An Overview of the Workflow Process_AD

Parent page: More about Collaborative Design

The Workflow Process

Human error, poor design decisions, incomplete supply chain checks - there are many issues that can, and do, occur during the design and development of an electronic product. To avoid errors such as these validation check points are needed; such as design reviews and sign-off check lists.

Every organization that develops electronic products has systems in place to manage the flow of work through their organization. For a sole operator it could be following a sequence of steps that have been learned through experience. In a small company it might be informal peer-to-peer design reviews at agreed points in the development cycle. For a larger company it might be a series of review checklists that are signed off at critical stages, or request forms that are filled out when a new component needs to be added to the company database, using in-house developed forms and databases to manage and store the results.

The challenge with using a separate workflow management system is keeping it connected and in-sync with the design data. Ideally, the workflow management process will be tightly coupled to the design process, reducing the chance for human error and insuring that the history it captures can be reviewed against the history of the design documents.

Modeling the Workflow Processes in Electronic Design

An excellent way to model any workflow process is as a diagram. A good diagram will show all of the steps in that process and their sequence, it will include key decision points, and the paths to follow for all possible outcomes.

What a flat diagram, like a Visio® diagram lacks, is a way of capturing the detail behind each step, or a way of connecting into the broader company systems and design tools. It also lacks a way of building accountability into the process, unlike a checklist that must be signed off before the design can proceed. Another big challenge with capturing a process in a diagram is that the detail that is considered to be important, is often different from one organization to the next. To satisfy these requirements you need to move beyond the Visio diagram and the checklist typed up in Word®.

Altium NEXUS solves these challenges with interaction diagrams. An interaction diagram provides a method of capturing a workflow process in a graphical format.

Behind each Task element in that diagram, the diagram creator builds user-interaction by crafting user forms. The forms can be used to: provide information to the designer about the purpose of this workflow diagram; require information to be entered, or files attached; select an option from a dropdown list; and so on.

An interaction diagram can capture:

• Who is involved (e.g. admin, design engineer, anyone from the librarian group, etc)
• What actions needs to be taken, and in which order
• What data needs to be provided (name, description, attachments, etc)
• What are the decision points (e.g. approvals, assignments, etc)

The User Form presents as a dialog in Altium NEXUS when the designer starts a workflow process, such as a parts request or design review, or when they are specifically tasked with an action in a workflow process. The images below show the form design for initiating a design review (on the left), as it is designed in the NEXUS Server, and that form as it presents as a dialog in Altium NEXUS.

  The user form for a design review shown on the left, designed in the NEXUS Server as part of the Design Review workflow definition.
It presents in Altium NEXUS as a dialog (on the right) for the designer to complete when a Design Review is initiated.

Creating and Editing Interaction Diagrams

Main articles: Creating & Managing Processes

An interaction diagram is used to model a Workflow Process. Processes (and their interaction diagrams) are created and managed in the Altium NEXUS Server, which you access through a web browser. Note that you must be logged in with administrator permissions to access the Processes section of the NEXUS Server, to edit or define a new process. Refer to the page, Creating & Managing Processes, to learn more.

Existing processes are edited and new ones created in the Process Workflow Editor.

The editor is accessed in the NEXUS Server through a web browser, when signed in with administrator permissions.

The Elements of a Interaction Diagram

Main article: Defining a Process Workflow - The Workflow Diagram

The interaction diagram presents like a flow-chart, drawn from a set of shaped objects, called elements. Each element represents a type of action or event that is to occur at a point in time. The sequence of events is from left to right, apart from the output from a decision Branch, which can flow from right to left.

An interaction diagram is created from a set of elements. Each type of diagram (theme), for example Project Creation, will have access to a specific set of elements, an example is shown below:

The palette of elements that displays at the top of the Process Workflow Editor
during editing, hover the cursor for information about an element.

Capturing the Data and Events in the Interaction Diagram

Main article: Defining a Process Workflow - Building a Form

Once the workflow process has been designed as an interaction diagram, the data required to fully detail that process is captured in one or more User Forms. The User Form can carry information about that stage of the process, require the user to select an option or enter feedback, link to related information (such as a datasheet), and so on.

User Forms are created for the Start element and for each of the Task elements. When one of these types of elements is clicked on in the diagram, the current user form settings are displayed in the pane to the right of the process editor, or if the form has not yet been defined, a Create Form button is displayed.

A User Form is created for the Start element and each Task element in a process diagram.

Using a Workflow Process

So how do you use a workflow process in your organization? Rather than being accessed through a single entry point, the workflow management features are integrated into appropriate interface locations in the Altium NEXUS design client. they can also be accessed in the NEXUS Server, in your browser.

You access each type of workflow process in the following ways.

Raising a Part Request - In Altium NEXUS

The available part request workflow processes are created and edited in the Part Requests tab (theme) of the NEXUS Server.

A new part request can be raised after performing a search for a component in the Explorer panel. After the search is complete, look for the Submit Request button at the top right of the panel. When this is clicked, the menu will list all of the workflow processes available in the Part Request theme, on the connected NEXUS Server.

After choosing your preferred workflow process, the User Form associated with the Start element of that workflow process is opened, ready to be filled in.

A new Part Request can be raised after performing a search in the Explorer panel.

Raising a Part Request - In the NEXUS Server

A new Part Request can also be raised from within the NEXUS Server. Select Part Requests in the menu on the left, then click the Submit Request button to access the available workflow processes, as shown below. After choosing your preferred workflow process, the User Form associated with the Start element of that workflow process is opened, ready to be filled in.

A Part Request can also be raised in the NEXUS Server.

Refer to the Parts Request section of the Creating & Managing Processes page for detailed information.

New Project Creation

To start a new project creation workflow process:

• In Altium NEXUS, select File » New » Managed Project, or
• In the NEXUS Server (open in your browser), select Projects in the navigation tree, then click the Add Project button.

The New Project workflow process can be launched from Altium NEXUS, or from the NEXUS Server, hover the cursor over the image to see the difference.

All available Project Creation workflow processes will be listed in the menu. After choosing the required workflow, its User Form will open.

Alternatively, an existing project can be cloned. This will create a complete copy of the project, including all documents in that project. To clone an existing project:

• In the Open Managed Project dialog, right-click on an existing project and select Clone from the context menu, or
• In the NEXUS Server, select Projects in the navigation tree, click on the project to be cloned,

Alternatively, an existing project can be cloned in Altium NEXUS or from the NEXUS Server, hover the cursor over the image to see the difference.

All available Project Creation workflow processes will be listed in the menu. After choosing the required workflow, its User Form will open.

Refer to the Project Creation section of the Creating & Managing Processes page for detailed information.

Performing a Design Review

Design review workflow processes are classified as Project Activities, they are created and edited in the Project Activities tab (theme) of the NEXUS Server.

To launch a design review, select the required workflow process:

• In Altium NEXUS, select the required review from the Project » Project Activities sub-menu.
• In NEXUS Server, click the Activities button to display a menu of the available design review workflow processes.

A Design Review can be launched from either Altium NEXUS or from the NEXUS Server, hover the cursor over the image to see the different approaches.

Refer to the Project Activities section of the Creating & Managing Processes page for detailed information.

Monitoring and Actioning the Tasks

Related pages: Tasklist panel, NEXUS Server Browser-based Access & Management

If a designer has been defined as a participant in a workflow process (their NEXUS Server username has been entered into a field in a form), they will have a task assigned to them.

In Altium NEXUS, that task will present in the Tasks region of the Tasklist panel. When the designer clicks on the task, the workflow process dialog for that task will open.

Click on a task in the Tasklist panel, to open the dialog for that task.

In the NEXUS Server, that task will present in the Tasks section of the server, as shown below.

All users can also access their Tasks in the NEXUS Server, in the Tasks section.

If you are an administrator, when you select Tasks in the NEXUS Server all tasks assigned to you will be listed. Clear your name from the Search field and press enter to display all Tasks that are currently active, for all users.

The Tasklist panel has two sections, labeled Tasks and Activities.

• Tasks - tasks require user-interaction, the assigned designer must open the task and complete the relevant steps in the dialog. When the assigned designer completes their steps they click Submit in the dialog, indicating they have completed that task. If that task requires the input of multiple designers, that task is not considered complete until all assigned designers have clicked Submit. Once that has occurred, subsequent tasks in that that workflow will present in the Tasklist of each of the assigned designers.
• Activities - this section of the panel lists the Activities, or workflows, that the current user has initiated. It does not mean that the current user is required to complete a Task as part of that workflow, the Activities section reflects the workflows that this user has created. Click on an activity to open a dialog that displays the workflow diagram (as shown below), the diagram will include a blue icon indicating which task the workflow is currently up to, and which designer(s) that task is waiting on.

The diagram for a workflow launched by the signed-in user. The blue icon indicates which task the workflow process is currently up to, and who it is waiting on.