Change Logs

Xfmea allows authorized users to activate a change log for a particular FMEA or DVP&R. The change log utility controls when users will be able to edit the analysis and records a history of the revisions made to the analysis since the change log was activated, along with a list of the specific changes that were made in each revision. Depending on the settings, the change log can record:

The date and time of the change.
The user who made the change.
The type of change (i.e., Add, Edit, Delete).
The record that was changed.
The property that was changed.
The value before the change and the value after the change.
The reason (or justification) that the user provided at the time of the change.

If desired, the change log utility can also be used to facilitate an electronic approval tracking process by storing an electronic record of the users who have reviewed and approved each version of the analysis.

General Information About Change Logs

This section describes some of the characteristics of change logs that all users should be aware of. Note that while the examples given are for FMEAs, the commands are similar for DVP&Rs:

Only authorized users can activate and manage a Change Log: In enterprise databases and in standard databases with login security enabled, the ability to activate and manage a change log is restricted to project owners and to users with the "Manage all projects" permission. For standard databases without login security enabled, all users are authorized to activate, configure and maintain change logs in the database.
A Change Log applies to a particular FMEA: The change log records changes only within the FMEA with which it is associated.
Icons indicate that a Change Log is active and whether a revision has been started: When a change log has been activated for an analysis, the icon in the FMEA column in the System panel will indicate that the change log is in one of two states:

No Revision Started: This icon shows that the FMEA associated with the item is locked and that no revision has started. In this case the FMEA is read-only for all users.

Revision Started: This icon shows that the FMEA associated with the item is open for modifications because an authorized user has started a revision.

Note: Regardless of whether an analysis under change log control is locked or open for modifications, all users can view the changes made since the log was activated and export the change log to an Excel spreadsheet, if desired.

When a Change Log is active in an analysis, the changes are displayed in the FMEA Change Log window and the Record Change Log window: To view the version history and the change log for the entire analysis, choose FMEA > Change Log > View Change Log. To view the changes that have been recorded for a particular record in the analysis, click the Change Log button in the Properties window to open the Record Change Log window.

Xfmea stores only the most recent version of the analysis in a state that can be edited, reported or queried against: The software does not automatically maintain a complete copy of the analysis as it was at a given time prior to subsequent modification. However, there are several ways to manually store a complete copy of the analysis at any point in time. For example, you can:
- Use the Restore Points feature to store a complete backup of the project at a given time.
- Create a duplicate of the project each time a version has been completed and provide specific details about the duplicate project in the Project Properties window.
- Generate reports for each version and attach them to the item via the Attachments window.
- Copy and paste the item within the project or to another project.
The software interface (and this documentation) uses the terms "original," "revision" and "version" in specific ways:
- "Original" refers to the analysis at the time when the change log was activated.
- "Revision" refers to a tracked set of modifications made to the analysis, with a specific start and end date/time and a unique name and number that are assigned by an authorized user through the change log utility.
- "Version" refers to either the original analysis or any of the subsequent revisions.
A Change Log may or may not require a reason for change: If the users who manage a change log have selected Require reason for change in the Change Log window, then each time that a user edits the analysis during a tracked revision, the Reason for Change window will appear so that the user can provide the reason the change was made.
A Change Log may or may not utilize electronic approval tracking: If the users who manage a change log have assigned approvers for a version of the analysis, then after a version has ended, the assigned approvers will need to electronically record their approval of the analysis in the Approve Version window before the next revision can begin.
A Change Log does not track changes to URDs: Changes made to universal reliability definitions (URDs) and to models are not tracked by the Change Log.