Before you use the Product Buildermodule, you should understand the concepts implemented in it and the ideas behind the types of configuration information and the setup options that are available.

• An item that is made configurable with the Product Buildermodule is called a modeling enableditem.

• The structure that makes an item configurable in this manner is called a product model.

• A product model contains a set of previously defined variable groupsand modeling variables. It can also contain a set of validation rulesfor modeling variables. Modeling variables are the basis of the product model's Product Builder configurationform. Apart from the modeling variables, calculation variablescan also be created—these are used in the product model's internal calculations.

• The configuration process—that is, the steps that the product model must perform at configuration time to create a finished configuration—is defined in a modeling tree. The modeling tree consists of nodesof different types, and its complexity will depend on several factors—such as the number of modeling variables and calculation variables that have to be handled, the relations between them and the rules that govern their content, and the extent of the BOM and route required to produce the item.

• Before it can be made active, a product model must be compiled. The compilation creates an executable version of the product model, and it also detects some types of logical or syntactical errors that might be hidden in the modeling tree's node structure.

• The actual item configuration is initiated from a sales order, sales quotation, purchase order, production order, project quotation, item requirement, or the Customer Self-Servicefolder in the Administrationmodule. To the user, the item configuration appears as a user dialog box where data can be entered into the product model's modeling variables. The data input is then processed by the validation rules that were created for each modeling variable.

• The Product Builder configurationform also uses any default valuesthat have been defined for the product model's modeling variables. This means that the configuration can start with predefined values that are customized to the needs of specific customers.

• A set of user profilescan be created for different types of users who should be granted access to the system. With user profiles, you can control which modeling variables a specific user group can see or modify during item configuration.