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--- 712:dependentelements [2025/09/15 14:55] – created - external edit 127.0.0.1
+++ 712:dependentelements [2025/12/15 19:11] (current) – [Behavior of readiness checks with work product states] Fryer, Kathryn
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 ====== States and Quality Levels for Work Products ======
-Work Product represents the artifact, outcome, or a deliverable created or consumed during the process. In the overall context of a process, a work product progresses through various states when handled by multiple activities. This state change can happen within a workflow or through the course of different workflows during the product or program lifecycle. For example, a work product like 'Software Project Plan' would iteratively go through a change in states like 'draft', 'under review', and 'released' in a software project management process. With every iteration or change, the work product can go through the different states again.
+A Work Product represents the artifact, outcome, or a deliverable created or consumed during the process. In the overall context of a process, a work product progresses through various states when handled by multiple activities. This state change can happen within a workflow or through the course of different workflows during the product or program lifecycle. For example, a work product like 'Software Project Plan' would iteratively go through a change in states like 'draft', 'under review', and 'released' in a software project management process. With every iteration or change, the work product can go through the different states again.
 In addition, work products can be incrementally enhanced or increased in maturity, e.g. for specific milestones. Those increments can be expressed in work product quality levels. The example of a 'Software Project Plan' can advance in content and precision by moving through 'Preliminary', 'Established', 'Aligned with Customer', or 'Updated for Milestone X' quality levels.
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 Depending on your process metamodel, states and quality levels might be enabled or disabled.
-Similar to other modeled process elements, work product states and quality levels can also be modeled and then reused across processes.
+Similar to other modeled process elements, you can also define and reuse work product states and quality levels across processes.
 ===== Create a work product state =====
@@ Line 51: / Line 52: @@
 ===== Use state and quality level templates =====
-Instead of creating states and quality levels individually, they can also be created by using predefined templates.
+Instead of creating states and quality levels individually, you can also define and use templates.
-To define a template, go to ''Management > Descriptions'' and create either a ''State Template'' or ''Quality Level Template''. Underneath each template, the actual states and quality levels with their descriptions can be defined.
+To define a template, go to ''Management > Descriptions'' and create either a ''State Template'' or ''Quality Level Template''.
-TODO: screenshot
+{{ :712:add-state-ql-template.png?400 }}
-Just like every other process element, templates can also be defined in process modules and imported into other processes, e.g. in a "Structural Elements" common module, which is imported into every modeling workspace.
+Underneath each template, you can define the states or quality levels and their descriptions.
-TODO: screenshot
+{{ :712:state_template.png }}
+Like other process element, you can define these templates in a process module, e.g. in a ""Structural Elements" common module, that you can import into other modeling workspaces.
+To apply a template to a work product, use the context (''...)'' menu in the State or Quality Level widget and choose the desired template.
+{{ :712:apply_state_template.png?400 }}
+Stages displays the list of states or quality levels that will be created for you to confirm. If a state or quality level with the same name already exists, the respective entry from the template will not be created, but the original element retained. Stages does not delete any existing state or quality levels.
-To apply a template, simply use the ''...'' menu in the state or quality level box and choose the desired template. Stages displays the list of states or quality levels that will be created. If a state or quality level with the same name already exists, the respective entry from the template will not be created, but the original element retained.
 ===== 'Comment' vs. 'State' =====
-Modelers can continue using the commenting feature for work products. To add a comment, the modeler has to be click or tap on the three dots of a work product used as an output or an input and select 'Edit Comment'.
+Before Stages fully implemented work product states, modelers could use comments on an input/output association to represent a work product state.
-**Note**: Once the comment has been entered, hit on return or Enter key of your touch screen/keyboard to save the comment.
+While informative, such comments are not reusable, manually entered and maintained as free text, which is prone to errors. Work product states enable reuse across the process, including propagating name changes, like other elements.
-This comment is a free text field and is not reusable. Hence, any state updates to work products should not be added as a comment, but modeled using the work product ''State'' feature.
+Although you can still add comments to work product associations, we strongly recommend you use the states and quality level features instead. You can still add comments to work product and other associations to add information for other purposes.
+To add or edit a comment, select the context (three-dot) menu to the right of the association and select Edit Comment. After typing the comment, hit Enter or return to save it.
 {{ https://doc.stagesasaservice.com/lib/plugins/ckgedit/fckeditor/userfiles/image/78/wpcomment.png?400x146&nolink }}
-Unlike commenting, state feature allows synchronization of a change (like renaming of state name) across Stages just like any other process element (''work product'', ''guidance'', etc) modeled in Stages.
-===== Tailoring of a Work Product State =====
+===== Tailoring a Work Product State =====
-Work Product states can be tailored in or out, like any other process element. This can be done by selecting specific states using the right arrow selection next to the work product. This tailoring allows further refinement of allowable states in a given project type.
+You can tailor a Work Product state or quality level in or out, like any other process element. Tailoring allows further refinement of allowable states and quality levels in a given project or project type.
+When configuring the Tailoring wizard, select specific states or quality levels using the right arrow selection next to the work product.  For manual tailoring, you can remove or add a state or quality level using its context menu in the States or Quality Levels widget.
 {{ https://doc.stagesasaservice.com/lib/plugins/ckgedit/fckeditor/userfiles/image/78/wptailoring.png?900x645&nolink }}
 ===== Reporting API Extensions =====
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 ===== Behavior of readiness checks with work product states =====
-Process version readiness checks that check **association constraints** run **only on the work product** itself, not independently on each state. The input for an association constraint check will be the associations of the work product itself, merged with the associations of all states. For instance:
+Process version readiness checks run when you manually add a new version of a process. The checks for **association constraints** run **only on the work product** itself, not independently on each state. The input for an association constraint check will be the associations of the work product itself, merged with the associations of all states. For instance:
   * "Each work product is an input to at least one activity": It is sufficient that the work product (or any state) is input to an activity