Illustration of Rule Operation

The precise meaning of the different rules is well illustrated by considering this rather abstract example.

Suppose a normal lifecycle is defined as:

STATE 1 > STATE 2 > STATE 3 > STATE 4 > STATE 5

Also, suppose a rule is specified as STATE 2, along with the rule displayed in the left-hand column of the following table. Then, for a relevant item of the type concerned within this rule, the revision which is selected for inclusion in the baseline is the most recently updated revision chosen from those whose status is as shown in the right-hand column.

Rule | Selects Latest Revision from those:
Latest from state (LFS) | At any of the states: STATE 2, STATE 3, STATE 4, STATE 5.
Most progressed state above specified state or specified state (MPS) | At STATE 5; or else at STATE 4; or else at STATE 3; or else at STATE 2.
Specified state or most progressed state (SMP) | At STATE 2; or else at STATE 5; or else at STATE 4; or else at STATE 3.
Specified state or next existing state upward (SUP) | At STATE 2; or else at STATE 3; or else at STATE 4; or else at STATE 5.
Specified state only (EQS) | At STATE 2 only.

In the first and last cases the item is not included in the baseline, if no revision meets the given requirement. In the middle three cases, we look at each "or else" in the list, only if no revision has been found which meets the requirements up to that point; the item is not included in the baseline, only if we reach the end of the list, still without success.

Related Topics

Rule Operation

Rules Using Implicit States