Promoting and Demoting an Object

If the Auto Promote feature is enabled in the object's policy, the system promotes the object automatically when all requirements are met. Otherwise, people with promote access can manually promote the object from its current state to the next. If the policy has signature requirements, they must be met before promoting.

People with demote access can demote an object from its current state to the previous state. For example, a major redesign in a product might cause it to be demoted from its current state back to its previous state.

This task shows you how to:

Before you begin: View the Lifecycle page for the object you want to promote or demote; see Viewing an Object's Lifecycle.

Promote an Object

  1. If the promotion arrow pointing to the next state has a , make sure all signature requirements are met. See Applying a Signature.

  2. If the promotion arrow pointing to the next state has a , a route or workflow must be completed before you can promote the object. If the lifecycle branches to more than one state, Business Process Services promotes the object to the state whose signature requirements are satisfied.

    Some applications may handle branched lifecycles differently and not allow promotions to be made using the Lifecycle page. For example, to cancel an ECO in Engineering Central, you click Cancel ECO on the ECO Properties page. For instructions on promoting or demoting to a branched state for a particular type of object, see the online help or user guide for the application you are using.

  3. When all signature requirements are met and all blocking routes and workflows are complete, click Promote from the page Actions menu or toolbar.

    If the promotion is successful, the next state's box turns to a darker blue, indicating that the object has been promoted to that state.

    If a promotion requires a signature and the signature has not been given, an error message displays, listing the unfulfilled signature requirements.

    The promotion may also fail for other reasons. For example, a promotion could fail if items have not been connected, if connected items have not been promoted to the expected state, or if the object is in a route that has not yet been completed. If the promotion fails, the system displays a message explaining the reason.

    If a state-based route is defined for the new lifecycle state, it is automatically started (if your system is configured to do so; some systems may not have this feature enabled). If a state-based route had been started and stopped, for example the object was demoted or a task in the route was rejected, the route is automatically restarted.

Demote an Object

For many objects, you can demote it from one state to a lower state.

Before you begin:
  • Click Demote from the Lifecycle page Actions menu or toolbar.

    The previous state's box turns to a darker blue, indicating the object has been demoted to that state.

    If the object is included in a state-based route for the state from which it was demoted and the route's current status is Started, the route is automatically stopped. If the state to which it was demoted also has a state-based route, that route is automatically started from its beginning.