Unified Configuration Metamodel Strategy

With the goal of supporting new process modeling best practices faster than before, while still keeping the number of metamodel variants low, we will support two standard metamodels going forward.

This new strategy will be implemented with the next Stages release 26.2. We share this strategy already with this release to enable our customers to adjust accordingly in a timely manner.

The Unified Configuration Best Practice will represent a clearly structured and consistent version of the Unified Configuration that reflects our best methodological recommendations for process modeling.

• This metamodel is intended to become the recommended foundation for modeling new processes and new process versions.
• Customers using this standard metamodel will receive a “state‑of‑the‑art” metamodel with every release, ensuring optimal process modeling in Stages.

The Unified Configuration Compatibility Mode will continue to include elements and associations that are no longer part of the Best Practice modeling approach, for example Work Product Parts.

Since existing processes were modeled using these elements, continued metamodel support is required.

• This metamodel is intended to be used for past or existing process versions or for migrating processes to the Best Practice metamodel.
• For new modeling activities, the use of the Unified Configuration Best Practice is strongly recommended.

The option to use customized metamodels and to define a customer‑specific metamodel strategy will remain available.

Please discuss further details with your Product Consultant.

With Stages 26.1, a first version of the Unified Configuration Best Practice is being provided.

• To better support the modeling and tailoring of different process lifecycles, Quality Levels will be modeled at milestones instead of at work products.
• The Responsible association between Workflow and Role will no longer be available, ensuring a more consistent and unambiguous process modeling. Instead, the Accountable association should be used.
• Comments on the input/output relationships between activities and work products are no longer converted into work product states, but are displayed as normal comments.

This metamodel can be used for productive process modelling and will be the foundation for process frameworks distributed by the Stages team, e.g. the Automotive Process Framework.

For existing processes modeled with Unified Configuration 2 or 3, a migration will be required.

Manual migration is already possible; automated migration support is planned for one of the next releases.