Item Lifecycle Policies¶

Overview¶

Item lifecycle policies help you define structured workflows for documenting and publishing catalog items. By assigning ordered stages to items (such as Draft, In Review, Approved), you control when items become visible to data consumers in Explorer. This ensures that only reviewed and approved content is available to Explorer users.

Lifecycle policies also help to hide incomplete or draft content from data consumers without enforcing strict approval workflows that slow down progress. They enable governance teams to control what data consumers see while allowing curators to continue working on items in Studio without interruption.

A lifecycle policy defines a sequence of stages that items move through as their documentation is created, reviewed, and approved. Each stage includes:

• A name
• A code
• A color
• A visibility rule that determines whether items at that stage appear in Explorer or remain visible only in Studio

Lifecycle policies are scoped by catalog and item type. When you assign a policy to a catalog and item type combination, it applies to all matching items, both existing and new. Each catalog and item type combination can have only one lifecycle policy.

Optionally, a lifecycle policy can gate stage transitions with stage requirements. Stage requirements are conditions that must be met before an item can advance to a stage. If a stage has unmet requirements, curators cannot move an item into it until the required information is provided. For more information, see Configure Stage Requirements.

Key Concepts¶

The following table describes the key concepts used in lifecycle policies:

Typical Workflow¶

The following workflow illustrates how items progress through lifecycle stages from creation to publication.

1. A curator creates a new item. The platform automatically assigns the first stage defined in the policy (such as Draft).
2. The curator documents the item in Studio and moves it to review stage (such as In Review).
3. If the target stage has stage requirements, the platform checks whether the item meets the requirements. If the item does not meet a requirement, the platform blocks the transition until the curator provides the required information.
4. Reviewers identify items in review stage by using watchlists and stage filters.
5. After review, the item is moved to the final stage (such as Approved). The platform applies the same requirement checks.
6. The item becomes visible to data consumers in Explorer.

Manage Lifecycle Policies¶

Prerequisites¶

You must have a Data Steward license with Policy management permissions.

Create a Lifecycle Policy¶

You can create new lifecycle policies in Administration.

To create a lifecycle policy

1. Open Administration.
2. Select Policies > Lifecycles.

3. Click Create lifecycle policy.

   The Create lifecycle policy window opens.

   

4. Complete the following fields:

   • Name (required): Enter a descriptive name for the policy (for example, "Glossary Review Workflow").
   • Code (required): Enter a unique technical identifier.
   • Description (optional): Explain the purpose of this policy.
   • Catalogs to which the policy applies (optional): Select one or more catalogs where the policy applies. You can leave this empty and add catalogs later by editing the policy.
   • Automatically apply to new catalogs (optional): Turn on this option to automatically apply the policy to newly created catalogs.
   • Item types to which the policy applies (optional): Select one or more item types to which the policy applies (all item types except Field and Output Port). You can leave this field empty and add item types later by editing the policy.
   • Stages (required): Define the ordered stages of the lifecycle. For more information about configuring lifecycle stages, see Configure Lifecycle Stages.

5. Click Create lifecycle policy.

   

Configure Lifecycle Stages¶

By default, a new lifecycle policy includes three stages: Draft, In Review, and Approved.

You can customize these stages or create your own.

To create a new stage

1. Click Add stage.

   The Add stage window opens.

2. Provide the following attributes:

   • Name: The display name of the stage (for example, Draft, In Review, Approved).
   • Code: A unique technical identifier for the stage, used in API calls and file imports.
   • Visible in Explorer: Controls where items at this stage are visible. Select one of the following:
     • Studio only: Items are hidden from Explorer.
     • Studio and Explorer: Items are visible in both Studio and Explorer.
   • Color: Select a color from the available palette.

3. Click Apply to save the stage.

   The new stage appears in the list of stages for the policy.

To edit an existing stage

1. Click the pencil icon next to the stage.

   The Edit stage window opens.

2. Make the required changes to the stage attributes.

3. Click Apply to save the changes.

To delete an existing stage

1. Click the trash icon next to the stage.

   The Delete lifecycle stage dialog opens.

2. Click Confirm to delete the stage.

You can reorder stages by using drag-and-drop. The order determines the allowed transitions, and items can move only to the immediately previous or next stage.

Configure Stage Requirements¶

In addition to a name, code, visibility, and color, each stage (except the first) can define stage requirements. Stage requirements are attributes that must be filled in before an item can transition to that stage.

To add a stage requirement

1. Open the stage editor and locate the stage requirements section at the bottom of the panel.
2. Click Add requirement.

3. Select an Attribute to require:

   • Description: The item's description field.
   • A property from the item type templates covered by the policy.
   • A responsibility type defined in Studio, such as Data owner, Steward, or Curator.

4. Click Apply to save the requirement.

When a lifecycle policy covers multiple item types, the property list displays only the properties that are common to all item types covered by the policy.

A stage can have multiple requirements. Before an item can transition to a stage, it must meet all requirements for that stage and all previous stages. For more information, see Cumulative Enforcement.

You can reorder requirements within a stage by drag-and-drop. Reordering changes only the order in which unmet requirements are displayed to the curator. It does not change how the requirements are evaluated.

Cumulative Enforcement¶

Stage requirements accumulate across stages. To move an item to a stage, the item must meet the requirements for that stage and all previous stages. The first stage cannot have requirements. If an item meets the requirements for a target stage but does not meet the requirements for an earlier stage, the transition is blocked.

Stage requirements apply only when moving an item forward to a later stage. Moving an item to an earlier stage, such as from Approved to In Review, is not subject to stage requirements.

Apply the Policy¶

After you save the policy, it takes effect immediately:

• New items matching the policy’s catalog and item type criteria are automatically assigned the first stage when created (through Studio, API, or scanner import).
• Existing items that match the criteria are assigned a Not staged status. The Not staged status is visible only in Studio and does not affect the item’s visibility in Explorer.

After applying a policy, use the stage filter in Studio to find items with the Not staged status. You can then update item stages individually or in bulk.

Edit a Lifecycle Policy¶

You can edit lifecycle policies from Administration.

To edit a lifecycle policy

1. Open Administration.
2. Select Policies > Lifecycles.

3. Click the pencil icon next to the policy in the Actions column.

   The Edit lifecycle policy window opens.

4. Make the required changes to the policy attributes or stages.

5. Click Save changes.

Delete a Lifecycle Policy¶

You can delete a lifecycle policy from Administration.

To delete a lifecycle policy:

1. Open Administration.
2. Select Policies > Lifecycles.

3. Click the trash icon next to the policy in the Actions column.

   The Delete lifecycle policy dialog opens.

4. Click Confirm.

Lifecycle Policy Updates¶

The following table describes how the platform handles changes to lifecycle policies:

Stage Requirement Updates¶

The following table describes how the platform handles changes to stage requirements and the attributes they reference:

Manage Item Lifecycle Stages¶

Update an Item’s Stage¶

Users with the Manage documentation permission can update the stage of an item. Stage transitions are sequential. You can move an item only to the immediately previous or next stage from the UI.

When a curator opens the stage selector, stages with requirements that the item does not meet are disabled.

Selecting a disabled stage opens a dialog box that lists the unmet requirements for that stage.

Close the dialog box, provide the required information, and then try the transition again.

You can update an item’s stage from the Item Details Page or Item Overview Panel in Studio.

You can update the lifecycle stage of multiple items by using the Edit lifecycle stage option in Studio. For more information, see Editing Items in Bulk.

Handle Multiple Reviews¶

In the current version, lifecycle policies do not support parallel reviews. If your workflow requires multiple review steps (such as technical and then business reviews), create separate stages for each step. Reviews are processed sequentially.

Lifecycle Stages in Studio¶

Search and Filter Items by Stage¶

A stage filter is available in Studio. You can use it to filter items by one or more lifecycle stages.

You can use the stage filter for the following purposes:

• Finding Not staged items after a policy is applied.
• Creating watchlists to track items at specific stages (for example, items awaiting review).

For more information about searching and filtering items in Studio, see Searching and Filtering in Zeenea Studio.

View the Item Stage in Studio¶

The item stage is displayed as a colored label in the following locations:

• Search results (read-only)
• Item overview panel (editable)
• Item details page (editable)

Item Stage in File Import and Export¶

The lifecycle stage code is included as a column in XLSX import and export files.

During import, you can assign an item to any stage. You do not need to follow the sequential transition rule.

Stage requirements also apply during import. If an item does not meet the requirements for the stage specified in the import file, the import skips the stage update for that item and adds the following comment:

Stage update is not allowed because the item does not satisfy all validation rules for stage <stage_name>.

The comment also lists the unmet requirements. All other fields in the same row are processed normally.

You can also create items at any stage, not just the first stage.

For more information about import, see Importing a File in Zeenea.

For more information about export, see Exporting Search Results in Zeenea Studio.

Bulk Stage Updates¶

You can update the stage of multiple items by using the Edit lifecycle stage option in the Edit menu.

If some selected items do not meet the requirements for the target stage, the update is applied only to the items that meet the requirements. The other items remain in their current stage.

For more information, see Editing Items in Bulk.

Lifecycle Stages in Explorer¶

Lifecycle Visibility Rules¶

The lifecycle policy’s visibility rules control which items appear in Explorer:

• Items at a stage with the Studio and Explorer visibility rule are visible in Explorer, subject to standard catalog permissions and sharing rules.
• Items at a stage with the Studio only visibility rule are hidden from Explorer search results, item counts, and lists. However, these items remain visible in the lineage and data model graphs. When you open the item's side panel from these graphs, a banner indicates that the item is displayed in preview mode.
• Items with the Not staged status remain visible in Explorer. Their visibility is unchanged from before the policy was applied.
• Items that are not associated with a lifecycle policy are unaffected and remain visible as usual.

View the Item Stage in Explorer¶

The item stage is displayed as a colored label in the following locations:

• Search results
• Item overview panel
• Item details page

Search and Filter Items by Stage¶

A lifecycle stage filter is available in Explorer. You can use it to filter items by one or more lifecycle stages.

For more information about searching and filtering in Explorer, see Search and Filter in Zeenea Explorer.

Item Stage in File Export¶

The lifecycle stage code is included as a column in XLSX files exported from Explorer.

For more information, see Exporting Search Results from Zeenea Explorer.

Access Hidden Items in Explorer¶

You can access an item that is hidden from Explorer search results by using a direct URL or by selecting Open in Explorer from Studio.

In this case, a banner appears on the item details page to indicate that the item is displayed in preview mode.

Lifecycle Stages in GraphQL API¶

Read the Item Stage¶

The item stage is available as a built-in attribute on the Item type in the Catalog API (lifecycleStage). The attribute returns the stage code (for example, draft, in-review, approved):

• For items with no lifecycle policy, the stage attribute returns null.
• For contacts, the stage attribute always returns null.

Update an Item’s Stage¶

You can update an item’s stage using the API and specifying the target stage code. The API allows you to set any stage defined in the policy. Sequential transition rules do not apply when you use the API.

If an item does not meet the cumulative stage requirements for the target stage, the API returns an error. For the complete error format, see the API documentation.

Create Items With a Stage¶

When you create an item using the API, the platform checks whether a lifecycle policy applies. If it does:

• If you do not specify a stage, the platform assigns the first stage defined in the policy.
• You can specify a stage code to create the item at any stage in the policy. The item does not need to start at the first stage.
• The API returns the same error when you create an item directly at a stage other than the first stage and the item does not meet the cumulative stage requirements for that stage.

Lifecycle Stages in Actian Chrome Extension¶

The Actian Data Intelligence Chrome Extension respects lifecycle visibility rules. It displays glossary definitions only for items without a lifecycle policy or for items at stages visible in Explorer.

Lifecycle Stages in Actian MCP Server¶

The Actian MCP Server returns only items that are visible in Explorer. Items at stages with the Studio only visibility rule are excluded from MCP queries and AI-generated responses

Audit Trail¶

All lifecycle policy configuration changes are recorded in the policy audit trail:

• Policy creation and updates
• Previous and new values for updated fields
• User and timestamp

All stage updates on items are recorded in the item audit trail with the previous and current values.

For more information about Audit API, see Audit Trail API.