Introduction

“Effectivity” refers to the ability to conditionally include items in a structure. This condition can consist of multiple variables influencing the decision to include or exclude an item in a specific configuration of the structure.

Let’s use building a product structure as an example. This structure uses Part-1 for product model “X” and Part-2 for product model “Y.” In this case, product model is the variable used in defining the part’s effectivity in this product structure.

There are many different types of effectivity variables depending on the types of products, for example:

• The Aerospace and Shipbuilding industries create low-volume, highly complex products. Differences in product configurations are tracked by variables, such as Model, Unit Number, or Hull Number.

• The Automotive and High-Tech industries create high-volume products. Configuration changes are influenced by when materials are available to use. Therefore, Date-based effectivity is commonly used.

• The Food and Beverage and Pharmaceutical industries create formula-based products. Changes to the product configuration are tracked using Lot, Batch, or Plant effectivity.