Aras Innovator Life Cycles — A Simple, Practical Guide

Life cycles in Aras Innovator define the stages an item passes through and who can do what at each stage. Think of them as the “status machine” for your data: states (like Preliminary, Approved, Released) plus transitions (the allowed moves between states).

What is a Life Cycle?

A life cycle is a series of states (stages or gates) that an item traverses during its existence, connected by transitions. Different classes of the same ItemType can use different life cycle maps, and a Workflow can auto-start when an item enters a specific state.

Example map (vendor lifecycle)

flowchart LR
    A[Preliminary] -->|Meets criteria| B[Approved]
    B -->|Preferred terms| C[Preferred]
    A -->|Fails criteria| D[Inactive]
    B -->|Fails later| D
    C -->|Performance drops| D

This mirrors the doc’s example narrative for vendors moving from Preliminary → Approved → Preferred, or to Inactive if criteria aren’t met.

Creating a Life Cycle Map (quick steps)

1. Go to Administration → LifeCycle Maps → Create New Life Cycle Map.
2. Name and describe it.
3. Right‑click → Add State to place states on the canvas.
4. Right‑click a state → Add Transition and connect to the target state.
   Aras will pick the appropriate life cycle based on the item’s classification at creation; class changes are allowed while still in the Start state (otherwise they’re rejected to protect progression).

flowchart LR
    subgraph "Create a Life Cycle Map"
    S1[Create Map] --> S2[Add States]
    S2 --> S3[Wire Transitions]
    S3 --> S4[Assign to ItemType/Class]
    end

State essentials you’ll actually use

Each State can define:

• Released: marks the state as “Released” (only one per map). Editing later (lock/unlock/edit) bumps Major Rev and returns the item to Start.
• Not Lockable: item in this state can’t be edited (commonly used with Released).
• Item Behavior (for versionable parent/child): Fixed, Float, Hard Fixed, Hard Float — controls whether a parent points to a specific generation of a related item or always the latest. (Details below.)
• State Permissions: override normal item permissions while in this state (e.g., restrict Update during Review).
• Workflow to launch on entry; Configure E‑Mail notifications; Label (multilingual); History Template.

Transitions & methods (validation and side effects)

Transitions can run pre‑methods (before the move) to validate and post‑methods (after). Post‑methods can be out‑of‑scope (don’t roll back transition on failure) or in‑scope (failure rolls back the transition).

sequenceDiagram
    participant U as User
    participant A as Aras Transition
    participant Pre as Pre-Method
    participant Post as Post-Method

    U->>A: Promote item
    A->>Pre: Validate (pre)
    Pre-->>A: OK? (throw error to block)
    A->>A: Change state
    A->>Post: Execute (in-scope or out-of-scope)
    Post-->>A: OK? (in-scope failure rolls back)

Email notifications (states & transitions)

From a state or a transition, Configure E‑Mail to notify identities when an item enters a state or moves between states. You can reuse pre‑configured emails, or create new ones, add recipients, and even use a Query String to pull related data into the message.

You can insert variables like ${property_name} (e.g., ${name}, ${state}) and runtime vars $[USER], $[ALIAS], $[DATE], $[TIME] in subject/body. Use property names, not labels.

flowchart LR
    E1[Item enters Review] --> E2[Configured Email]
    E2 -->|Variables + Query Data| E3[Compose Message]
    E3 --> E4[Send to Identities]

Item Behavior: Fixed vs Float (and the “Hard” overrides)

Item Behavior is defined both on the RelationshipType and on the Life Cycle State; they interact to control how a parent (source) references its children (related items). Key meanings:

• Float: parent points to the latest generation of the child.
• Fixed: parent points to a specific generation.
• Hard Float / Hard Fixed: “can’t be changed later” by subsequent states through the end of the cycle.
  If the RelationshipType is Hard (Hard Fixed/Hard Float), it overrides state behavior. Otherwise, the state can override RelationshipType behavior for that state.

When the Parent is versioned first

• With RelationshipType = Float, when Child2 appears after Parent2 is created, Parent1 remains pointing to Child1 (older parent is effectively hard fixed to its current config).
• Setting state behavior to Float forces even a Fixed relationship to act like Float, and vice‑versa. Hard on the RelationshipType wins.

When the Child is versioned first

• Rule: When a source item is versioned, it automatically associates with the latest available versions of its children — so Parent2 associates with Child2 if Child2 already existed. State behavior can still force Fixed/Float unless the RelationshipType is Hard.

flowchart TB
    subgraph Case A: Child first
    P1[P1 -> C1]
    C1 --> C2[Child2 created]
    P1 --> P2[Parent2 created]
    P2 -->|auto-associate latest| C2
    end

    subgraph Case B: Parent first
    P1b[P1 -> C1]
    P1b --> P2b[Parent2 created]
    C1 --> C2b[Child2 created later]
    P1b -. remains .-> C1
    end

Tip: After Released, consider setting state behavior to Hard Fixed so the configuration stays frozen even if the item later moves to Obsolete/Superseded.

Quick checklist (copy/paste for your next map)

• Define states and mark exactly one as Released (and likely Not Lockable).
• Set State Permissions for who can Update/Promote at each stage.
• Attach Workflow on entry where tasks/approvals are needed.
• Configure pre‑methods for validation and post‑methods (choose in‑scope vs out‑of‑scope).
• Wire email notifications; use ${property} and $[DATE]/$[USER].
• Decide Item Behavior per state (Fixed/Float/Hard), and be aware of RelationshipType Hard overrides.
• If using class‑based maps, confirm behavior when items change class (only safe in Start state).

References

• Aras Innovator 34 — Life Cycles (Document # D‑008969, Last Modified 2025‑01‑07). Sections: About Life Cycles; Creating a Life Cycle Map; State Property; Life Cycle Transition Methods; Configuring Email; Using Variables in Email Text; Item Behavior.