How do I populate new fields on existing process items?

This article provides instructions for a module administrator to initialize the values of new fields on existing process items.

NCM Reports are being used as an example, but the steps apply to any process item that supports administrative update of field values (e.g. Audits, CAPA Requests, Issues, Complaints, Customers, Design Projects, Change Requests, Deviation Requests, Documents, Equipment, NCM Reports, Parts, Suppliers, SCARs, Supplier Evaluations).

Overview

At a high-level, the steps are as follows:

1. If the field to be populated doesn’t exist, configure it.

2. Export process items to a CSV file.

3. Prepare the CSV file.

4. Perform an Administrative Update for Field Values.

5. Deactivate or repurpose the original configurable field.

Instructions

Optional: Configure a new field where the data will be stored

This section is being provided for completeness. It is not needed for the example because the example is populating a new out-of-the-box field.

1. Click Configure NCM.

2. Click Configure NCM Fields.

3. Click Edit on a coding field, custom date field, or extra data field; give it a Field Name and, if applicable, a list of valid values.

4. Click Save.

Export process items to a CSV file

1. Perform a search for the process items you wish update. If updating every instance of an item, make sure to clear the Max # of Items to Find field.

2. Export the search results to Excel and save the resulting CSV file.

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Prepare the CSV file

1. Open the CSV file. Optional: Temporarily save it as an Excel Workbook (.xlxs format) to preserve the formatting when the file is closed and reopened.

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2. Prepare the Excel Worksheet or CSV file to match the Administrative Update for NCM Report Field Values template located at Configure NCM → Configure NCM Fields → Download Template.

   1. Delete all columns except the NCM Report ID (column “A”) and NCM Description (column “B”). See the example below.

   2. If the process item had no existing data to populate the new field, column B, would be populated manually with data from other sources.

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3. If the export file was temporarily save as an Excel Workbook, revert it back to a CSV file.

Perform an Administrative Update for Field Values

1. Test the administrative update in a non-Production environment.

   1. Click Manage NCM Reports → Administrative Update for NCM Report Field Values.

   2. For the Field to Update, select “Description.”

   3. Upload the CSV file created in the steps above.

   4. Enter the justification for the administrative change in the Comments field. This will be displayed in the task history for each updated record.

   5. Enter your password or PIN.

   6. Click Update NCM Report Field Values.

      1. If successful, the system will report the number of items that were updated. See example below.

      2. If any errors are found in the input file, no items will be updated and a summary of all the errors will be displayed. Correct the errors and upload the import file again.

   7. Click Cancel to leave the page.

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2. Repeat the above steps in the Production environment.

Deactivate or repurpose the original configurable field

In this example, the configurable “NCM Description” field is now redundant with the out-of-the-box “Description” field, so the configurable field can be deactivated or repurposed. Instructions are at How do I remove a configurable field?