Under the Hood

Fusion Lifecycle Tip! License to Thrill

As promised in last week’s blog, I have more tips from Autodesk University to share!  This one is a tad embarrassing – a common mistake that is made by administrators is assigning the wrong license type or group assignments when adding a new user.  Confession: I made that mistake myself just last week when adding a customer to the tenant I demoed in my class.  Oops!  It was easy to fix – the person I added let me know she couldn’t see what she expected and sure enough, I’d clicked on the wrong group when setting up her account.

I figure this is a good post to review the different license types in Fusion Lifecycle and clear up another question I get asked a lot (particularly if the admin was involved in the initial purchase of the Fusion Lifecycle).

Read the full blog post on our new Fusion Lifecycle blog here.

 

App Friday: The Supplier Quarterly Business Review (SQBR) App

Today’s feature App I’m showcasing is known as SQBR or: Supplier Quarterly Business Review. This is a single workspace that comes complete with calculations that help you track and monitor Supplier performance. Think of it as a historical report card for evaluating your vendors/suppliers/distributors.

First step: go to the Administration menu in Fusion Lifecycle and select App Store. Browse and look for the Supplier Quarterly Business Review (SQBR) App. Note that this is also adjacent to the Supplier Corrective Aciton Request (SCAR) App. We’ll discuss this in a future post, as these can work together. Select the SQBR app and check out the synopsis and sample images. Next, click Install to begin the process.

For full instructions, view the complete post on our new Fusion Lifecycle blog here.

We'll see you over there!

 

– Brian Schanen, Product Manager, Autodesk Fusion Lifecycle

What's New in the Oct 2017 Release of Fusion Lifecycle

Our October 2017 Fusion Lifecycle release brought lots of enhancements to our Modern User Interface and improved performance to My Outstanding Works.

 

Here’s What’s New:

• Multiple User-Interface Enhancements for the Modern User Interface
• Project Management Feature Now Available for Modern User Interface.
• Attachments Tab Updates for the Modern User Interface.
• Grid Tab Enhancements for the Modern User Interface.
• Improved Change Log for the Modern User Interface.
• Improved Performance of the My Outstanding Work Refresh Time when Using Precondition Scripts.

For a full list of new features and enhancements, visit What’s New in Fusion Lifecycle. You can also see a detailed list of Resolved Issues in the Release Notes.

Join us on the new Fusion Lifecycle blog - I'll be giving more details on using precondition filters to replace the isOwner and Users, all by name pick-list precondition scripts in workflows for additional performance benefits.  Stay tuned!!

Keeping the Fusion in Fusion Lifecycle: How to Deliver a Successful Project

Join Katelyn Wilson, PLM Specialist from Advanced Solutions and Andree Cordts, Director of NPI for Oxygen Development at Autodesk University 2017, as they take a dive into what it takes to prepare for a successful Fusion Lifecycle implementation.

Andree attended this class led by Katelyn Wilson at AU 2016 and the experience provided her with the tools, knowledge, and confidence needed to move forward with their Fusion Lifecycle implementation in a way that promised success to Oxygen Development.  Join us this year and attend the class as it is presented again with new tips and advice directly from a Fusion Lifecycle certified implementer and a Fusion Lifecycle user.

To learn more about our upcoming class, view the rest of this article on the new Fusion Lifecycle Blog here. 

 

App Friday: What is the Fusion Lifecycle App Store?

Before we get started, I wanted to let you all know about our new dedicated Fusion Lifecycle Blog. In the future, we'll be posting full content in this new location, so make sure to check it out and get subscribed.

With that said: Welcome to App Fridays! This segment of our blog will showcase Fusion Lifecycle's App Store. First, some background on this topic. The App Store has been around and available in Fusion Lifecycle for some time. Even in the "before-times" back when it was called PLM 360. 

Trivia time: what was the product called before PLM 360? Perhaps we need some giveaways for anyone who recalls...

Now, an App is defined here as one or more Fusion Lifecycle workspaces that solve a business purpose. Engineering Change Management for example contains two common workspaces - Change Request and Change Order - where as Field Service Request is a solo workspace, targeting just that specific need. See also FMEA, or Accident Reports, or Return Merchandise Authorization – the list goes on…

Of course, once installed in your tenant, you can connect the new workspace(s) to other processes inside Fusion Lifecycle, as if you've created a new workspace from scratch. You see, that's the beauty of the App Store. You can hit the ground running with a new process to solve a need. You get more than just a Workspace - any adjacent/dependent workspaces come along, as well as scripts, picklists, and roles needed to function properly. A true turn-key solution.

What's more, you can modify at will, as this is just a workspace like all the others. Or - and just consider this - you can leave it as is, and you might find it works just fine the way it is. And that's where this new App Store effort lies - making sure that the Apps in the store are up-to-date, relevant, and use the latest and greatest functionality, scripts, and industry best practices.

I know what you're thinking - what's the catch? How much are they? Good news is if you are a Fusion Lifecycle subscriber, you can access the App Store at anytime and install as many as you need. No per-app pricing, just log in, be an Administrator, and browse + install. Once in, just add the new role(s) to your group and begin sampling the App.

So, what's next? Well, some Apps need updating. There are much needed Apps that are missing, and some that have been taken offline or otherwise gone dormant. We're waking these up, clearing off the cobwebs, and will showcase them weekly. Tune in and sample these as they become available. As always, feedback is welcome. 

- Brian Schanen, PLM Product Manager, Autodesk

Tip Tuesday! Getting a Quick View in Fusion Lifecycle

During our Accelerate conference, I was reminded of a tip I first discovered while prepping for an Autodesk University class several years ago (and a good plug in to remind you guys that AU 2017 is coming up!  Need help convincing your boss you should go?  Use the cost calculator and sample email in the preceding link).

Back to the tip - I tend to rely on email notifications when I have work to do, rather than my My Outstanding Work queue on my dashboard.  That said, I know I have quite a few end users that do manage their day by reviewing that.  So I’ll be adding this tip to my training content for sure.  If you are in a workspace and bring up your dashboard this gives a dashboard quick view and will give you a list of your outstanding work in the active workspace.

You can refresh right from there to to see if there is anything new you need to work on so you’re not the bottleneck!  You can also see your bookmarked items and recently viewed ones too.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: We have a new blog! If you want thought-leadership articles around product development, the latest on upcoming events such as Autodesk University, and news / best practices for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), make sure to check out and subscribe to our new blog here.

- Michelle, Fusion Adoption Team, Autodesk

Tip Tuesday! Spacing_Out_with_Scripts in Fusion Lifecycle

Today’s post involves one of those feature enhancements that while seemingly small, pays off in a big way. Truly one of those “it’s the little things” type of improvements. This involves scripting, and a change made in Fusion Lifecycle to allow for spaces in the script name.

First, a look at the current state of most of the tenants out there. Let's take a quick journey to the Admin side of Fusion Lifecycle (note that you’ll have to be a site Admin to follow along) and navigate to Administration>System Configuration>Scripting

 Welcome to the Scripting area!

There are loads of scripts in here – from Condition to Validation to Action and Library scripts. While the new feature here applies to all scripts, we’re going to focus on Action scripts, as they have a front-end user interface if you choose to use it.

Take a look at the sample screen cap to one of my tenants below. Note_the_liberal_use_of_underscores_to_call_out_script_names. AlsoNoteTheScriptsNamesThatAreCollapsedTogether. Note the most visually appearing, eh?

Now, as an Administrator, on any given Workspace in Fusion Lifecycle, you can set Action scripts to fire at record creation, upon edit of the record, or at any time on demand. Set these in Administration>Workspace Manager and this is under the Behaviors entry in any given Workspace.

The drop down list pulls from the Action scripts in the tenant, and inherit the exact names of the scripts. So what, right? Well, as an Admin, you can edit the script in the script editor, remove the _underscores, add spaces instead, and save/close. This change permeates through the system, updating everywhere.

Here’s why this is nice. Users on the front end of Fusion Lifecycle may use push button scripting – a nifty little function that is on the same toolbar as Create, Delete, Clone, etc. Upon picking that button, a list of available Action scripts – configured by the site Admin – will list out. Instead of the barrage of underscores and concatenated words, you re greeted with nice, readable names of on-demand Action scripts to choose from.

So, take some stock of your scripts, maybe plan a cleanup day. I know I’ll be tidying up the new default tenant configuration launching soon. Getting this sorted may take time, but does provide a more polished look throughout the tenant. Enjoy!

- Brian Schanen | Product Manager | Autodesk Fusion Lifecycle

Tip Tuesday! Escalating with Permissions in Fusion Lifecycle

Enabling escalations in your workflow is a handy way to eliminate bottlenecks in a workflow that can occur when action isn’t taken.  There are several escalation types:

• Escalate using permissions
• Execute a transition
• Run a script

For today’s tip I want to focus on escalating using permissions – this will allow additional users to perform a pending transition after a specified amount of time has passed.  To select the additional users for a transition, administrators assign an ad hoc workflow permission to the transition in order to give those users the required rights only during the time the escalation is in effect.

This is great to use if you need to add additional users to perform a pending transition in the workflow if it’s not acted on within a certain time frame – eliminates bottlenecks in your processes!

you can disable any pre-condition scripts if necessary by selecting the checkbox:

--Michelle, Fusion Adoption Team

Accelerate 2017 Session Highlight: Breaking the PLM Mold

The countdown is on - only 26 days until our 4th annual Accelerate conference in Boston, MA. We still have hotel rooms available at the Seaport Hotel at our $299/ni special rate, but they won't be available for long, so if you're planning on joining us, I would suggest getting registered and getting hotel booked soon.

Today we're highlighting another of our customer breakout sessions - this one led by Boa Technology. 

Boa Technology Inc., creators of the revolutionary, award-winning Boa System, delivers closure and adjustment solutions purpose-built for performance footwear. Boa’s patented system consists of three integral parts: a micro-adjustable dial, super-strong lightweight laces, and low friction lace guides. Each unique configuration is engineered to optimize fit and provide precision, adaptability, and control, and The Boa System dials and laces are backed by The Boa Guarantee. From humble beginnings on the ski slopes of Steamboat Springs, Colorado – the Boa System now powers over 83 million footwear and special applications.

Check out just one of their applications: snowboarding, in the video below from their website:

2 years ago, Boa reached a tipping point where further global expansion required a top tier PLM solution that would be able to expand with them, for both Product Lifecycle Management and custom workflow solutions. Come hear from David Clifton (Manager of Document Control) and Lem Tingley (VP of Quality) and learn how Boa Technology has taken full advantage of Fusion Lifecycle’s ability to customize – creating a truly unique system. BOA’s adoption of PLM has given them the power to intelligently link together global suppliers, making their project management collaboration, data flow, and overall manufacturing processes more efficient. 

For more information on the event, visit our event page here. 

- Kimberly Stout, Community Manager

Tip Tuesday! Back to School with Fusion Lifecycle

One of my favorite features of Facebook is the ‘On This Day’ look back at what you posted in  previous years.  Today I got the notice that we first launched PLM Talk five years ago!!

 

Today I want to talk about the various ways you (and your coworkers) can learn more about Fusion Lifecycle. A nice bulleted list with links:

• YouTube
• Help
• Forums
• In person learning opportunities: Accelerate and Autodesk University
• PLM Talk webinars

Have ideas of other topics you’d like to see presented?  Please chime in on my forum post Back to School.

--Michelle, Fusion Adoption Team