Managing items in conflict state

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Edited Items can be in a Conflict state in IBM® Maximo Inventory Optimization when you and another user edit an item simultaneously, but one user commits the edits before the other. Edited Items can also be in conflict when base records are modified by the Host ERP after a refresh. Items that are in a conflict state are removed from the workflow and cannot be approved.

Note: To use items that are in conflict and enable this feature, speak to your IBM Consultant.

When a conflict is detected, the item enters a Conflict state, indicated by the Conflict icon under the item state column. In the ITEMS grid view, these items are marked with Conflict icon. For more information, see Item states.

Resolving conflicts

You can resolve conflict items by using one of the following methods:

  • Revert the item so that it can go back to its Original state.
  • Keep some or all of all your changes in the edited data. The item becomes Modified or Modified & Recalculated before it can be approved.

To begin resolving conflicts, click the Conflict icon to open the Item conflict resolution window.

The item conflict resolution window

From the Item conflict resolution window, you can complete the following tasks:

  • See how many field values are changed.
  • See the difference between the base record and the edited record values.
  • Select values that the user wants to continue working with.
  • Reject values that the user doesn't want to continue working with.
  • View the potential final record.
  • Apply selected values to the edited item to update it and resolve the conflict.

The Item conflict resolution window has two tabs: Conflict and Other changes. By default,the Conflict tab is selected.

The Conflict tab shows all the fields that you manually modified.

  • The Field column lists the names of those fields that you changed.
  • The Source column lists the values of the source item
  • The Use Modified column lists your modification data
  • The Result column lists the selected values to illustrate what the final record looks like

The Field column can be sorted in ascending or descending alphabetical order.

When the Conflict tab is initially shown, all source values are selected by default and shown in the result column. Values in the User modified column can be selected by selecting the checkbox next to the values. If you need to apply all of the selectable Use modified values, select the checkbox in the column header.

  • The usage field data that you modified is displayed on the Conflict tab. You cannot resolve any changes, and the resolve option is disabled if you modified the usage fields. You must revert all changes to ensure the integrity of the historical usage data.
  • The notes field doesn't display anything in the source column and shows all the draft notes separated by a space in the User modified column.
  • The following fields are not displayed on the Conflict tab if they are set to true in data dictionary:
    • Hidden fields, if Hide field is selected
    • Conflict hidden fields, if Hide conflict is selected

The Other changes tab shows all the fields that are not modified by you manually. These differences can be changes that are made by other users and committed to the base item or the consequences of your manual change.

  • Field and Source columns are same as columns on the Conflict tab.
  • The Modified field column lists your edited item values.

The Field column can be sorted in ascending or descending alphabetical order.

The attachment, notes, and images fields changes are not displayed on the Other changes tab.

You can’t select values on the Other changes tab because they are updated automatically.

On the Other changes tab, you can select the Workflow decision fields checkbox to view fields that have been identified as decision fields and may have changed, causing the item to drop out of the workflow during a refresh.

By default, the Resolve option is disabled. You can select one, some, or all values in the User modified column to enable it to retain changes. If the changes require recalculation, the item goes into the Modified state or the Modified & Recalculated state. By using Revert, you lose all your changes and the item goes into the Original state.