis of ECR form, the Participant provides the amount.

Procedure
  1. Log on to Business Space using the login details of Jay, a Participant.
  2. Open the My Task page from the Better Industries space.
  3. Select the Technical Analysis of ECR check box from the My Tasks widget, and select Edit from the Actions list. The Analysis of ECR form is displayed in the Task Information widget.
  4. Specify the cost and cost type and click Submit. The Commenting on ECR task is displayed in the My Tasks widget.
    Note: If the cost specified is less than $1,000 then the Solution Scenario switches to the Fast track. In the Fast track, the change request skips the task for commenting about the change request and the response is sent to the Coordinator to approve the ECR.

Commenting on the Engineering Change Request

The Engineering Change Request is commented by the Participant specifying the reason for implementation when the amount specified is more than 1000$.

Procedure
  1. Select the Commenting on ECR check box from the My Tasks widget, and select Edit from the Actions list. The Comment on ECR form is displayed in the Task Information widget.
  2. Specify the assumption and comments in the form and click Submit. The response is sent to the Coordinator to make a decision on the change request.

Approving the Engineering Change Request

After the analysis of the Engineering Change Request is completed by the Participant, the request is sent for an approval to the Coordinator.

Procedure
  1. Log on to Business Space using the login details of Adam, a Coordinator.
  2. Open the My Task page from the Better Industries space.
  3. Select the Approval of ECR check box from the My Tasks widget, and select Edit from the Actions list. The Approval of ECR form is displayed.
  4. View the Engineering Change Request details in the Approval of ECR form, click Approve, and then, click Submit. The View ECR Status task is displayed in the Tasks List widget.

Viewing the Engineering Change Request status

The status of the Engineering Change Request for the order that are either accepted and rejected can be viewed in the Engineering Change Request Status form.

Procedure
  1. Log on to Business Space using the login details of Adam, a Coordinator.
  2. Open the My Task page from the Better Industries space.
  3. Select the Display ECR Status check box from the Tasks List widget, and select Accept from the Actions list. The Engineering Change Request Status form is displayed.
  4. View the request details in the Engineering Change Request Status form and click Submit.

Viewing reports

The Solution Scenario provided with the WebSphere Product Lifecycle Management Content Pack includes different pages that are customized to display reports. These reports can be used for further analysis.

After you submit the request, the information can be viewed for analysis on the following pages.

Engineering Change Request Dashboard

The Engineering Change Dashboard page contains widgets that provide information about Alerts, Engineering Change Request status overview, and so on, that you can use to analyze the Engineering Change Request status.

The details for the widgets displayed on the Engineering Change Request Dashboard page are given in the following table.

Table 2. Engineering Change Request Dashboard page - widgets
Widget Description
KPI The half gauge diagram displays the percentage of Full track Engineering Change Requests.
Critical KPI Overview - Current Month The total number of approved, pending, processed, and rejected Engineering Change Requests, for the current month is displayed here.
ECR Requests Overview - Current Month The full gauge diagram displays an overview of the approved and pending Engineering Change Requests for the current month.
Alerts The widget displays the business measure alerts.
Note: You can drill down to view and further analyze the attributes of report values. To drill down, double-click a drillable field on the graph or diagram that you want to analyze. To return to the previous level, right-click a value and click Drill Up. You can also click Display menu icon from the Instances widget title bar, and click Refresh.

Engineering Change Request Performance

The Engineering Change Request Performance page contains widgets that provide information about the average time taken to approve Engineering Change Requests.

The details for the widgets displayed on the Engineering Change Request Performance page are given in the following table.

Table 3. Engineering Change Request Performance page - widgets
Widget Description
Average ECR Approval Time The 3D-bar graph and the table displays the average time taken to approve Engineering Change Requests.
Note: You can drill down to view and further analyze the attributes of report values. To drill down, double-click a drillable field on the graph or diagram that you want to analyze. To return to the previous level, right-click a value and click Drill Up. You can also click Display menu icon from the Instances widget title bar, and click Refresh.

Engineering Change Request Analysis

The Engineering Change Request Analysis page contains widgets that provide information that you can use to analyze the Engineering Change Request Status and the Organization which initiated the Engineering Change Request.

The details for the widgets displayed on the Engineering Change Request Analysis page are given in the following table.

Table 4. Engineering Change Request Analysis page - widgets
Widget Description
Percentage of Submitted ECR by Status The pie chart displays the number Engineering Change Requests approved grouped by the status.
Percentage of Submitted ECR by Organization The pie chart displays the number Engineering Change Requests submitted grouped by the organization.
Note: You can drill down to view and further analyze the attributes of report values. To drill down, double-click a drillable field on the graph or diagram that you want to analyze. To return to the previous level, right-click a value and click Drill Up. You can also click Display menu icon from the Instances widget title bar, and click Refresh.

Engineering Change Request Report

The Engineering Change Request Report page can be used to view widgets. This page displays data that you can use to analyze the Engineering Change Request status.

The details for the widget displayed on the Engineering Change Request Report page is given in the following table.

Table 5. Engineering Change Request Report page - widgets
Widget Description
Avg Time for Fast Track v/s Avg Time for Full Track The report displays the average time taken for the Fast Track ECR process and the Full Track ECR process.
Note: You can drill down to view and further analyze the attributes of report values. To drill down, double-click a drillable field on the graph or diagram that you want to analyze. To return to the previous level, right-click a value and click Drill Up. You can also click Display menu icon from the Instances widget title bar, and click Refresh.

Viewing the Engineering Change Request process flow

The Engineering Change Request process flow can be viewed as published using WebSphere Business Compass or as an inflight process that displays the services used and the sequence in which they are executed.

View the Engineering Change Request Process on the following pages.

Engineering Change Request Process

The artifacts, users, and roles used in the Solution Scenario can be viewed in the Engineering Change Request Process page.

The details for the widgets displayed on the Engineering Change Request Process page are given in the following table.

Table 6. Engineering Change Request Process page - widgets
Widget Description
Draft Artifacts Navigate and view the artifacts used in the Solution Scenario.
Publishing Server Access Control Navigate and view the users and roles provided for the Solution Scenario.

Engineering Change Request Process Check

The Engineering Change Request Process Check page contains a process flow that shows the sequence of the services executed for every claim inquiry request raised using the Solution Scenario. The human tasks that show the flow for this process are displayed in green on this page.

The details for the widgets displayed on the Engineering Change Request Process Check page are given in the following table.

Table 7. Engineering Change Request Process Check page - widgets
Widget Description
Instances The instances of the requests and responses created can be viewed in this widget.
Diagrams This dynamic process flow diagram displays the state of the transaction. Select an item from the Instances widget to view the run time transaction flow in this widget.