Metaphase

product data management

SDRCs Metaphase is todays marketleading product data management (PDM) system. Its web-centric capabilities allow companies to turn strategic business innovationssuch as concurrent engineering, mass customization, globalization, virtual corporation initiatives, and supply chain managementinto a fully productive reality. Metaphase provides the underlying infrastructure that companies use to capture, store, manage, and share globally dispersed product information. Metaphase offers four families of webcentric solutions to address todays most strategic business objectives. These out-of-the-box solutionswhich leverage the Metaphase infrastructureare distinguished by a wealth of best practices and lessons learned from the worlds largest and most diverse base of PDM customers. Connect Provides a companys enterprise, suppliers, and business allies with a single, seamless source of accessible product information drawn from multiple missioncritical applications. Control Manages a companys captured product data on an enterprise basis so it can be protected and reused for many business purposes. Configure Transforms marketing requirements and engineering data into configurable product information that can be injected into a companys take-to-market processes. Collaborate Enables a companys best creative talent to work in cross-discipline teams.
Metaphase offers four families of web-centric solutions to address todays most strategic business objectives.

Infrastructure Services
Metaphase delivers four kinds of infrastructure services.

Usability services optimize the productivity of individual users. Four interfaces let users work with Metaphase in a setting that matches their comfort level:
A Java-based interface called e!Vista lets users work with Metaphase through commercially available web browsers and task-focused screens. An HTML-based interface called MetaWeb lets users interact with Metaphase through web browsers and web screens. A menu-based, dialog-driven interface called the classic client enables users to work with Metaphase through Metaphase-specific browsers.

Product definition services let enterprises represent their design, engineering, and production data in complete product structures. Companies can establish workflow procedures, apply change controls across multiple life cycle states, define part classifications to facilitate information reuse, and manage formal product releasesas well as works-inprocess. Data management services allow companies to handle product data as information objects, manage documents on an enterprise basis, store product information in data vaults, establish data security, and disperse product information in distributed databasesas well as across federated networks.

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Metaphase life cycle management provides process automation and workflow capabilities to manage product data across multiple life cycles. Metaphase enables customers to graphically model and automate product development release and change processes. For auditing purposes, Metaphase maintains a complete historical record of all process activities performed during the life cycle of a product. Metaphase change control manages product- related identification and resolution activity. Metaphase enables users to propose product changes, identify and understand the impact of design changes, and authorize modifications to product structures and associated definition information when change is appropriate.
Metaphase PDM services and related capabilities.

Integrated application interfaces enable users who create design/engineering data on their desktops to work with Metaphase without seeming to leave their authoring tools. Seamless interfaces also are available to let users of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems work with Metaphase. Other usability services include view and markup services that let authorized users examine product information created or revised during the early stages of product development. Life cycle notification services provide individual users with upto-date product information when predefined events occur or user actions are required.

Key Capabilities
Key infrastructure capabilities enable Metaphase to deliver its PDM services. Metaphase object management enables users to define individual pieces of product information as managed objects that have their own attributes and characteristics. Object management lets users work with a database that manages distributed product definitions regardless of their location or format. This PDM framework helps users locate, access, and manipulate application/ product definition data. Object management leverages all basic Metaphase architectural components, including distributed computing capabilities, a default data model, object management functionality, rules processor, and user interface.

Metaphase product structure lets users create, view, and manipulate product structure information in a graphical manner. Product structures usually are made up of component parts, subassemblies, and a top-level assembly. Product structures provide an understanding of what parts exist, how parts relate to one another to form assemblies and products, what definition data exists, and what relationships are in effect between definition data and the parts and products that it documents. Metaphase maintains the associativity between product configurations and the documents/files that describe them. Product structures are especially valuable because they enable companies to manage their Engineering Bills of Materials (EBOMs) more efficiently. When Metaphases product structure and life cycle capabilities are combined, companies are able to pass as-designed product information to configuration management solutions implemented under external ERP and MRP systems as well as under Metaphase itself.

System administration services enable entitled administrators to maintain their PDM site after Metaphase has been deployed. Available services apply to network management, user administration, system security, data base administration, and data integrity.

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Metaphase configuration management builds on Metaphase product structures and life cycles to enable companies to track product configurations and their related definition data as they evolve over time. Metaphase supports product structures as they range from as-designed through as-maintained states. Metaphase supports processes for creating, releasing, and changing product structures. These Metaphase capabilities are enablers for meeting the configuration management requirements defined in MIL STD 973 and ISO 9004. Metaphase parts classification allows companies to organize parts into designated families, as well as manage familyspecific characteristics for each part. Metaphase enables users to describe part characteristics via an unlimited number of descriptive parametric attributes. Metaphase also supports organization schemes based on business-specific parts, as well as standard parts. Metaphase integration tools enable companies to implement businessspecific data models, add custom functionality, tailor standard Metaphase functionality, and create interfaces to external applications and information systems. These integration tools can be used to encapsulate local software tools and applications into Metaphase object management. They also allow companies to extend Metaphase itself by redefining the object times, attributes, and relationships that comprise the data model used to store product information. Available integration tools let companies localize the user interface, meet internationalization requirements, provide API access, and document integration activity.

Part and data relationships.

Business Advantages
Fosters global collaboration Thousands of knowledge users can seamlessly share your enterprises product knowledge. Even when this information is created by hundreds of designers and engineers employing scores of different applications. Streamlines your take-to-market cycles Facilitates concurrent engineering and cross-discipline teaming. Brings suppliers, business allies, and customers into your virtual enterprise. Transforms data into intellectual capital Supplements your product data with design intent, best practices, workflow procedures, and decision support. Manages your product designs, enables you to change them on an iterative basis as they undergo rigorous validation, and re-use them when new or tailored products have to be developed. Enables you to determine whether you can manufacture a product, support it after it is built, and make money on it.

Simplifies your production side Optimizes product information that is common between Metaphase and your other product-related systems. Leverages part data as a common basis for handing off product structures, change controls, classifications, and workflow to your production groups. Eliminates the need for you to create product data from scratch for entry into your ERP system.

State-of-the-Market Features
Ease of Use Web-centric architecture Task-focused user interface Online documentation Graphical setup/display of life cycle processes Drag and drop product structure editing Graphical product structure navigation Graphical product data navigation Graphic creation of change object relationships Enterprise data search Point and click data launch

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Scalability/Flexibility Federated Metaphase Database distribution Dynamic data dictionary Rules processor Programmatic interface Object Management Object vault/metadata repository Site-defined attributes/values Object classification Standard and site-defined methods Method/attribute inheritance Object Repository Automatic data transport/translation Check-in/check-out Revisioning/versioning/baselining Search on attributes Search on object class Automatic tracking/status Relationship tracking Life Cycle Management Flexible user roles Multi-use processes Parallel and serial processes Predefined and ad hoc notification Workflow branching Voting rules Calendar function Automatic status update User comments Access control Audit trails/standard and custom reports Effectivity/revision control Product Structure/Configuration Management Import/export BOMs Interactive BOM creation Product structure baselines Bulk component creation Configuration reports Impact analysis Alternative/substitute parts Effectivity by data/unit number As-designed through as-maintained Multiple views to product structures

Architecture
Metaphase is built on an open, standards-based architecture to ensure that your solutions can expand as your organization evolves and grows. Open Database Support Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server Open Interface Support X/Motif, Windows, Java Open Platform Support Sun Solaris HP-UX IBM AIX SGI IRIX Intel Windows NT Open Network Support TCP/IP NetBIOS HTTP

Foreign Language Support

Single-byte enabled on all supported databases and platforms in standard release. French and German localizations are available as separate products. Multi-byte enabled on Oracle database and selected platforms. Japanese and Korean localizations are available as separate products.

For More Information

For more information, contact your local SDRC representative or call 1-800-848-7372.

SDRC and Metaphase are registered trademarks, and e!Vista and MetaWeb are trademarks of Structural Dynamics Research Corporation. All other trademarks and registered trademarks belong to their respective holders.

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