About Configuration Features

Configuration features can have relationships to the following types of objects within the context of a product:

• Candidate configuration features
• Other configuration features, including mandatory configuration features and "varies by" configuration features
• Configuration options
• Inactive "varies by" configuration features
• Committed configuration features

The Configuration Feature policy governs the configuration feature type and all of its subtypes. Configuration features can be in any of the following states:

• Preliminary—This state defines the initial condition for a logical feature object. Users with a Product Manager or System Engineer role are most likely to define the configuration feature composition while it is in this state.
• Review—Configuration features are promoted to this state upon initial composition definition. You can deploy route-controlled review mechanisms to track the completeness of the definition and use the change control process to release the configuration feature. The Responsible Design Organization (RDO) governs all role definitions in this state, and role definitions have RDO filters in their policy.
• Release—Configuration features are promoted to this state using the change control behavior of the Engineering Change object. You cannot manually promote or demote from this state, which is considered a frozen state for the configuration feature. It is not possible to make any change to the composition of a configuration feature when it is in this state; however, it is still possible to define a GBOM. The configuration feature is not governed by the RDO when it is in this state.
• Obsolete—Configuration features are promoted to this state using the change control behavior of the Engineering Change object. You cannot manually promote or demote from this state, which is considered a frozen state for the configuration feature. It is also not possible to make any change to the composition of a configuration feature when it is in this state. The configuration feature is not governed by the RDO when it is in this state.

The Configuration Option policy governs the configuration option type and all of its subtypes. Configuration option objects do not have a change process and are not revisionable.

Configuration options can only be in the following state:

• Exists—This state defines the initial condition for a configuration option object. Users with a Product Manager, System Engineer, or Marketing Manager role can define the configuration feature composition in terms of configuration options.