As you have found above, the PMDM for Automotive solution provides a large amount of ready-to-use functionality. In addition, the solution is designed to be flexible and extendable via standard STEP configuration and use of the Extension API. Within the elements of the PMDM for Automotive solution, it is expected that users will modify and expand on the base solution to best meet their particular needs. In addition to the PMDM for Automotive solution, most customers will also want to take advantage of the core STEP capabilities to accomplish standard data management activities. Some suggestions for additional topics to be considered as part of a comprehensive STEP implementation are listed below, though this should not be considered an all-inclusive list as each customer will likely have unique business cases to be solved.
- What is the onboarding and approval process for parts? Should a workflow be added for new product onboarding?
- What is the approval process for reference and supplier data? Will reporting capabilities be added via the Extension API so data can be reviewed prior to import? Should business rules (and/or additional states) be added to the existing import workflows to validate data beyond the standard format validations? Should all data be considered trusted and auto-approved, and the import files modified to approve the data upon import? Should data be entered into a workflow for further review and approval following import?
- Is any unique processing of import files required? Does any data need to be filtered out, validated, etc in a non-standard way? If so, a new state could be added to the relevant workflow and additional processing could be managed within that state using the Extension API.
- Will an "Own" model be considered as part of the solution? If so, what needs to be added to support that (e.g., data model, integrations, workflows, etc)?
- If an Own model is used, consider adding the Reference Delegation screen to an Application Editor screen.
- What data do users need to view and manage in Web UI? Should additional screens be added for onboarding, maintenance, or viewing of parts, vehicles, or any other data?
- How will data deletions be handled? The automotive importers have the capability to mark data for deletion, but will not actually carry out the deletions as each implementation should determine how to review and process deletions. The existing import workflows could be modified to carry out deletions rather than marking the data for deletion. Alternatively, data marked for deletion could be added to a separate workflow for review and execution of the deletion.