Create Protocol#

Protocol.Create

Overview#

This operation is used to create a new Protocol.

Setup#

No special setup is required other than to meet the preconditions of the transaction.

Preconditions#

The Protocol name must be provided and must be unique.

Sequence of Steps#

There are several ways to create a new versioned object. Depending on the level, follow these steps to get started:

Entity - in the landing page of this entity type in the Business Data menu or in the details page of an existing entity of the same type, select New on the top ribbon. For more information, see Creating Entity Objects.
Revision - if you want to create a new revision, go to the New dropdown button on the top ribbon and select Revision. For more information, see Revisions.
Version - if you want to create a version associated to an existing revision, go to the New dropdown button on the top ribbon and select Version. For more information, see Versions.

Step 1: Change Set#

Select an existing Change Set or select Create to create a new Change Set. If configured to support implicit Change Sets, it is also possible to check the option Use Automatic Change Set.
Optionally, select an Approval Role.

Step 2: General Data#

Provide a name for the Protocol.
If you are creating a new version, the revision that was selected when you started the process will be the revision to which this version will be associated. If you are creating a new entity or revision (with a new version associated to it), provide a name for the revision or it will be automatically generated for you. For more information, see the Naming section of Revisions.
Optionally, enter a description.
Select the Protocol type. The list of possible values is taken from the ProtocolType lookup table.
Select the scope of the Protocol - defaults to General.
Select the Protocol severity. The list of possible values is taken from the ProtocolSeverity lookup table.
Optionally, add the following data:
- Default Owner - reference to an existing Employee.
- Root Cause Source - a lookup table to be used to select root causes.
- Overrides
  - Allow inhibit overrides - if true, the options Default Inhibit Move from Step and Default Inhibit Ship defined at the protocol are simply default because you can change them when opening each new Protocol Instance.
  - Allow state role override - if true, you can override the protocol state role when changing the state of a Protocol Instance.
- Options
  - Default Inhibit Move from Step - if a material is associated with a Protocol Instance, that material cannot be moved to the next step while the Protocol Instance is not closed or terminated (defaults to false).
  - Default Inhibit Ship - if a material is associated with a Protocol Instance, that material cannot be shipped while the Protocol Instance is not closed or terminated (defaults to false).
  - Remove Terminated Materials - each Protocol Instance can be associated with several materials; if meanwhile one material is terminated for any reason, the material will be removed from the Protocol Instance (defaults to true).
  - Terminate on Zero Materials - each Protocol Instance can be associated with several materials; once you disassociate all those materials, the instance will be automatically terminated (defaults to true).
  - Default Auto State Change Behavior - defaults to None. If the value is None, then no action is needed, otherwise:
    - Automatic - after evaluation of the conditions to change the state or close the Protocol Instance, it will automatically change or close. If there is more than one next state possible, the system will ask what is the new state and will automatically change it.
    - Prompt No - after evaluation of the conditions to change the state or close the Protocol Instance, you will be asked to change or close the Protocol Instance automatically (defaults to No). If there is more than one next state possible, the system will ask what is the new state. If you chose yes, the system will change the state or close the Protocol Instance.
    - Prompt Yes - similar to Prompt No, although in this case the default is Yes.
- Notifications
  - Send Email to the Owner and Role - if true, whenever a Protocol Instance is created, the system will send an email to the Owner (if defined and has a valid email), to the Initiator (if defined and has a valid email), and to the distribution list of the Role (if any and has valid emails separated by a semicolon). The email has the Protocol Instance name, date/time, and list of materials and associated materials (if any).
  - Send Notification to the Owner and Role - if true, whenever a Protocol Instance is created, the system will send a notification to the Owner (if defined), to the Initiator (if defined), and to Protocol State Role (if defined). The notification shows the Protocol Instance name, the System State and the Protocol State.

Step 3: Dispositions#

At the Protocol level, choose which actions are possible to be taken in a future instance by defining the following criteria:
- Allow Full Record Loss - select a loss reason, predefined at the loss Reason list. The material will consequently be scrapped.
- Allow Rework - select a Flow path, predefined as rework flow and a rework reason from the step Rework Reasons' list. The return path will be automatically filled based on the Go to Flow that was selected.
- Allow Temporary Off Flow - select an Off Flow Path, predefined as Off Flow and an Off Flow Reason from the step Off Flow Reasons List. The return path will be automatically filled based on the selected departure point in the Flow.

Step 4: Parameters#

Fill different Parameter details according to the type you selected. The different types are:
- Boolean
- Date Time
- Decimal
- Long
- String
Select Create to complete the operation.

Step 5: State#

When the Protocol is created, you can define its flow of states. The flow is not restricted to a unique unidirectional sequence; you can draw different paths. To build a flow of states, follow the steps below:
- Drag all the states you need from the Shapes panel on the right-hand side of the screen and drop them in the main area. Define a Start and one or more Ends.
- Once the states have been positioned, proceed to creating the connections; do so by pulling the arrows at each state shape.
- Finally, drag and drop the Start and End shapes to the respective positions in the flow. You can have just one start but several ends.
- Select the three-dot menu in each state and define the Settings.

General Data#

Name - must be unique within the Protocol.
Description - contains a description of the state.
Role - should include the group of people who will perform each stage. The user needs to be associated with an employee object and, therefore, be included in the specified role for a stage.
Checklist - has to be created prior to being associated with a stage. To validate the state, you must go through the checklist before changing the state.
Auto State Change Behavior - by default, it will display the behavior defined in the Protocol options. However, you can change it at every stage.

Tasks#

Allow Task Creation - if true, you can create a new task. If false, the Task Creation State will be disabled.
Task Creation State - tasks have different states: Created, Released, In Progress, and Completed. When defining the task creation state, you can choose Created or Released.
- If Created, it needs to be approved to change to Released to be ready to be performed.
- If Released, it does not need to be approved to be ready to Perform by the assigned user (owner).
Allow Task Release - you can allow task creation as Created but you cannot allow its approval (to Release) at this particular state. However, this does not mean that the task cannot be approved at a subsequent step. To set this possibility, mark as false.

Dispositions#

Allow Dispositions - if true, you can create dispositions for the associated materials.
Dispositions Mode (only configurable when Allow Disposition is set as true) - a disposition starts as Created, then Approved, and finally Executed. You can define which disposition stage you want to have at each protocol state, otherwise you cannot Change State.
- Allow - you can create a Disposition for any associated material, although it is not mandatory.
- Approve - in this state, it is mandatory that Dispositions, for all the associated materials, have been approved.
- Execute - in this state, it is mandatory that Dispositions, for all the associated materials, have been executed.
- Require - in this state, it is mandatory that Dispositions, for all the associated materials, have been created.
Requires Approval - after the Disposition is created, it will be available for approval by the Protocol Instance owner. Only after this approval can it be executed by anyone who has state role permissions.

Note

You can only create Dispositions for associated Materials.

Parameters#

You can enter some information in the Parameters section (example: you can choose which parameters you want to consider at each state of the Protocol Instance). Remember these Parameters need to be defined previously when you are creating the Protocol (see Step 4: Parameters above).

To select the parameters, follow the steps below:

Select the icon.
Select one of the Parameters, previously defined at the protocol creation stage. If the Parameter is a string, the type has to be defined by selecting one of the following options:
- Free text - any text can be entered.
- Lookup table - a list of option will be available when performing the Protocol Instance. To specify this list, you need to select a lookup table in the Source field.
- Query - a list of options will be available when performing the Protocol Instance. To specify this list, you need to select a query in the Source field. Only queries with Protocol Parameter as Entity will be available.
Define if the Parameter is mandatory and if it is Read-Only (available for viewing but not editing).
Select Save and Close to complete the operation.