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Acknowledgments
This document was authored by PLM Group and reviewed by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation.

1) Preface

This SolidPractices document contains guidance for creating and using routes along with their associated tasks in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform by means of the Route Management app. The document is suitable for novice to intermediate users of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. It provides a basic understanding of the following aspects of the software and user experience:

• What users can accomplish when using standard routes and route templates.
• An introduction to the setup of routes and route templates
• Use cases to bring attention to solving day-to-day tasks that involve communication and validation across an organization that uses the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

After the release of a coming version, this document will include a chapter that describes the benefits and use of subroutes.

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2) Prerequisites for the Using this Guide

Before using this guide, you should have a working knowledge of the following topics of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform:

• Understanding of the core principles of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, such as dashboards, apps and other elements.
• A general understanding of the reasons for using the release and approval processes.
• Understanding of user groups on 3DEXPERIENCE.
  • If more than one person has the mandate to approve the work done, then the recommendation is to use user groups. For example, Engineers and Engineering Approvers. This can prevent delays because it is not necessary to wait for a specific person to approve the work.
• Understanding of the Collaborative Tasks application.
• Understanding of change actions.

3) Route Management in 3DEXPERIENCE

a) What is a Route?

A route is a set of tasks that a person defines for a group of people. Routes typically contain several tasks. However, it is also possible to create a route that contains a single task. Therefore, it is possible to define routes for different processes, for example, a design review or a release process.

Routes make it possible to define custom processes that are similar to custom PDM workflows, but with additional functionality.

Each route that a user creates is an object on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. The route object has a lifecycle just like that of a physical product. However, unlike physical products, routes have no revisions. Routes are a single process that consists of tasks that when completed, completes the route. If the said process requires repeating, it is best to create a new route.

Also, like the CAD data, routes are objects created within the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and are stored in a Collaborative Space, which is defined in the settings of the Route Management widget.

b) Route Types

There are three different types of tasks:

• Approve
  • The assignee must approve the work that is associated with the task, whether it is a design, a document or some other element.
• Notify Only
  • Whoever is assigned to a task as Notify Only receives a notification about the task. However, that person does not need to take any action and the task is automatically set as Completed.
• Comment
  • The task assignee must add a comment to complete the task. This is usually to provide additional insights or information for those who later approve the work that is tied to the sequence of tasks with which this comment task has an association.

Tasks in a route can be either serial or in parallel.

In a serial route, the tasks run in a chronological order, meaning that Route Task 1 must complete before Route Task 2 can begin. The image above gives an example of approval tasks, though the same principle applies to tasks that specify Comment. Tasks that specify Notify Only send a notification to the people assigned to the task and then automatically complete the task and proceed to the next task in the route.

It is possible to set up parallel tasks in two ways so that either:

• Both tasks must complete for the route to proceed, or
• Only one of the tasks must complete for the route to proceed.

The user specifies this behavior when setting up the tasks for the route.

c) Why Use a Route?

A route ensures that contributors to the process follow the correct procedures; for example, in the product approval and release process. It is a systematic way of tracking reviews and approvals.

Through the use of dedicated templates, routes enable organizations to ensure that employees always follow their internal processes.

It is also possible to configure a route to promote the associated objects from one maturity stage to another. For example, from In Work to Released. This is specified when setting up a new route, but before beginning the route.

Approval through routes also provides digital signatures to enable traceability and a recorded history of who performs what actions.

d) The Route Management Application

The Route Management application is web-based and comes with the Collaborative Industry Innovator (CSV-OC) role. Because the application is a widget, you can place the application in a dashboard for quick access.

Within the application, it is possible to create and manage both new or existing routes and route templates.

e) Summary

In summary, routes provide organizations with a systematic process of performing a series of tasks with automation. In short, routes could be described in the following steps:

1. Route templates are created to standardize given processes.
2. Tasks inside each route template are defined with the steps to complete and the person or group assigned for the task.
3. To start a new process, a new route is created that uses one of the route templates. Optionally, you can create and run a route on demand, which enables you to add or remove route tasks because the route is active.
4. When the route runs, notifications about the tasks to complete are sent automatically to those who are assigned to the task. If the assignee is a group, all members of the group receive a notification.
5. When the route task completes, the route automatically moves to the next task in the route and sends a notification to the assignees.
6. Upon completion, the route – if intended and set up to do so –promotes the connected files to the specified maturity state. For example, Released.

4) Creating Route Templates

a) What is a Route Template?

A route template is a set of predetermined tasks that you can use repeatedly. Unlike creating a new route from scratch, using a template means that you do not have to perform a setup every time you need a new route.

It is possible to create multiple different route templates. This enables you to define and capture an array of different processes within the business or department.

b) Creating a Route Template

Use the Route Management widget to create route templates. As an example, this document sets up a basic route template for creating, reviewing and approving a new design. The new route template consists of three tasks: Design Work, Design Review, and Design Approval.

To create a route template, in the Start a new activity section, click New Template.

In the dialog box that appears, enter a title for the route template and add a description that explains the purpose of the route. Because the template will have three different tasks, of which the Expected Action option for two tasks specifies Comment and for one task specifies Approve, the Route Base Purpose option specifies Standard. A Standard route template can contain several different types of tasks (Approval, Comment or Notify Only).

If the task specifies Approval, then the route can only contain approval tasks. Likewise, Review routes can only contain review tasks.

Because this template will be the standard process for reviewing and approving a design, the Standard base purpose is most appropriate. Also, the Standard template covers everyone on your 3DExperience platform. To also enable external users to be part of the tasks within the route, the Scope specifies All.

Scroll down in the New Template dialog box and ensure that the Select users from user group option specifies No, which allows any user from a specified group to take ownership of the task. If the option specifies Yes, then a specific user must be assigned before the route can be started.

To add tasks to the route, scroll back to the top of the dialog box and click the Tasks tab. Then click Add Task.

This creates a task in the route. You must double-click the route to provide a definition.

Add a title for the task, define the Expected Action option as Comment, and then add a description.

Scroll down and in the Assignee field, specify the user group that performs the design work. In this example, the user group is Engineers.

Be aware that for the Assignee, it is possible to select an individual instead of a user group.

Optionally, instead of preselecting an assignee, select the Ask Route Owner for task assignment option, which allows whoever creates a route from this template to select a specific person to complete the task.

To apply the information and finish setting up the task, click Apply.

Now, this new template requires a task for which an assignee from the Engineers user group must add a comment to complete the task.

To add additional tasks, click the plus (+) icon at the right of the task just created to add another task after the first, then double-click the new task to open the properties pane.

In the properties pane, add a title and description, and ensure that the Expected Action option specifies Comment.

Scroll down the dialog box and define the assignee for the task, then click Apply. In this example, the assignee is the Engineering Reviewers user group.

Once again, the click the + icon at the right of the Design Review task to create an additional task, access the task properties and enter a title and a description for the task.

The Expected Action option for this task is Approve because it is the final task in the route and the Assignee in this example is the Engineering Approvers user group.

We have now created a route that consists of three serial tasks.

It is possible to create parallel tasks as described in section 3b. To do this, click the + icon above or below the task that should have two or more assignees. After setting up two or more parallel tasks, it is possible to select whether All or Any of the assignees of the task need to approve or comment for the route to progress.

The final step to make this route template available for use is to click Release to activate the route.

i) Advancing an object

Besides managing a process, you can set up routes to advance connected objects such as physical products, drawings or documents to another maturity state. For example, from In Work to Approved. This reduces the work required to manually change the status of the files and ensures that the platform handles the approved files accurately.

The use cases in section 5 cover the subject of advancing connected objects in more in-depth.

5) Use Cases

a) Use Case A: Approve and Release through a Route

i) Description of Use Case A

In this use case, a file is approved and released using a route created from a route template. This enables an organization to obtain the benefits of a structured approve and release process supported by the functionality of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

It is possible to start a route with or without any connected files. Therefore, you can use a task management process to assign an engineer with a design task to modify the existing content or create completely new files.

Use case A starts with Adam, the engineering manager, who creates a new route from a template with a task to create a new design. Adam assigns the task to Bessie (an external contractor invited to Adam’s tenet). Bessie then creates the design, attaches it to the route and completes the task. This in turn starts the downstream review and approval tasks.

John, a senior engineer, receives a notification from the system that the user group to which he belongs has a review task to complete. He takes ownership of the task and completes it, which moves the route to its final task.

As a member of the Engineering Approvers user group, Adam receives a notification that the user group has an approval task to complete. Adam takes ownership of the task and approves the design.

After completing the review and approval tasks, the design that Bessie created is promoted automatically to the Released maturity state.

ii) The Use Case

Adam opens the Route Management application and clicks + New Route.
 

dialog box that appears, Adam enters the title Develop New Design and in the Template field, searches for and selects New Design Release Route.

Adam then expands the Advanced Options section and defines the Route Completion Action as Promote Connected Object.

After defining the Route Completion Action as Promote Connected Object, the design that Bessie creates is promoted to the next maturity state automatically when the route is completed. Because the target maturity state is Released, Bessie must set the maturity state of the files to Frozen before setting the route task to Completed. This is appropriate because there should be no changes after completing the modifications.

In the Content tab, Adam adds a document that describes the design task to perform.

When adding files to a route, it is possible to select whether or not to block the file from transitioning beyond a specific maturity state. Setting the Blocking Maturity to Released blocks the file from transitioning to the next maturity state after Released when the route is complete.

If the Blocking Maturity specifies None, there are no constraints to which maturity state the file can advance when the route it completed. The blocking maturity state of None appears by default if the user does not have permission to promote the connected object.

After starting the route, Adam goes into the task list of the route, right-clicks the first (Design Work) task and selects Change Assignee.
 

Next, Adam types Bessie in the “Search Assignee” field and adds her as an assignee for the task. As a reassignment comment, Adam types a message to Bessie and asks that she review the attached document for information about the design work. He then clicks OK to finish the reassignment of the task to Bessie.
 

All members of a route have read access to the route properties. However, members require additional access to add content. To allow Bessie to add content, Adam goes to the Members tab and gives Bessie Add privileges. This makes it possible for Bessie to add the design that she is creating to the route. For more information about access rights, see the topic “Actions/Member Access” in the “Route Management” section of the user assistance.
 

Tasks from a route appear in the Collaborative Tasks application with a unique icon (

After Adam assigns the task to Bessie, Bessie receives a notification along with a task in the Collaborative Tasks application with the title Design Work.
 

Selecting the task, Bessie sees information about the task and an attached document.

Bessie proceeds with creating the design, setting the files to the maturity state of Frozen, and then dragging the files from SOLIDWORKS into the Content” tab in the route to add the files as attachments.

Finally, she writes Design Completed in the Comments field and then clicks Complete at the upper right corner to complete the task.

This completes the first task in the route and begins the next task, which in turn sends a notification to all members of the Engineering Reviewers user group.

John is a member of that user group, so he receives the notification.

John next browses to the task and assigns the task to himself.
 

After reviewing Bessie’s design, John adds comments and then clicks Complete to finish the task.
 

After John completes the review task, the last task in the route begins and all members in the Engineering Approvers user group receive a notification about a task to perform.

Adam, who is part of that group, sees the notification, goes into the route task list and assigns the task to himself.

He reviews the attached design from Bessie along and the comments that John made in the Design Review task, and then approves the work by adding a comment and clicking Approve.

When Adam approves the task, the route is completed.
 

object was specified as the Route Completion Action during route setup, the CAD files from Bessie’s design are promoted to the Released maturity state automatically.

As this user case demonstrates, organizations can use routes effectively to manage business processes, such as the review and release of a design modification, in a structured manner. The automated workflow enables users to focus on activities that add more value versus manually tracking the work progression and updating the maturity of connected files.

b) Use Case B: Approve & Release through a Change Action

i) Description of Use Case B

In this use case, a file is approved and released using a change action, which in turn uses a route for the approval process. A big difference is that Use Case A uses a stand-alone route for approval and release. Therefore, it is the route itself that drives the process.

When using a route with a change action, as in Use Case B, then the route becomes one part of a bigger process instead of the entire process, as the next image illustrates. Because other guides cover how to work with change actions (for example the “Getting Started with a Formal Design Change Process Using Change Actions” SolidPractices Guide), this SolidPractices guide focuses on the route itself and how to use it together with a change action.

A benefit of using a change action is that all files added or modified in the change process are automatically connected to the process. This differs from Use Case A in which the files had to be added manually. Further, the history of the files is available directly from the information pane of the file when managed through a change action. To get information about a file that was released through a route, you must review the route itself. Because of this, change actions are suitable for organizations that require a formal approval process where regulatory compliance and full traceability is a requirement.

In general, the change action provides more information. For example, it shows both the proposed and realized changes, whether the changes are connected to a bigger change process, dependencies or something else. For more information about this topic, review the SolidPractices guide: “Getting Started with a Formal Design Change Process Using Change Actions,” which is available in the SOLIDWORKS News and Info community on the public 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Also, the Change Action functionality is available through the 3DEXPERIENCE interface in the CAD tool. Therefore, designers and engineers can perform all the work directly from the CAD tool. This is a difference compared to the Route Management application, which is only accessible through the web interface.

This use case describes how Adam, the manager, creates a change action with an assignment for Bessie to modify a design. To approve the design modifications, Adam adds a route as approver to validate the design in different stages. There is no need for production to validate a design if it does not pass the engineering review. Therefore, this case uses a route to ensure that the design is first approved by engineering, and then sent to production for approval to avoid giving them unnecessary tasks.

ii) The Use Case

Adam clicks New Change Action to implement design changes to one of the company products.
 

route.

Be aware that any of the Production Manager approvers or Production Approvers can approve the design. Also be aware that for Engineering Approval and Production Approvers, the approvers are set to user groups, while the Production Manager Approval and Final Approval tasks are set to a specific user.

After setting up everything in the change action, Adam updates the maturity state to In Work to begin the work.
 

Adam changes the ownership of the new revised object to Bessie and unlock the file, so she can now work on it.

 

.

When all modifications are complete, Bessie sets the maturity state of the modified files to

and updates the change action to In Approval.

When the change action reaches the In Approval state, the route defined as Approver in the definition of the change action begins automatically and members of the Engineering Approval user group receive a notification.

John is a member of this group and after receiving the notification, assigns the task to himself and reviews the modifications by comparing them with the previous revision.

John sees that the modifications comply with the instructions and finds no other issues. Therefore, he approves the work, and the route continues with the next set of tasks in the task list.

The next set of tasks are two parallel tasks. The condition for these tasks is that any of them can be approved for the route to continue to the last Final Approval task. Because all members of the Production Approvers user group are away for training, Stig, the production manager, is aware of the situation, so he opens the task to review it. Stig finds no other issues with the modifications and approves the work, allowing the route to reach the final stage.

Adam is the assignee for the final task in the route. He receives the notification following Stig’s approval and accesses the task in the list to review it. Because none of the former reviewers found any issues, Adam approves the modifications.

After Adam approves the final task, the route is completed, which triggers the change action to become complete and the release the associated files (set to the maturity state Released).

To summarize, Use Case B uses a change action with a route for the approval process for design modifications. The procedure differs slightly compared to using a stand-alone route both in setting up the work in the change action, and in implementing the changes when working under change action.

The benefit for Bessie is that the system automatically attaches the files to the change action (the work order) so there is no need to remember this. Bessie can also conduct all the work comfortably from her familiar CAD tool. There is no need to switch between user interfaces.

From Adam’s point of view, he gets a good overview of the work that Bessie performed through the proposed changes section and assurance that all files affected by the changes are recorded in the work order.

6) General Recommendations

The general recommendation is to use change actions when conducting design modifications. Change actions are designed to also keep track of the work done (such as adding files to or removing them from an assembly, etc.). This information is also accessible directly from the file properties, which provide a history of the file along with the people involved.

In addition, learning how to use a change action also lowers the threshold to later implement Change Governance for more orchestrated changes. For more information about this topic, see the SolidPractices guide: “Getting Started with a Formal Design Change Process Using Change Actions”.

In both use cases, Bessie, an external contractor, is part of the change process. To learn more about how to work with external users, see the SolidPractices guide “Collaboration With External Stakeholders”.

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