10.4.2. Defining and Editing Lifecycle Stages

Engineering Knowledge Manager

Administration Guide | Chapter 10: Defining and Configuring Lifecycles | 10.4. Defining Lifecycles in EKM Studio |

10.4.1. Steps for Defining New Lifecycles |  | 10.4.3. Defining and Editing Lifecycle Transitions
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### 10.4.2. Defining and Editing Lifecycle Stages

Stages are used to define tasks that users/groups will perform as an object moves through its lifecycle. Stages are connected by transitions.

Actions associated with lifecycle stages are presented in the following sections. Topics include:

- Inserting New Stages
- Editing Stages
- Renaming Stages
- Deleting Stages

#### 10.4.2.1. Inserting New Stages

To insert a stage in a lifecycle diagram, click on the toolbar. Then, double-click the stage to edit it. See Editing Stages for details.

If an existing stage is currently selected when you insert a new stage, the new stage will be placed next to the existing stage, and a transition will be automatically inserted between the two stages. If no stage is selected when you insert a new stage, the new stage will be placed at the beginning of the diagram and can then be dragged to the desired position within the diagram. In the latter scenario you will need to manually insert a transition between an existing stage and the new stage.

You can drag and drop stages to arrange them in a particular order. This is particularly necessary when a new stage inserts on top of an existing stage.

Note: You cannot insert a stage if the current selection is a transition. If you attempt to do this, the following dialog will be displayed:

In this case, click OK and then either click in blank space or select an existing stage to connect the new stage to.

Once a stage is inserted, it will be listed in the Stage folder in the Elements tree, and its properties will be displayed in the Properties window.

#### 10.4.2.2. Editing Stages

Once a stage is inserted, you can define its properties using the Edit action.

To edit a stage:

1. Double-click the stage in the lifecycle diagram, or right-click the stage in the diagram or tree and select Edit from the context menu. The Edit Stage dialog box will appear:

   Figure 10.2: Edit Stage Dialog Box

2. In the Name edit box, enter a name for the stage as you would like it to appear in the diagram and tree. Names cannot contain these characters:

   `/ \ : [ ] * ' " |`

3. In the Description edit box, enter a description to help identify what will happen during the stage (optional). The description will be displayed when you mouse over the stage in the diagram, and in the Properties window when the stage is selected.

4. If you want the object to be automatically deleted from the repository within a certain number of days, check the Delete automatically box. Then, in the Expiration days edit box, specify the number of days after which the object should be automatically deleted from the repository. Usually this will only be specified in the last phase of the lifecycle, if you want an obsolete object to be automatically deleted after a certain period of time. If you leave this value at `0`, the object will not be deleted automatically and will be preserved indefinitely.

5. To allow the object to become part of the previous stage, check the Demote Allowed box.

6. In the Permissions pane, set permissions for the stage. To set permissions, click the Insert link to add an entry to the Member list, then click the drop box to select a user or group member. You can also use `*` to specify the user who created the object. Once you have selected a user you can check the boxes of permissions that you want that user to have.

   Permission type options include:

   - `Access`: Specifies who can access (or view) this object. By default this is selected and users cannot change this setting. However, other permissions can be granted.

   - `Create`: Specifies who can add a child to a folder object.

   - `Delete`: Specifies who can delete the object.

   - `Modify`: Specifies who can modify the object.

   - `Download`: Specifies who can download a file or folder object.

   - `Lifecycle`: Specifies who can perform lifecycle operations such as promote and demote.

   - `Full Control`: Specifies who has full control over the object. Full control means all permissions are available, including the ability to change permissions.

   Note:

   - Object-level permissions will only be granted to users who have an appropriate license checked out. For example, a user with an `Analyst` license will not be able to modify an object even if he or she has been granted `Modify` permission on the object. He or she must have a `Shared` license checked out to be able to modify the object.

   - If an object associated with a lifecycle is not accessible because the parent folder containing the object does not provide access permission to sign-off members or lifecycle users, those users cannot "Promote" the stage. To enable the ability to promote, give the required users at least `Access` permission to the parent folder.

7. Click OK.

#### 10.4.2.3. Renaming Stages

You can rename a lifecycle stage using the Rename tool.

To rename a stage:

1. Right-click the stage in the diagram or tree and select Rename.

2. In the Rename dialog box, enter the desired name for the stage in the New name edit box.

3. Click OK.

#### 10.4.2.4. Deleting Stages

To remove a stage from a lifecycle, right-click and the stage in the diagram or tree and select Delete. You can also remove a stage by selecting it in the diagram and pressing the `[Delete]` key on your keyboard.

When you delete a stage, the transitions connected to it will also be deleted.

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