Life Cycles

Life Cycles

A life cycle is a sequence of stages an asset goes through from acquisition to disposal.

Under Setup > Automation > Life Cycle, you can automate the asset life cycle by defining the asset states and the conditions for each.

The life cycle configured for a specific product type will commence when the assets are received from purchase orders.

Info
An asset life cycle can be associated with only one product type and vice versa. 

Role required: SDAdmin, AssetConfig
Supported Assets: IT assets, non-IT assets, and components

Life Cycle Terminologies 

Before you configure an asset life cycle, familiarize yourself with the following terms. 

Terminology
Explanation
State
Current status of an asset. (e.g., In Store, In Use, Expired, etc.)
Transition
Movement of an asset from one state to another. You can define actions that can be performed before, during, or after this transition.
 
Before: This phase occurs before a transition. It has two configuration settings: Scope, which restricts transition access to specific roles, and Criteria, which defines conditions for the transition.
 
During: This phase occurs as the asset transitions to a new state. It includes configurations for mandatory fields and a rule set that can update fields or abort the process based on specific criteria.
 
After: This phase follows the transition, allowing you to set conditions and define custom actions like notifications, custom functions, or webhooks.
Start/End block
Initial and final phases of an asset's life cycle. They are not states themselves but connect to active asset states.
 

Configure Asset Life Cycle    

In AssetExplorer Cloud, the asset life cycle can be designed using a visual builder that involves easy drag-and-drop actions. To configure an asset life cycle,
  1. Go to Setup > Automation > Life Cycles.
  2. Click New Life Cycle.
  3. Provide a name and description for the life cycle.
  4. In Applies to, choose the product type you want to associate with the life cycle. An asset life cycle can be associated with only one product type.
  5. Click Next.

  1. An empty canvas will be displayed. Workflow details like the name, description, and the associated asset type will be visible on the right panel. You can edit the details by clicking the relevant field.
  2. Asset states are displayed under the Drag State section on the right panel. Drag the respective states to the canvas. On adding the first state, the Start and End blocks will appear. You can create new asset states under Setup > Customization > Asset Management > Asset State.
  3. To connect states, hover over a state, click the plus (+) sign that appears on the circle, and drag to the next state.
  4. Configure a transition for the states. Transition configurations are necessary for automated state movement.
    1. Click the icon to create a transition between the states. Provide a name and description for the state, and click Done.
    2. A Transition tab will appear on the right panel and display Before, During, and After phase configurations. Use the pointers below to configure the phases:
Phase
Setting
Explanation
Before
Scope
Add organization Roles and technician roles. Users configured with these roles will be shown the transition states on the asset details page.
Criteria
Add the criteria of assets for which the transitions will be shown.
During
Mandatory Fields
Set the mandatory fields that the technician must fill while executing transitions.
Info
Default date fields cannot be mandated. 
Rule Set
Set the condition and action to be executed when the transition occurs.

Apply conditions based on criteria or execute the action without conditions.

Execute a Field Update custom action or abort the action.
Info
You can define a maximum of 100 rules.
After
Rule Set
Set the condition and action to be executed when the transition occurs.

Apply conditions based on criteria or execute the action without conditions.

Choose to execute custom actions such as Notifications, Custom Functions, or Webhooks, or abort the action.
Info
You can define a maximum of 100 rules.  

  1. You can also set a Common Transition for the states. This allows assets from different states to move to a specific state after this transition. Enable Common Transition and select a state from the Select Status drop-down.
  1. Right-click a state/transition, and select Delete to remove it from the canvas.
  2. After you configure the life cycle, click Save as Draft to save your progress, or Publish to apply it to assets.
 

Info
The asset will remain in the same state if there are no transition configurations.  

The transition for the first state will only include During and After phase configurations.  

The life cycle begins at the Start block and finishes at the End block. Only states linked to these blocks will be displayed for the assets. 

Actions  

  1. Click and drag the canvas to move it.
  2. Adjust the canvas size with the zoom buttons on the left.
  3. Reset to the default size with the icon,
  4. View the life cycle in liner view or map view using the drop-down at the top:
    1. Linear view lists all transitions and configurations . You cannot edit the configurations in this view.
    2. Map view offers a graphical representation where you can make modifications.

  1. Click to export the life cycle as PDF.
  2. Click    to view the history of actions performed on the life cycle.
  3. Click to view details of the creation and the last updated time of the life cycle as well as the user who made these actions.
 

List View Operations

  1. Search life cycle: Use the   icon to search through life cycles using criteria. You can add multiple search criteria using the icon.
  2. Enable/Disable the life cycle: Click   > Enable/Disable against the life cycle. You can also use the toggle option under the Status column.
  3. Edit life cycle: Click  > Edit against the life cycle.
  4. Duplicate life cycle: Click   > Copy to make a duplicate of the life cycle.
  5. Delete life cycle: Click   > Delete to delete the life cycle. 

  

Use Case

Scenario: Sample life cycle for workstations
 

  1. The life cycle has been created with an appropriate title and description and applied to Workstations.
  2. Using drag-and-drop actions, the following states were added: Newly Purchased, In Store, In Use, In Repair, Expired.
  3. The following transitions are used to connect the states in the workflow:
 
Transition Name
Transition states
Phase Configurations
Before
During
After
Add assets via barcode scan
Connects Start to Newly Purchased state.



-
Mandatory Fields:
  1. Barcode as service tag
  2. Site
  3. Box sealed completely
Notification:
AssetManager
AssetTechnicia
AssetConfig
Scan assets
Connects Newly Purchased to In Store state.
Scope: AssetSpecialist
 
Criteria:
  1. Site is London
  2. IP Address is empty
  3. Product Type is Workstation
Mandatory Fields:
  1. Asset_Register-Reference_no
Notification:
AssetManager
AssetTechnicia
AssetConfig
Assign assets to users
Connects Newly Purchased to In Store state
Scope: AssetSpecialist
 
Criteria:
  1. Product Type is Workstation
  2. Scan Status is Success
Mandatory Fields:
  1. User
  2. Department
  3. Location
Notification:
AssetOwner
AssetTechnician
Return asset to store
Connects In Use to In Store state
Scope: AssetSpecialist
 
Criteria:
  1. Product Type is Workstation
  2. Asset State is In Use
 
Mandatory Fields:
  1. Storeroom
  2. Shelf
  3. Chargers
  4. Bag
Notification:
AssetOwner
AssetTechnician
Move assets to repair
Connects In Store to In Repair state
Scope: AssetSeniorTech
 
Criteria:  
  1. Product Type is Workstation
  2. Asset State is In Store
Mandatory Fields:
  1. RMA
  2. Reason to Repair
  3. Expected Check-in Date
  4. Repair Check-Out Date
Notification:
AssetManager
AssetConfig
Move assets to store after repair
Connects In Repair to In Store state
Scope: AssetSeniorTech
 
Criteria:
  1. Product Type is Workstation
  2. Asset State is In Repair
Mandatory Fields:
  1. Fixed Reason
  2. Check-In Date
  3. Maintenance Cost
Notification:
AssetManager
AssetConfig
AssetTechnician
Asset Retirement
Connects In Store to Expired state
Scope: AssetManager
 
Criteria:
  1. Product Type is Workstation
  2. Asset Expiry is True
Mandatory Fields:
  1. Acquisition Date Storeroom
  2. Shelf
Notification:
AssetManager
AssetConfig
 

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