Grand Avenue Software Release Notes

• Important Notes
  • Upgrade Requirements
  • Security Considerations
• Changes in Release 16.5 (03 Dec 2024)
  • General
  • Connector
• Changes in Release 16.4 (31 Oct 2024)
  • General
  • CAPA
  • Complaint Handling
  • Connector
  • Design Control
  • Document Control
  • Equipment Management
  • Nonconforming Materials
  • Risk Management
  • Supplier Management
  • Training Management
• Changes in Release 16.3 (04 Apr 2024)
  • General
  • Audit Management
  • Authentication Management
  • CAPA
  • Complaint Handling
  • Connector
  • Design Control
  • NCM
  • Supplier Management
  • Training Assessment
  • Training Management
• Changes in Release 16.2 (02 Oct 2023)
  • General
  • Authentication Management
  • Complaint Handling
  • Connector
  • Document Control
  • NCM
  • Training Assessment
  • Training Management
• Changes in Release 16.1 (28 Apr 2023)
  • General
  • CAPA
  • Connector
  • Design Control
  • Document Control
  • NCM
  • Training Management
• Changes in Release 16.0 (19 Dec 2022)
  • General
  • Connector
  • Document Control
  • Equipment Management
  • NCM
  • Training Management
• Changes in Release 15.6 (16 May 2022)
  • General
  • Complaint Handling
  • Connector
  • Design Control
  • Document Control
  • NCM
  • Training Management
• Changes in Release 15.5 (22 Nov 2021)
  • General
  • Audit Management
  • CAPA
  • Complaint Handling
  • Connector
  • Design Control
  • Document Control
  • Equipment Management
  • Nonconforming Materials
  • Supplier Management
  • Training Management
• Changes in Release 15.4 (29 Jul 2021)
  • Nonconforming Materials
• Changes in Release 15.3 (19 Jul 2021)
  • General
  • Connector
  • Document Control
• Changes in Release 15.2 (15 Mar 2021)
  • General
  • Audit Management
  • Connector
  • Document Control
• Changes in Release 15.1 (14 Oct 2020)
  • General
  • Audit Management
  • Complaint Handling
  • Connector
  • Equipment Management
  • Supplier Management
• Changes in Release 15.0 (5 Jun 2020)
  • General
  • CAPA
  • Complaint Handling
  • Connector
  • Document Control
  • Equipment Management
  • Nonconforming Materials
  • Training Management

Important Notes

Upgrade Requirements

• If you are upgrading an existing installation of Grand Avenue Software, you must have upgraded to 15.0 or greater before upgrading to version 16.0 or greater. See the Installation Instructions for more information.

Security Considerations

• Due to changes in some web browsers, users should make sure to always explicitly Sign Out of Grand Avenue when leaving their workstation. Closing the application browser windows alone may not be sufficient, due to the behavior of web browsers that continue to maintain an active session in the background.

Changes in Release 16.5 (03 Dec 2024)

General

• Search Performance - Addressed search performance issues introduced in 16.4.

Connector

• Connector Read Query Performance - Addressed query performance issues introduced in 16.4.

Changes in Release 16.4 (31 Oct 2024)

General

• Auto-Completion for Suggested Value Fields - Data entry fields with the "Suggest..." button to select from previously-entered values will now automatically show matching values as the user types text into the field.
• Quantity for Associated Parts - Associated Parts for Issues and SCARs now have a configurable "Part Quantity" field that can be enabled to allow users to record the quantity of the affected part. This feature is disabled by default, and must be enabled by a Complaint or Supplier Module Administrator on the Configure Associated Parts page.
• View Audit Record - When viewing an audit trail record, the system now shows the previous and new field values side-by-side to help users more easily see which fields changed.
• Include Custom Fields for Related Entities in Task Notifications - The email notification sent to a user when they are assigned a task contains information about the corresponding process item. In previous versions, this section only included information about the custom fields directly for the process item. Starting in this release the custom fields from its related parent item will also be included.
  • Example: A task notification for an Equipment Activity Record will include the values for the custom fields for both the Activity Record and the piece of Equipment it's associated with.
• Include Task Assignments in Export Search Results for Process Items - Users exporting the search results for process items (e.g., CAPA Requests, Complaints) can now choose to include the related Task Assignments for each exported process item.
• Export to CSV includes Unique Entity Key - The CSV export for each type of process item now includes the unique "entity key" for each exported item. This information is included to assist with the new enhancement for Administrative Updates, allowing updates to apply changes to items referenced by their unique entity key.
• Max # of Items for Chart Search Results - When charts are being generated for search results, the "Max # of Items to Chart" field can now be changed prior to generating or saving the chart.
• Max # of Items for Export Search Results - When exporting items from search results, the "Max # of Items to Export" field can now be changed prior to performing the export.
• Process Flow Diagram Improvements - The graphical display of the high-level workflow for a process item has been improved to more clearly show the directional flow between steps, and to fit better into web browsers with smaller windows.
• Chart Display Scaling - Built-in charts now scale and resize based on the size of the web browser window.
• Chart Title - Users can now choose a custom title for a chart generated from search results.
• Chart Color Scheme - Users can now choose from a list of color schemes for a chart generated from search results.
• Chart Axis Titles - Users can now choose custom axis titles for a chart generated from search results.
• Stacked Bar Charts - Users generating charts from search results can choose to display the results as a bar chart with the series for each data group stacked instead of side-by-side.
• Line Charts - Users generating charts from search results can choose to display the results as a line chart with the series represented by a different colored line through each data group.
• Pie Charts - Users generating charts from search results can choose to display the results as a pie chart with a single series represented by different colored slices for each data group.

CAPA

• Administrative Update for Root Cause Field Values - This new link on the "Manage CAPA Requests" page allows users assigned the CAPA Module Administrator role to administratively update the values of custom fields for multiple CAPA root causes. This administrative update records an entry in the task history showing exactly what field was changed, when it was changed, and the reason for the update. The feature supports the following fields:
  • Any custom Coding, Date, or Extra Data fields configured for Root Causes
• Record Additional Information for Closed CAPA Requests - This administrative feature now allows Coordinators to also record additional information for CAPA Requests that have been withdrawn from the process.

Complaint Handling

• Reopen Closed Issues - Complaint Coordinators have a new "Reopen Closed Issue" link on the "Manage Issues" page, allowing them to reopen an issue that was previously closed with no further action required.
• Reopen Closed Complaints - When Complaint Coordinators are assigning the Review for Closure task to themselves, they will be taken to the task page.
• Customer Description Field Displayed on Customer Selection Dialog - The UI popup for selecting a customer to associate with an Issue now includes a column for the Customer Description field, to assist users with making the correct selection.
• Suggested Values for Issue Contact Fields - The following Issue fields now support the "suggested value" behavior, and provide auto-completion feedback for users as they type text into the field:
  • Issue Contact Name
  • Issue Contact Phone Number
  • Issue Contact Email Address

Connector

• OData Endpoint for Risk Analyses - A new entity type has been added for the Risk Analyses associated with Risk Files. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: Risk Management
• OData Endpoint for Risk Analysis Failure Modes - A new entity type has been added for the Hazards / Failure modes associated with Risk Analyses. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: Risk Management
• OData Navigation Property for Risk Analysis Failure Modes - A new navigation property allows a query for the Risk Analyses endpoint to expand to the corresponding Failure Modes.
• Filter OData Queries by Database Updated Timestamp - A new "UpdatedTimestamp" property has been exposed on each entity type, allowing sites to use the $filter query option to limit the search results to items based on the last time their corresponding database record was updated.

Design Control

• Multi-Select for Adding Controlled Documents to a Deliverable - Users working on a deliverable for a Design Project can now select and add multiple controlled documents to the deliverable in a single step.
• Default Criteria on Search for Design Projects - The default search criteria on the Search for Design Projects page no longer includes projects that have been Canceled. Users can still search for canceled Design Projects by changing the Status field to include "Canceled" before searching.
• Visibility to Deliverable Documents for Phase Signoff Task Assignees - In previous versions, users blocked by Document Control Module Access List would be prevented from viewing Deliverable Documents even if they were assigned a Phase Signoff task for the corresponding Design Project. Starting with this release, those users will be temporarily authorized to view those documents while their Phase Signoff task is open.

Document Control

• View Change Request - The info page for Change Requests will now display the New Document File column for the Documents Included in Change Request table after final documents have been prepared.
• Design Project Authorization for Documents - When the "Allow Design Control Projects to authorize users to view associated documents?" configuration option is set to "Yes", users assigned a Phase Signoff task will now be authorized to view documents associated with the deliverables.
• Formal Review Approver Settings Used During Formal Review - The minimum number of Review Assignments and Unique Approvers required for a Formal Review of a Document Change Request is now controlled by the settings "Minimum Review Assignments" and "Minimum Unique Approvers" on each Document Type Definition. If multiple documents are on one change request, the highest of each value is used. In previous releases the approval of a DCR always required a minimum of two unique approvers.
• Record Additional Information for Closed Change Requests - This administrative feature now allows Coordinators to also record additional information for Change Requests that have been withdrawn from the process.
• Record Additional Information for Closed Deviation Requests - This administrative feature now allows Coordinators to also record additional information for Deviation Requests that have been withdrawn from the process.
• Risk Management Process Impacts for Change Requests - A new "Risk Management - Update Hazards/Failure Modes Status to Released" Process Impact has been added to the default list of Process Impacts for Change Requests. This will only apply to new installations, and not be created as part of the upgrade process for existing customers, but it is being documented here in case customers adding the Risk Management module want to manually add it to their system.
  • Impact Name: Risk Management - Update Hazards/Failure Modes Status to Released
  • Instructions: Was a risk analysis managed in the Risk Management module revised as part of this change?
  • Process Item Types: Only Document Change Requests
  • Default for Applicable: No
  • Description Always Required: No
  • Implementation Task Required: Yes
  • Implementation Task Instructions: Update the status for the approved Hazards/Failure Modes in this Risk Analysis to Released.

Equipment Management

• Configurable Coding and Extra Data Fields for Equipment Activity Records - Five custom coding fields and three extra data fields have been added to Equipment Activity Records, for use in defining additional site-specific ways of classifying and recording additional information about each equipment activity record. These fields can be configured by users assigned the Equipment Management Module Administrator role, using the "Configure Equipment Fields" link on the "Configure Equipment Management" page.
• Additional Custom Fields for Equipment - Three custom date fields and a fourth extra data field have been added to Equipment, for use in defining additional site-specific ways of classifying and recording additional information about each piece of equipment. These fields can be configured by users assigned the Equipment Management Module Administrator role, using the "Configure Equipment Fields" link on the "Configure Equipment Management" page.
• Administrative Update for Equipment Activity Record Field Values - This new link on the "Manage Equipment Activity Records" page allows users assigned the Equipment Module Administrator role to administratively update the values of custom fields for multiple Equipment Activity Records. This administrative update records an entry in the task history showing exactly what field was changed, when it was changed, and the reason for the update. The feature supports the following fields:
  • Any custom Coding or Extra Data fields configured for Equipment Activity Records
• Import Completed Activity Records with Attachments - The batch import process now allows a file to be included as an attachment for the completed record.
• Record Additional Information for Closed Equipment Activity Records - This administrative feature now allows Coordinators to also record additional information for Equipment Activity Records that have been withdrawn from the process.
• Equipment Location Displayed with Equipment Activity Records - The tables on the Manage Incomplete Activities page and the Search for Equipment Activity Records page now include the Equipment Location field.
• Suggested Values for Equipment Fields - The following Equipment fields now support the "suggested value" behavior, and provide auto-completion feedback for users as they type text into the field:
  • Location
  • Manufacturer

Nonconforming Materials

• Export NCM Reports to Server - A new feature has been added to the "Manage NCM Reports" page, allowing NCM Module Administrators to export the metadata and file content for a selected set of NCM Reports and their related items to a directory on the web server.
• Record Additional Information for Closed NCM Reports - This administrative feature now allows Coordinators to also record additional information for NCM Reports that have been withdrawn from the process.
• Default Criteria on Search for NCM Reports - The default search criteria on the Search for NCM Reports page no longer includes NCM Reports that have already been Closed. Users can still search for closed NCM Reports by changing the Status field to include "Closed" before searching.

Risk Management

• Initial Release of the Risk Management Module - This is the first release of a new, optional module to allow sites to manage risk files for products. Within a risk file, customers can define harms and create Risk Analyses to manage Hazards, Failure Modes, and Risk Controls. Contact Grand Avenue Support (support@grandavenue.com) for any additional questions about module features or adding the module to your license agreement.

Supplier Management

• Record Additional Information for Closed SCARs - This administrative feature now allows Coordinators to also record additional information for SCARs that have been withdrawn from the process.
• Import Supplier Controls with Attachments for Previously Completed Activities - The batch import process for Supplier Controls now allows a file to be included with the results of a previously completed activity.

• Training Assessment

• Search for Training Records with Assessment Results - Users can now filter the results of a search for Training Records by whether the record has a completed Assessment Result.

Training Management

• Configuration Option for Department Managers to Manage Training - A new configuration option has been added that will allow Training Module Administrators to configure whether Department Managers are authorized to manage training for users in their departments. Managers can still be assigned a department trainer role which will allow them to manage training record completion, but not training requirements.
• User Training Status Report Error for Deviation Request Training - A bug was introduced in GAS 16.3 that would result in an error whenever a user's Training Status Report included training status for Deviation Requests. The problem has been corrected in this release.
• Authorization Error for Restricted Users with Deviation Request Training Tasks - A bug was identified where users restricted by the Document Control module access list would receive an authorization error when trying to open a Complete Training task for a Deviation Request. The problem has been corrected in this release.

Changes in Release 16.3 (04 Apr 2024)

General

• Multi-Select Improvements for Paginated Tables - In previous versions, users selecting checkboxes on multiple pages of a data table needed to toggle off pagination before submitting their selections, or the server would only receive the selections for the current page. Paginated tables have been improved to collect checkbox selections from both the visible page and all hidden pages and submit them together in a single operation.
• Configurable Date Fields for Parts - Three configurable date fields have been added to Parts, allowing authorized users to record additional dates and search for parts by date ranges. These fields can be configured by Complaint Module Administrators on the "Configure Complaint Fields" page, by Supplier Module Administrators on the "Configure Supplier Fields" page, or by NCM Module Administrators on the "Configure NCM Fields" page.
• Configurable Date Fields for Users - Three configurable date fields have been added to Users, allowing authorized users to record additional dates and search for users by date ranges. These fields can be configured by System Administrators on the "Configure General Fields" page.
• Configurable Fields "Is Required?" Option - Configurable coding fields, date fields, and extra data fields now have an "Is Required?" option. This allows Module Administrators to specify whether a field will be "Required" or "Optional". The Issue, Complaint, and NCM processes support an additional "Conditionally Required" setting for fields to reflect their existing behavior. This setting will allow the field to be optional early in the process but required later in the process. Task instructions on the configuration page will describe when the field will be required. Active Configurable fields for process items supporting this setting will be initialized by an upgrade step to maintain current behavior.
• Configurable Field Display Order - A Display Order can now be set when configuring coding fields, date fields and extra data fields. Fields with lower values for Display Order will be shown first.
• Email Address in Exports for User Management Reports - The CSV exports for the User Security Report and the User Module Access Rights Report now include the Email Address field, to help administrators using exports to build import files for administrative updates.
• Define Suppliers - The "Define Suppliers" page has been removed. It has been replaced with individual links on the Manage Suppliers page for each of the following actions: Add Supplier, Import Suppliers, Edit Suppliers, Delete Suppliers, Deactivate Suppliers, and Activate Suppliers. This design change was made to provide better usability and performance for sites with large numbers of suppliers.
• Initial Keyboard Focus on Date Fields - Previously, if a date was the initial keyboard focus for a page, the date selection component would automatically open the calendar popup, obscuring some of the page. Going forward the date selection component will not automatically open on initial focus. Users will need to either click the field or use the keyboard tab navigation to open the calendar popup for that first field. The calendar popup will still automatically be opened when tabbing through fields.
• Data Table Selected Rows - When a data table has checkboxes with one or more rows selected, a message will be displayed in the header indicating the number of rows currently selected. This design change was made to clarify exactly how many rows are currently selected when the table is in paginated mode, so that it would be clearer to a user toggling a "select all" checkbox that it only applied to the checkboxes on the current page of the table.

Audit Management

• Audit Collaboration Tasks - The Audit Manager for an audit can now authorize other users to assist in executing the audit by assigning them Audit Collaboration tasks. Users assigned one of these tasks can record findings and actions for an audit but are not authorized to add to or modify the requirements of the audit.
• Configurable Date Fields for Audits - Three configurable date fields have been added to Audits, allowing authorized users to record additional dates and search for audits by date ranges. These fields can be configured by Audit Module Administrators on the "Configure Audit Fields" page.
• Focus After Editing Requirements - After editing an audit requirement, focus should be set to that requirement when returning to the previous page (either the Manage Audits page or the Edit Audit Template page). This functionality was inadvertently disabled in release 16.1 and has been fixed in this release.

Authentication Management

• App Launcher Integration for SSO Platforms - In 16.2, users with SSO-linked accounts still needed to manually click a button on the Sign In page to perform a login. Starting with this version, SSO Identity Providers can be configured with a Grand Avenue URL that will automatically log users with SSO-linked accounts into the system and take them to a specified page. This feature is configured on the Configure Single Sign On page for the Authentication Management module by setting an optional "IdentityProviderID" value that can be added to Grand Avenue URLs to perform the automated login.
• Improved Error Handling and Enforcement for Nonce Errors - A cryptographic "nonce" (number once) is a random number used in communication protocols to keep communications private. In 16.2, intermittent nonce errors generated by the Open ID integration with some SSO Identity providers were not properly captured and ended up being displayed to users with detailed diagnostic information that was not user-friendly. Starting with this version, nonce errors are correctly captured and processed, and only displayed to users as a user-friendly warning on the Sign In page.

CAPA

• Describe Solution Impact - Two changes have been made to the primary button bar on the Describe Solution Impact page for a CAPA Request:
  • The "Save and Finish Later" button has been renamed to "Save".
  • The "Save and Proceed to Signoff" button has been removed.
• Configurable Date Fields for CAPA Requests - Three configurable date fields have been added to CAPA Requests, allowing authorized users to record additional dates and search for CAPA Requests by date ranges. These fields can be configured by CAPA Module Administrators on the "Configure CAPA Fields" page.
• Configurable Date Fields for CAPA Root Causes - Three configurable date fields have been added to CAPA Root Causes, allowing authorized users to record additional dates and search for CAPA Requests by date ranges for their associated root causes. These fields can be configured by CAPA Module Administrators on the "Configure CAPA Fields" page.

Complaint Handling

• Configurable Date Fields for Issues - Three configurable date fields have been added to Issues, allowing authorized users to record additional dates and search for Issues by date ranges. These fields can be configured by Complaint Module Administrators on the "Configure Complaint Fields" page.
• Configurable Date Fields for Complaints - Three configurable date fields have been added to Complaints, allowing authorized users to record additional dates and search for Complaints by date ranges. These fields can be configured by Complaint Module Administrators on the "Configure Complaint Fields" page.
• Configurable Date Fields for Customers - Three configurable date fields have been added to Customers, allowing authorized users to record additional dates and search for Customers by date ranges. These fields can be configured by Complaint Module Administrators on the "Configure Complaint Fields" page.
• Associated Part Configuration for Issues - The configuration options for Associated Parts have been moved from the Configure Complaint Process Options page to a new Configure Associated Parts page linked from the main Configure Complaint page.
• Complaint Review Boards - Each Complaint Review Board now supports configuring the minimum number of assignments required, the number of unique people required, and the number of Additional Approvers to display when using the selected review board. An upgrade will initialize these values with defaults to preserve the previous behavior for Complaint Review Boards: a review must have a minimum of two assignments, the assignments can be assigned to the same person, and the page for selecting the reviewers will display two Additional Approver slots.

Connector

• OData API Version v2 Update - Additional entity types and navigation properties have been added to the v2 version of the OData API.
  • New Entity Types
    • Equipment Activity Records - A new entity type has been added for the Activity Records associated with Equipment. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: Equipment Management
    • Supplier Evaluations - A new entity type has been added for Supplier Evaluations. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: Supplier Management
    • Supplier Corrective Action Requests (SCARs) - A new entity type has been added for SCARs. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: Supplier Management
  • New Navigation Properties
    • Equipment.EquipmentActivityRecords - An expandable navigation property for the Activity Records associated with a specific piece of equipment.
    • SupplierCorrectiveActionRequest.AssociatedParts - An expandable navigation property for the Associated Parts for a SCAR.
• OData Error when filtering specific fields - Starting with version 16.1, the $filter query option would incorrectly return no values when applied to certain properties. For example, using $filter=TaskName eq 'Formal Review' on the TaskAssignments endpoint would not return any task assignments. This has been corrected with this release. The following fields were affected:
  • ActivityLogEntries - EntryCreatedByUserDisplay, EntryLastUpdatedByUserDisplay
  • AssessmentResults - UserDisplay
  • AuditReports - AuditManagerDisplay, SupplierDisplay
  • CapaActions - ImplementatorDisplay
  • CapaRequests - AffectedDepartmentDisplay, CapaEffectivenessVerificationPlannedAssigneeDisplay, InvestigatorDisplay
  • CapaRootCauses - SupplierDisplay
  • ComplaintIssues - CustomerDisplay, InitiatorDisplay
  • AssociatedParts - PartDisplay
  • DesignProject - ProjectManagerDisplay
  • DeviationRequests - OriginatingDepartmentDisplay, OriginatorDisplay
  • Documents - DepartmentDisplay
  • DocumentChangeRequests - OriginatingDepartmentDisplay, OriginatorDisplay
  • Equipment - EquipmentProfileDisplay, EquipmentStatusDefinitionDisplay, EquipmentTypeDefinitionDisplay
  • NCMReports - OriginatorDisplay, PartDisplay, SupplierDisplay
  • ProductComplaints - IssueInitiatorDisplay
  • Suppliers - SupplierApprovalStatusDefinitionDisplay
  • TaskAssignments - AssigneeDisplay, DepartmentDisplay, TaskName
  • TrainingRecords - CertificationSignoffUserDisplay, CertificationRecordedByUserDisplay, MonitoredByUserDisplay, TrainingSignoffUserDisplay, CompletionRecordedByUserDisplay, UserDepartmentDisplay, UserDisplay
• Performance Improvements for Queries - Wherever possible, related items are now fetched in a single query rather than a separate query for each item. For example, when returning Complaints, all issues for the associated complaints are fetched using a single query rather than a separate query for each complaint. This change will dramatically improve the performance for large queries.

Design Control

• Assign Project Roles - The Assign Project Viewers button on the Manage Design Project page has been renamed to Assign Project Roles, to support the management of multiple roles for a Design Project.
• Design Project Assistants - A new Design Project Assistant role has been added to Design Projects, allowing users to be authorized to assist with the management of deliverables for a specific project. This includes recording progress and adding attachments to deliverables, adding new ad hoc deliverables to a phase, and marking unnecessary deliverables as not applicable for a phase. Users assigned the Design Control Module Administrator role can assign Design Project Assistants through the Edit Design Project page. The Project Manager for a project can assign Design Project Assistants using the new Assign Design Project Roles button on the Manage Design Project page.
• User Responsibility Report - The User Responsibility Report will now show all projects that a user is assigned as the project manager. Previously only open design projects were displayed.
• Design Control Review Boards - Each Design Control Review Board now supports configuring the minimum number of assignments required, the number of unique people required, and the number of Additional Approvers to display when using the selected review board. An upgrade will initialize these values with defaults to preserve the previous behavior for Design Control Review Boards: a review must have a minimum of two assignments, the assignments must be assigned to at least two distinct people, and the page for selecting the reviewers will display two Additional Approver slots.

NCM

• Configurable Date Fields for NCM Reports - Three configurable date fields have been added to NCM Reports, allowing authorized users to record additional dates and search for NCM Reports by date ranges. These fields can be configured by NCM Module Administrators on the "Configure NCM Fields" page.

Supplier Management

• SCAR Process - A new Supplier Corrective Action Request (SCAR) process has been added to the Supplier Management module, allowing customers to manage the formal requests given to a supplier to investigate and resolve a quality issue. Each SCAR proceeds through a workflow of initiation, investigation, implementation, and verification of effectiveness. In addition to documenting the plan for and results of corrective actions taken by the supplier, users performing tasks for SCAR can upload or link to documentation, identify parts associated with the SCAR, and create links to related process items (Complaints, Audits, NCMRs, etc.).
• Supplier Review Boards - Each Supplier Review Board now supports configuring the minimum number of assignments required, the number of unique people required, and the number of Additional Approvers to display when using the selected review board. An upgrade will initialize these values with defaults to preserve the previous behavior for Supplier Review Boards: a review must have a minimum of two assignments, the assignments can be assigned to the same person, and the page for selecting the reviewers will display two Additional Approver slots.

Training Assessment

• Users Denied By Training Access List Unable to Perform Training - A defect was identified in GAS 16.2 for sites with the Training Assessment module activated, preventing users restricted by the Training Module Access List from managing or perform training tasks. This has been corrected, and a user's roles and tasks will always authorize them to manage/complete training, even if restricted by the access list.

Training Management

• Item Trainers Table on Perform Training Page - The Perform Training page now displays a list of any Item Trainers assigned for the corresponding training item.
• Incomplete Training for Deviation Requests - The method for managing incomplete training for Deviation Requests has been updated to align with how training is managed for other training items. Previously, when a Deviation Request was released that affected documents assigned as training requirements for users, the system would only warn of the need for "potential" training, and users responsible for managing the training for that Deviation Request would need to manually record training completion for each user that was actually trained. Starting in this release, when a Deviation Request is released that affects documents assigned as training requirements for users, the system will immediately create incomplete training records for all affected users, and the person releasing the Deviation Request will have the option to assign training completion tasks to each of the affected users, authorizing them to perform their own training on the Deviation Request. The system will also automatically create new incomplete training records for an effective Deviation Request when a user is assigned training requirements for any documents affected by the Deviation Request.
• Training Status Report for Deviation Request - Authorized users can now run a Training Status Report for a Deviation Request, to view the current training status of all users with training requirements for one or more documents affected by the Deviation Request.
• Configuration Option Assigning Training Completion Tasks - The "Allow Document Control Module Coordinator during Release Documents task to assign users to complete their own training?" option on the "Configure Training Process Options" page has been renamed to "Allow users releasing Change/Deviation Requests to assign users tasks to complete their own training?". This change is being made to reflect that the configuration setting now applies to both the Release Documents task for a Change Request and the Release Deviation task for a Deviation Request.

Changes in Release 16.2 (02 Oct 2023)

General

• Sign In instead of Login - Terminology throughout the system has been changed to use "sign in" instead of "login". Field names have been changed as appropriate (For example, the "During Login" field on Security Event has been changed to "During Sign In").
• Signoff Key - In previous releases, users performed signoff operations by re-entering the same password they used to sign into the system. With the introduction of a Single Sign-On capability in the new Authentication Management module, some users may no longer have a sign in password that they can use for signoff operations. Starting with this release the "Password" field for signoff operations has been replaced with a "Signoff Key" field. Users with sign in passwords can continue to use the same password as their Signoff Key, but sites can now also allow users to instead choose a separate numeric PIN for use as their Signoff Key. User accounts tied to SSO in the Authentication Management module will be required to select a Numeric PIN.
• Configure Signoff Key Options - A new configuration link has been added to the Configure System page, allowing users assigned the System Administrator role to enable the use of a Numeric PIN for user Signoff Key operations. When this feature is enabled, each user will be able to optionally choose whether to continue using their Sign In password, or switch to (and choose) a Numeric Pin. This option will be initially disabled for existing customers upgrading to this version.
• Change Signoff Key - A new "Change Signoff Key" link has been added to the user profile menu, allowing users to choose which type of key they will use for signoff operations. This link is only displayed if the site has enabled the use of a Numeric PIN as a Signoff Key.
• Search for Users - A new "Search for Users" link has been added to the Search navigation menu for users assigned either the System Administrator role or the Account Management role. The page allows you to search for a specific set of user accounts and generate charts or export the results.
• User Security Report - Two new properties have been added to the search criteria and result columns for the User Security Report page:
  • Authentication Method - Indicates how each user is authenticated for signing into the system (Internal Password, Active Directory, etc.).
  • Signoff Key Type - Indicates which type of key each user will use for signoff operations (Sign In Password, Numeric PIN, etc.).
• Correct Display Format for Unlimited-Length Text Fields - A few properties that can contain large amounts of text (for example, the Description property for a process item) were incorrectly displaying as a single-line field, which prevented users from easily seeing the rest of the text. This problem has been corrected, and now unlimited-length text fields will always be bound with a UI control that displays all their text to the user.
• Free-form Text for Supplier Email Field - The Email field for a Supplier has been changed to allow free-form text so that sites can record additional information about emailing a particular supplier. Previously this field required a strict email address format and only allowed a single address to be recorded.
• Error with Display of Special Characters in Page Titles - Customers reported a problem with the display of page title for an employee name containing non-ASCII characters (like ü or ñ). This problem has been corrected in this release.
• Error Sending Email to Users with Invalid Email Addresses - Customer support identified a scenario where user accounts could be created with an invalid email address (e.g., "no email"), and any subsequent attempt to send a notification to that user would fail. Starting in this release the system will apply stricter validation to all user email addresses during data entry and import, verifying that they comply with established Internet standards for email address formats.

Authentication Management

• Initial Release of the Authentication Management Module - This is the first release of a new, optional module to allow customers to link their GAS installation to an external identity provider for Single Sign On (SSO) authentication. When this link is created, individual user accounts can be configured so that the users will sign in through that external service (for example, Microsoft Entra/Azure AD or Okta), instead of through the built-in GAS sign in page. Customers wishing to review the capabilities of this module can do so using one of their non-production GAS sites (the Training or Upgrade sites for Hosted customers, or the Evaluation site for On-Premise customers). Contact Grand Avenue Support (support@grandavenue.com) for any additional questions about module features or adding the module to your license agreement.

Complaint Handling

• Generate Issue ID on First Save - A new configuration option has been added to the Configure Complaint Process Options page, allowing a site to control when the Issue ID is generated for a new Issue. For existing sites, the upgrade process will set this option to "No", to reflect the previous behavior of delaying the generation until the issue is first submitted to the Review New Issue step.

Connector

• OData API Version v2 Update - Additional entity types and navigation properties have been added to the v2 version of the OData API.
  • New Entity Types
    • Assessment Result - A new entity type has been added for the Assessment Results associated with Training Records. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: Training Assessment
    • Audit Report - A new entity type has been added for Audit Reports. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: Audit Management
    • CAPA Action - A new entity type has been added for CAPA Actions. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: CAPA
    • CAPA Correction - A new entity type has been added for CAPA Corrections. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: CAPA
    • CAPA Root Cause - A new entity type has been added for CAPA Root Causes. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: CAPA
    • Design Project - A new entity type has been added for Design Projects. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: Design Control
    • Equipment - A new entity type has been added for Equipment. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: Equipment Management
  • New Navigation Properties
    • CapaRequest.CapaActions - An expandable navigation property for the CAPA Actions associated with a CAPA Request.
    • CapaRequest.CapaCorrections - An expandable navigation property for the CAPA Corrections associated with a CAPA Request.
    • CapaRequest.CapaRootCauses - An expandable navigation property for the CAPA Root Causes associated with a CAPA Request.
    • TrainingRecord.AssessmentResults - An expandable navigation property for the Assessment Results associated with a Training Record.
• File Content Retrieval for Documents Endpoint - The Documents endpoint can now be used to download the primary file for a specific document revision. Access to this endpoint can be disabled by a System Administrator using the Configure OData API page.
  • Example: https://<servername>/GrandAvenue/odata/v2/Documents(23)/FileContent
• Performance Improvements for Filtered Queries - Changes were made to the Connector Read OData APIs to shorten the response times for queries using the $top option.
• Error with Filtered Query Using Date - A defect was identified in 16.1 that prevented the use of date-based properties with the $filter query option. This has been corrected in this release.
  • Example: Parts?$filter=CreatedDate ge 2023-04-18
• Error with Filtered Query Using Dynamic Property - A defect was identified in 16.1 that prevented the use of dynamic properties with the $filter query option. This has been corrected in this release.
  • Example: NcmReportEntries$filter=NcmReportDisplay eq 'NCMR-02600'
• Error with Filtered Query Using Top and Count Options - A defect was identified in 16.1 for queries that used both the $top and $count query options. The $count option should return the total number of objects matching any filters, before objects are removed by the $top option, but was instead only returning the final count after $top had been applied. This has been corrected in this release.
  • Example: In a system with 200 total parts, only 100 of which are active, the following query should only return the top 5 parts, but display a matching $count value of 100.
    • Parts$filter=Active eq 'Yes'&$top=5&$count=true

Document Control

• Batch Import Documents Error for Empty Document Files - The batch import process for documents allows a site to directly import the metadata and file content for existing documents. In previous versions of the software, if the file imported for a document was empty, the import process would discard it and the document would be imported without a file. Unfortunately, in cases where the import process didn't have the access rights to read the document file, it would also treat that as an empty file, and some customers reported that large numbers of documents would be imported without reporting an error, just silently creating the document record without a corresponding file. Starting in this release, the system will treat an empty file as an error case and cancel the import process if there are any empty document files referenced by the CSV instruction file.
• Training Assessment Process Impact for Change Requests - A new "Training Assessment" Process Impact has been added to the default list of Process Impacts for Change Requests. This will only apply to new installations, and not be created as part of the upgrade process for existing customers, but it is being documented here in case customers adding the Training Assessment module want to manually add it to their system.
  • Impact Name: Training Assessments - Add/Update Assessment Definitions
  • Instructions: Will any Training Assessment Definitions need to be updated or created as a result of these changes?
  • Process Item Types: Only Document Change Requests
  • Default for Applicable: No
  • Description Always Required: No
  • Implementation Task Required: Yes
  • Implementation Task Instructions: Create or update applicable Training Assessment Definitions for new or modified training items.
• Display of Reason/Justification Field - The Reason/Justification field is now included in the streamlined set of information fields displayed on task pages for Change Requests and Deviation Requests. This field was hidden as part of the Streamlined Identifying Information on Task Pages changes in GAS 15.3 but is being restored to the default view based on customer feedback.
• Document File Access Restricted - A defect in the system allowed this field to be left blank when creating new documents if the feature was disabled. This would confuse searches when the feature was enabled but did not affect the restrictions for any documents. This defect has been corrected and an upgrade has been added to populate this field where necessary.

NCM

• Upgrade for Overall Description Field for NCM Report - A defect was identified in the original upgrade for the new NCMR "Description" field added in GAS 16.1. The Description field was not initialized for NCM Reports in two specific states (implementing or withdrawn). The upgrade process for this version will take one of the following actions for existing NCM Reports:
  • NCM Reports with an existing value for the Description field will not be modified.
  • The new Description field will be left empty for all NCM Reports that have not been submitted for approval, to allow the assigned originator or NCM Coordinator an opportunity to fill them out with the correct information.
  • For all other NCM Reports (approved, implementing, closed, withdrawn, failed implementation, etc.), the new Description field will be populated with a summary of the part and nonconformance descriptions from the initial Disposition Plan, to preserve the way users would have seen the NCM Report in task lists and searches prior to the upgrade. Sites that want to initialize the new Description field to a different value for legacy NCM Reports can use the "Administrative Update for NCM Report Fields" feature.

Training Assessment

• Initial Release of the Training Assessment Module - This is the first release of a new, optional module to allow sites with the Training Management module to create quizzes that users must perform before being allowed to sign off on a Complete Training task. Customers wishing to review the capabilities of this module can do so using one of their non-production GAS sites (the Training or Upgrade sites for Hosted customers, or the Evaluation site for On-Premise customers). Contact Grand Avenue Support (support@grandavenue.com) for any additional questions about module features or adding the module to your license agreement.

Training Management

• Redesigned Pages for Complete Training Task - The task page for users performing the "Complete Training" task has been split into two pages: an initial "Perform Training" page to allow the user to review the information and training materials, and a subsequent signoff page they will advance to after they have completed the training.
• Export Assessment Results for Training Records - The Export Search Results to Excel feature for the Search for Training Records page will now allow sites using the Training Assessment module to export the corresponding Assessment Results for each exported Training Record.

Changes in Release 16.1 (28 Apr 2023)

General

• Role-based Tasks and Notifications for Deactivated Users - The system no longer includes deactivated users when determining potential assignees for role-based tasks or recipients for role-oriented email notifications.
• My Profile Navigation Menu - The contents of the My Profile menu have been moved from the navigation menu to the user profile menu in the top right of the page header.
• Custom Assistance for the Sign In Page - Sites can now optionally configure assistance text that will be displayed to users on the Sign In page. For example, this may be used to communicate the format for the User ID field, or instructions on who to contact for login assistance. This text is configured on the Configure System -> Configure System Options page.
• Disable System Access - The bootstrap "Administrator" account can now temporarily disable all login access to the application. This action is performed on the Configure System -> Configure Server Identification page.
• Viewing Audit Trail for Items without a Task History - In previous versions of the software, the "View Audit Trail" link for each item was displayed as part of its "Task History" table. Unfortunately, as a result, it was difficult for users to navigate to the audit trail for items that don't have tasks and a Task History table (e.g., Activity Log Entries, Corrections). Starting with this version the "View Audit Trail" link will always be displayed as an independent link at the bottom of the "View" page for each process item, independent of the Task History.
• User Interface Updates - This release includes several enhancements and fixes for the new UI introduced in the previous release.
  • Side Navigation Bar Toggle - The show/hide navigation bar toggle now persists through navigation to new pages.
  • Table Sorting Improvements - Table columns containing hyperlink references now correctly sort based on the displayed text rather than the underlying hyperlink.
  • Table Filter Improvements - The text filter for tables now only matches visible text displayed in the table's rows.
  • Table Performance Improvements - Tables with large numbers of rows (thousands) now display much faster for customers with slower computers or network connections. Each table briefly displays a spinning indicator while it is loading the data.
  • Table Pagination - Based on feedback from 16.0 users, we have disabled the default table pagination for a specific set of tables. Users can still manually enable pagination for any of these tables after they open:
    • All tables on the My Tasks page
    • Process Impacts
    • Documents Included in Change Request
    • Documents Included in Deviation Request
    • View Audit Trail
    • View Audit Record Fields
    • Configure Password Reset Security Questions

CAPA

• Last Updated Timestamps for Investigation Activity Log Entries - The Investigation Activity Log table for a CAPA Request now displays both the Created Timestamp and the Last Updated Timestamp for each entry in the table, providing users with a visual cue for when activity log entries are modified. The "View" page for each entry also displays this information, including the users responsible for the creation and most recent update of the entry. Complaint Handling
• Last Updated Timestamps for Activity Log Entries - The Activity Log table for a Complaint now displays both the Created Timestamp and the Last Updated Timestamp for each entry in the table, providing users with a visual cue for when activity log entries are modified. The "View" page for each entry also displays this information, including the users responsible for the creation and most recent update of the entry.
• Include Decision Records in Export for Complaint Search Results - Users generating a CSV export from the Search for Complaints page can now choose to include the related Decision Records for each exported Complaint.

Connector

• OData API Version v2 Update - Additional navigation properties have been added to the v2 version of the OData API.
  • New Navigation Properties
    • NcmReport.ActivityLogEntries - An expandable navigation property for the activity log entries associated with an NCM Report.
• Performance Improvements for Filtered Queries - Changes were made to the Connector Read OData APIs to shorten the response times for queries using the $filter option.

Design Control

• Add Phase for Open Design Project - Users assigned the Design Control Module Administrator role can now add a new, empty phase to an open Design Project. The new phase is added as the last phase in the project. The project manager for the project can then populate the phase with any necessary ad hoc deliverables.
• Split Define Design Projects page - The Define Design Projects link on the Manage Design Projects page has been split into separate links for adding and editing projects (Add Design Project and Edit Design Projects, respectively).

Document Control

• Preproduction Document Management - For sites using the Preproduction configuration option for Documents: The "Production Status" field has been removed from Change Requests, and users creating or revising documents can now directly select the resulting Production Status for each document. As a result, each Change Request can have any combination of Preproduction and Production documents, and there are no longer any limitations on a document going from Production back to Preproduction.
• Administrative Update for Document Production Status - For sites using the Preproduction configuration option for Documents: The Administrative Update for Field Values feature now allows users assigned the Document Control Module Administrator role to make administrative changes to the Production Status field for existing documents.
• Disable Product Disposition Feature for Change Requests - A new configuration option has been added to allow a site to disable/hide the Product Disposition section of the Change Request process. This option is configured by a Document Control Module Administrator using the Configure Document Control Process Options page. The upgrade process for existing sites will leave the feature enabled. The system will prevent the feature from being disabled if there are any open Change Requests with disposition entries.
• Edit Document Type Definition - The look and feel for this page has been updated to better align with the new user interface released in version 16.0.
• Edit Product Disposition - The look and feel for this page has been updated to better align with the new user interface released in version 16.0.

NCM

• Overall Description Field for NCM Report - A new "Description" field has been added to the NCM Report, allowing users to provide a summary description of the potential nonconformance that is independent of any individual entry in a disposition plan. The upgrade process for this version will take one of the following actions for existing NCM Reports:
  • The new Description field will be left empty for all NCM Reports that have not been submitted for approval, to allow the assigned originator or NCM Coordinator an opportunity to fill them out with the correct information.
  • For all other NCM Reports (approved, closed, withdrawn, failed implementation, etc.), the new Description field will be populated with a summary of the part and nonconformance descriptions from the initial Disposition Plan, to preserve the way users would have seen the NCM Report in task lists and searches prior to the upgrade. Sites that want to initialize the new Description field to a different value for legacy NCM Reports can use the "Administrative Update for NCM Report Fields" feature.
• Disposition Instruction Files - Users creating a Disposition Plan for an NCM Report can now upload files with detailed disposition instructions for each entry in the disposition plan. These new "Disposition Instruction Files" will be made available to users performing the corresponding implementation tasks.
• Investigation Activity Log - An activity log has been added to the NCM process, to allow participants in the early investigation of an NCM Report to document their activities. This includes users assigned the Submit NCM Report, Propose Disposition, and Disposition Collaboration tasks.

Training Management

• Training Comments for Training Completion Tasks - The training completion process can now be configured to prevent users from recording "Comments" when they sign off on Complete Training tasks. This new configuration option is managed on the Configure Training Process Options page by users assigned the Training Module Administrator role.

Changes in Release 16.0 (19 Dec 2022)

General

• User Interface Redesign - This release includes an updated user interface that follows modern design principles, leveraging a new UI architecture that will allow us to start tackling some of the commonly requested improvements that weren't possible in our original user interface. To ease the transition for existing customers, we've focused on a first release that introduces the new user experience without changing how the underlying applications work. Users will be able to follow the same steps to perform they did before, but with some new approaches to displaying information and including some initial improvements in basic usability.
  • Modern UI Design Principles
    • Cleaner, more consistent look-and-feel across all modules
    • UI responsive to changes in display size (desktop vs. tablet vs. phone)
    • Navigation menu redesigned to be more compact and collapsible
    • New capabilities in data tables (search, pagination, etc.)
    • Improved selection controls for data-entry fields
    • Integrated guidance for data-entry format in fields
  • Table Display Enhancements - Several customer-requested improvements have been made to the display of tables:
    • Users can now enter text to search/filter the list of items in a table.
    • Sorting is now performed on the client-side, making user-selected column sorting faster and more responsive.
    • Users can now toggle pagination for a table, allowing them to see a subset of the total items at one time (instead of scrolling through potentially thousands of items).
  • Sitewide Color Themes - All instances of the application now have a single, consistent color scheme. Customers can instead use options on the "Configure Server Identification" customize a page header for non-Production sites to explain the purpose for each site (e.g., Training, Upgrade, etc.).
  • Navigation Menu Header Links - In previous versions of the software, clicking the text of a navigation menu header (e.g., "Search / Chart" or "CAPA") would take the user to a page with a static list of the navigation links associated with that menu. This navigation has been removed and clicking a menu header now only collapses or expands the menu.
• Performance Improvements - Changes were made to shorten the load time for several pages with complex authorization checks, with a specific focus on the following pages: My Tasks, Manage Task Assignments.
• Configure Server Identification and Notification Settings - The page used by System Administrators to configure the server identification and notification settings has been split into two pages:
  • Configure Server Identification - Used to set the Company Name and Installation Name used by the application instance.
  • Configure Notification Settings - Used to configure the email notifications for the system.
• Site Description Fields - The Configure Server Identification page now allows System Administrators to indicate whether the GAS instance is for production use, or for a non-production purpose like validation testing or a sandbox for training users. The upgrade process for an existing database will automatically set these fields to indicate that it is a Production site, and an administrator will need to manually update the fields for any non-production sites.
• Configure User Interface Settings - System-wide options for configuring aspects of the application user interface have been moved from the Configure System Options page to a new Configure User Interface Settings page.
• Configure Table Pagination - Two new options for controlling table pagination have been added to the Configure User Interface Settings page:
  • Threshold Number of Rows for Activating Table Pagination - Specifies how many rows a table can contain before the software automatically switches the table to pagination.
  • Default Number of Rows Per Table Page - Specifies the default number of rows to display in a table that is paginated.
• Error with Read-Only Account in Sites Requiring Two-Factor Authentication - A defect was identified that prevented the Read-Only account from logging into the system if Two-Factor Authentication was configured to be required for all user accounts. The login code has been updated to reflect that 2FA is not supported for the Read-Only account.
• Filename Truncation for Exporting Items to Server - In GAS 15.6, a new common infrastructure was implemented for exporting process items and their file contents across multiple modules. An unintended side effect of this new implementation is that filenames for exported files were always truncated to a maximum length of 40 characters. This restriction has been relaxed to always allow files to use as many characters are available while still keeping the total file path less than 245 characters (to remain under Windows path limitations).
• Changes to Supported Client Platforms
  • The following client operating system versions are now supported starting with this release:
    • macOS 13
    • iOS 16
  • The following client operating system versions are no longer supported.
    • Windows 8.1
    • macOS 10.13 ("High Sierra")
    • macOS 10.14 ("Mojave")
    • macOS 10.15 ("Catalina")
    • iOS versions earlier than iOS 14
    • Android versions earlier than 10.0
• Changes to Supported Web Browsers
  • Internet Explorer - Microsoft officially discontinued support for Internet Explorer in June 2022. Windows users can either switch to Microsoft's new Chromium-based Edge browser, or to one of the other supported browsers (Chrome, Firefox).
• Changes to Supported Database Platforms
  • SQL Server 2022 - SQL Server 2022 is now a supported database platform. If you have any questions about migrating your current database contact Grand Avenue Software Support.
  • The following database server versions are no longer supported. Contact support@grandavenue.com if necessary, for assistance in migrating your database to a more recent version of SQL Server.
    • SQL Server 2012

Connector

• OData API Version v2 Update - Additional entity types and navigation properties have been added to the v2 version of the OData API.
  • New Entity Types
    • Deviation Request - A new entity type has been added for Deviation Requests. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: Document Control
    • Document - A new entity type has been added for Document revisions. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: Document Control
  • New Navigation Properties
    • DeviationRequest.TaskAssignments- An expandable navigation property for the task assignments associated with a Deviation Request.
    • Document.TaskAssignments- An expandable navigation property for the task assignments associated with a Document revision.
• Connector WCF Services - All legacy WCF services that were obsoleted in GAS 15.0 have now been completely removed from the software.

Document Control

• Additional Change Request Information in Document Approval Summary - The View Document Approval Summary page now includes the overall description and reason for the originating Change Request.
• Search for Documents by Document Collection - The Search for Documents page now allows users to filter the search results down to only documents that are included in one or more specified Document Collections. This capability also applies to any feature that uses the Search for Documents page (like Export Documents to Server).
• Export Change Requests to Server - A new feature has been added to the "Manage Change Requests" page, allowing Document Control Module Administrators to export the metadata and file content for a selected set of Change Requests and their related items to a directory on the web server.
• Export Deviation Requests to Server - A new feature has been added to the "Manage Deviation Requests" page, allowing Document Control Module Administrators to export the metadata and file content for a selected set of Deviation Requests and their related items to a directory on the web server.
• Number of Additional Approvers Allowed for Formal Review - Document Control Module Administrators can now configure the Formal Review process to allow up to ten additional approvers. Previously this number was limited to eight.

Equipment Management

• Withdrawing Activity Records - Withdrawing an incomplete equipment activity record will now create a separate, closed "Withdraw Activity Record" task to capture who performed the withdraw action and the associated comments.

NCM

• Print Nonconforming Material Tag - Users creating a NCM Report can now print a nonconforming material tag without being required to record one or more entries in the Disposition Plan section. Previously the user was required to add information about at least one detailed nonconformance before the button to print a tag would be enabled.
• Configurable Number of Additional Approvers for Approve Disposition - Users assigned the NCM Module Administrator role can now configure the maximum number of additional "ad hoc" approvers that Coordinators can assign when submitting a disposition plan for approval by an NCM Review Board. Previously this number was limited to 2.

Training Management

• Export Training History to Server - A new feature has been added to the "Manage Completed Training Records" page, allowing Training Module Administrators to export the metadata and file content for the completed Training Records for a selected set of users to a directory on the web server.

Changes in Release 15.6 (16 May 2022)

General

• Multiple Module Administrators - The Module Administrator role in each module can now be assigned to multiple users.
  • Users assigned the System Administrator role can assign Module Administrators using the Manage System Role Assignments link on the Configure System page.
  • Users already assigned the Module Administrator role for a module can assign the role to other users, using the Manage Role Assignments link on their Configure Module page (e.g., Configure CAPA, Configure Complaint, etc.).
• Administrative Update of Authentication Information for Users - System Administrators or users with the Account Management role can perform updates of authentication information for multiple users. This includes changing passwords and Active Directory account information.

Complaint Handling

• Export Issues to Server - A new "Export Issues" feature has been added to the "Manage Issues" page, allowing the Complaint Module Administrator to export the metadata and file content for a selected set of Issues and their related items to a directory on the web server.

Connector

• Performance Improvements - Changes were made to the Connector Read OData APIs to shorten the response times when returning large data sets.

Design Control

• Export Design Projects to Server - A new "Export Design Projects" feature has been added to the "Manage Design Projects" page, allowing Design Control Module Administrators to export the metadata and file content for a selected set of Design Projects and their related items to a directory on the web server.
• Export Design Project to Server by Project Manager - The "Export All Project Files" feature for project managers has been replaced with a new "Export Design Project to Server" option, that exports all metadata and files to a location on the web server. This change was made to better align with other module export functionality. The folder structure, CSV file names, and CSV file content has changed. See the Design Control Module online help for details.
• Configuration Option for Allowing Project Managers to Export a Design Project to the Server - The "Enable Export of Project Files" option on the "Configure Design Control Process Options" page has been renamed to "Allow Project Managers to Export Design Project to Server".

Document Control

• Approvers Table on View Document Page - The View Document page for a document revision created by a Change Request now displays the list of users that approved the Formal Review.
• Document Approval Summary - A new page has been added for document revisions, allowing a user to view a streamlined set of information about the document revision, its originating Change Request, and the approvers for that Change Request. The page is accessible from a new "View Document Approval Summary" link on the View Document page.
• Document Collection Viewers - Document Control Module Administrators and Coordinators can now assign Document Collection Viewers that are authorized to view documents in the collection even when restricted by the module access list.
• Export Documents to Server - This feature was updated to better align with other module export functionality. The folder structure, CSV file names, and CSV file content has changed. See the Document Control Module online help for details.

NCM

• Part Custom Fields Included in Export for NCM Report Search Results - CSV exports generated using the Search for NCM Reports page now include any custom fields defined for the part associated with the NCM Report.

Training Management

• Training Links on View User Page - The View User page now provides links for authorized users to view or manage training for the employee. This access is in addition to existing methods for viewing a user's training, providing another option for situations where the current approaches aren't convenient (like viewing the training history for a deactivated user).

Changes in Release 15.5 (22 Nov 2021)

General

• Changes to Supported Client Platforms
  • The following client operating system versions are now supported starting with this release:
    • Microsoft Windows 11
    • macOS 12 ("Monterey")
    • iOS 14
    • iOS 15
• Import Process Impact Definitions for Modules - The Configure Process Impacts page for each module now allows Module Administrators to import multiple definitions in a single operation. This applies to all modules that support Process Impacts: CAPA, Complaint, Document Control, NCM, Supplier Management.
• Manage User Module Access Rights - Authorized users can now search for and manage the module access rights for each user. The report is accessed through the "Manage Users" page. This page replaces the View User Module Access Rights report.
• Import Users with Access Rights - Users authorized to manage users can now use a batch import process to add multiple new users and all the associated access rights in a single operation. The import is performed using the "Import Users with Access Rights" button on the "Define Users" page.
• Add/Edit User - Authorized users can modify user module access rights on the Add/Edit User page.
• Two-Factor Authentication - The system will now inform a user if the code they enter is invalid because it recently expired or the clock on their authenticator device does not match the clock on the Grand Avenue application server.
• Active Directory Configuration - Active directory configuration now allows the port to be specified after the server's name. (For example, "AdServer:389")
• Configurable Coding Fields for Parts - Two additional custom coding fields have been added to Parts making a total of seven, for use in defining additional site-specific ways of classifying and recording additional information about each part. These fields can be configured by the Complaint Module Administrator on the "Configure Complaint Fields" page, by the Supplier Module Administrator on the "Configure Supplier Fields" page, or by the NCM Module Administrator on the "Configure NCM Fields" page.
• Edit Part Unit of Measure - Users authorized to manage parts can now use the Edit Part page to change the Unit of Measure for any part not referenced by NCM Report Entries.
• Administrative Update for Part Unit of Measure - The "Administrative Update for Part Field Values" feature now supports updates for the Unit of Measure field. The value of this field can only be changed for parts that are not referenced by NCM Report Entries.

Audit Management

• Edit Audit Finding - The "Edit Audit Finding" page has been updated to display more contextual information about the corresponding Requirement.

CAPA

• Export CAPA Requests to Server - A new "Export CAPA Requests" feature has been added to the "Manage CAPA Requests" page, allowing the CAPA Module Administrator to export the metadata and file content for a selected set of CAPA Requests and their related items to a directory on the web server.
• Identifying Information on CAPA Task Pages - Primary task pages for the CAPA process now display more of the base information about the CAPA Request (e.g., process dates, Status, Priority, Investigator, etc.). These additions are in response to customer feedback about the Streamlined Identifying Information on Task Pages changes in GAS 15.3.

Complaint Handling

• Export Complaints to Server - A new "Export Complaints" feature has been added to the "Manage Complaints" page, allowing the Complaint Module Administrator to export the metadata and file content for a selected set of Complaints and their related items to a directory on the web server.

Connector

• OData API Version v2 Update - Additional entity types and navigation properties have been added to the v2 version of the OData API.
  • New Entity Types
    • Activity Log Entry - A new entity type has been added for the activity log entries associated with each CAPA Request or Complaint. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: CAPA, Complaint Handling
  • New Navigation Properties
    • CapaRequest.ActivityLogEntries - An expandable navigation property for the activity log entries associated with a CAPA Request.
    • Complaint.ActivityLogEntries - An expandable navigation property for the activity log entries associated with a Complaint.

Design Control

• Allow Design Control Projects to Authorize Users to View Additional Files for Associated Documents - Starting with this release, Project Managers and Project Viewers granted access to controlled documents associated with their projects will also have access to the additional document files for those documents.

Document Control

• Reject Request at Preliminary Coordinator Review - The "Reject Request" option in the "Preliminary Coordinator Review" task now allows the user to specify an assignee and due date for the new "Submit New Request" task and provide explicit instructions independent of the task comments. Previously the task would always be assigned to the original submitter of the request and use a default system due date.
• Additional Information Displayed on Approve Coordinator Review Page - The Approve Coordinator Review page for a Change Request or Deviation Request now displays the list of documents being modified and the process impacts for the request. These additions are in response to customer feedback about the Streamlined Identifying Information on Task Pages changes in GAS 15.3.

Equipment Management

• Import Equipment Types - Users authorized to define equipment types can now use a batch import process to add multiple new equipment types in a single operation. The import is performed using the "Import Equipment Types" button on the "Define Equipment Types" page.
• Import Equipment Profiles - Users authorized to define equipment types can now use a batch import process to add multiple new equipment profiles in a single operation. The import is performed using the "Import Equipment Profiles" button on the "Define Equipment Types" page.
• Import Equipment Activities - Users authorized to define equipment types can now use a batch import process to add multiple new equipment activity definitions in a single operation. The import is performed using the "Import Equipment Activities" button on the "Define Equipment Types" page.
• Manage Equipment Activity Records - The "Manage Activity Records" link in the Equipment Management section of the left-hand navigation bar has been renamed to "Manage Equipment Activity Records", to reduce confusion with a similar link in the Supplier Management section.
• Withdraw Incomplete Activity Records - The "Manage Incomplete Activities" page now allows Equipment Module Coordinators to withdraw multiple incomplete activity records in a single operation.
• Change Due Date for Equipment Activity Records - The "Manage Incomplete Activities" page now allows Equipment Module Coordinators to change the due dates for multiple incomplete activity records and their corresponding tasks in a single operation.
• Change Task Due Date for Equipment Activity Record Tasks - The "Change Due Date" feature on the My Tasks and Manage Task Assignments pages can no longer be used to directly change the Task Due Date of task assignments for Equipment Activity Records, because the Task Due Date for these tasks is linked to the Activity Due Date of the corresponding activity record.
• Reopen Closed Equipment Activity Records - When reopening closed equipment activity records it is now possible to specify a new activity due date after supplying a justification for the change.

Nonconforming Materials

• Identifying Information on NCM Report Entry Task Pages - Primary task pages for the NCM Report disposition process now display more of the base information about the NCM Report Entry (e.g., process dates, disposition instructions, disposition results, etc.). These additions are in response to customer feedback about the Streamlined Identifying Information on Task Pages changes in GAS 15.3.

Supplier Management

• Change Due Date for Supplier Control Activity Records - A new "Manage Incomplete Activities" page now allows Supplier Module Coordinators to change the due dates for multiple incomplete supplier control activity records and their corresponding tasks in a single operation.
• Change Task Due Date for Supplier Control Activity Record Tasks - The "Change Due Date" feature on the My Tasks and Manage Task Assignments pages can no longer be used to directly change the Task Due Date of task assignments for Supplier Control Activity Records, because the Task Due Date for these tasks is linked to the Activity Due Date of the corresponding activity record.
• Reopen Closed Supplier Control Activity Records - When reopening closed supplier control activity records it is now possible to specify a new activity due date after supplying a justification for the change.

Training Management

• Search for Training Records - The "Indicates Requirement Satisfied" search criterion on the "Search for Training Records" page now supports selecting multiple values to match (e.g., find training records that are either "No" or "N/A").
• Configuration Option for Allowing Department Trainers and Item Trainers to Change Required-by Dates for Incomplete Training Records - A new configuration option has been added to the "Configure Training Process Options" page, allowing the Training Module Administrator to indicate whether Department Trainers and Items Trainers are authorized to change a Training Required-by Date or Certification Required-by Date field for incomplete training records they are authorized to manage. This option will initially be set to "No" by the upgrade process for existing sites, to preserve the legacy behavior where trainers were not allowed to change required-by dates.
• Training Status Reports - Training Status Reports now include columns that indicate the dates that the user most recently completed training and certification for the training item.

Changes in Release 15.4 (29 Jul 2021)

Nonconforming Materials

• NCM Background Files - A defect introduced in 15.3 prevented adding or editing background files during the Propose Disposition task. This has been corrected in this release.

Changes in Release 15.3 (19 Jul 2021)

General

• Performance Improvements - Changes were made to shorten the load time for a number of pages with complex authorization checks, with a specific focus on the following pages: My Tasks, Manage Task Assignments, Manage Incomplete Equipment Activities
• User Experience Improvements
  • Added Context Information - Several pages now have additional context to remind users of which process item they are working on. For example, the page to upload a file attachment for a process impact now displays basic information about the impact, including a link to view the full information for its corresponding process item (Change Request, CAPA, etc.).
  • Streamlined Identifying Information on Task Pages - Each task page has been reviewed and streamlined where possible to remove extraneous process item details, while still providing a link to view the entire process item when necessary. This work was in response to customer feedback about pages being too cluttered and frequently requiring excessive scrolling.
• Configurable Coding and Extra Data Fields for Users - Five custom coding fields and three extra data fields have been added to Users, for use in defining additional site-specific ways of classifying and recording additional information about each user account. These fields can be configured by users assigned the System Administrator role, using the "Configure General Fields" link on the "Configure System" page.
• Administrative Update for User Field Values - This new link on the "Manage Users" page allows System Administrators to administratively update the values of specific fields for multiple user accounts. This administrative update records an entry in the task history showing exactly what field was changed, when it was changed, and the reason for the update.
  • Department
  • Email Address
  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • User ID
  • Any custom Coding or Extra Data fields configured for Users
• Administrative Update for Supplier Field Values - The administrative update for Suppliers now also supports updating the Supplier Name/ID field.
• Department Description - A new, optional Description field has been added to Departments.
• Leading/Trailing Whitespace in Unique Key Fields - Previous versions of the software unintentionally allowed users to enter leading or trailing whitespace characters for fields that represent a unique key for an item (for example, the Name field for a Customer). Because those whitespace characters were not visually apparent on the screen, other users could become confused by seeing two items that seemed to have the same unique key. For example, two Customers could be created with the same name, only differing by a single tab character at the beginning. This release continues the work started in 15.0 to migrate unique key fields to prevent users from including whitespace characters at the beginning or end of the value. The upgrade for each field will attempt to remove any previously entered leading or trailing whitespace from unique key fields. Each item modified by this upgrade will have a corresponding "Database Upgrade Notification" task in its Task History, describing the change that was made to the item. The specific items and fields modified by this upgrade are listed below for each module.
  • If the system was able to remove whitespace and maintain unique values, the Database Upgrade Notification task will be automatically closed.
  • If removing whitespace from a unique key field would result in a duplicate key with another item (for example, the same Customer Name for two Customers), the upgrade will automatically append a unique suffix to the field that originally had the whitespace, and the Database Upgrade Notification task will remain open as an indicator that a System Administrator should review the new value and change it if necessary.
  • If the system is unable to remove the whitespace from the field in a way that would result in a unique value (for example, because doing so would require a suffix that results in a value longer than the maximum length for the field), no change will be made to the field, and the Database Upgrade Notification task will remain open until a System Administrator is able to change the field value to remove the whitespace manually.
• Leading/Trailing Whitespace Removed from Unique Key Fields - These upgrades attempt to remove leading and trailing whitespace from the following unique key fields for items:
  • Document Type - Name: The previous release trimmed whitespace from this field but did not modify the associated Type field on any existing Documents in the system of the changed Document Type Name. The upgrades in this release trim the whitespace and update the associated Type on related Documents.

Connector

• OData API Version v2 Update - Additional entity types and navigation properties have been added to the v2 version of the OData API.
  • New Entity Types
    • Change Request - A new entity type has been added for Change Requests. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: Document Control.
    • NCM Report Entry - A new entity type has been added for the disposition entries associated with each NCM Report. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: NCM
  • New Navigation Properties
    • NcmReport.NcmReportEntries - An expandable navigation property for the disposition entries associated with an NcmReport.

Document Control

• Periodic Document Review - The Periodic Document Review policy for a Document Type can now be configured to have a frequency window of up to 180 months. Previously the maximum value for this frequency was limited to 60 months (every 5 years). This change does not affect any existing Periodic Document Review policies.
• Access to Additional Document Files for Document Collection Owners - The system now displays a warning in the "Additional Files for Document" table for Document Collection Owners not authorized to view the files. Previously the system displayed links to each file, but the user would only be informed they were not unauthorized after they clicked a link and received an error. Training Management
• Administrative Update for Training Record Field Values - When performing administrative updates for training record field values, the system now validates that date values are in the past.
• Assign Monitor - In previous releases the search page for the Assignee field displayed the Select button for users not authorized to monitor training records. That has been corrected in this release.

Changes in Release 15.2 (15 Mar 2021)

General

• Two-Factor Authentication - Users can now enable Two-Factor Authentication for their accounts. When a user enables this feature, they will be required to pass both the normal username/password authentication and enter an additional verification code in order to log into the system.
  • This feature is enabled by default for all sites, but a System Administrator can disable it using the "Configure Two-Factor Authentication" link on the "Configure System" page.
  • When the feature is enabled, a site can indicate whether users are required to enable two-factor authentication for their accounts before they will be allowed to log in. When this policy is enabled, System Administrators can define a list of users that will be allowed to opt out of the policy.
• Security Events - The names for the following Security Events have been changed:
  • "Authentication Success" has been renamed to "Authentication Success - Password"
  • "Password Changed by System Administrator" has been renamed to "Password Changed by Administrator"
• User Responsibility Report includes Module Access Rights - The user responsibility report for a user now displays whether they are authorized to access each module's business processes (for example, Audit Management, CAPA View, CAPA Submit, Complaint Handling, etc.). This authorization is currently managed by the access lists defined for each module.
• Module Access Rights Report - Authorized users can now generate a report of the module access rights for each user. The report is accessed through the "Manage Users" page.
• User Security Report - Authorized users can now generate a report of security-related data for each user (e.g., Two-Factor Authentication Enabled). The report is accessed through the "Manage Users" page.
• Improved Behavior for Password Manager Auto-Fill - In previous releases users reported problems with password managers incorrectly filling in values for non-credential fields (like putting a username into a date field). Starting with this release the user interface includes hints for password managers to explicitly identify fields supported for auto-fill: User ID and Password fields during authentication/signoff, New Password fields during password changes, etc.
• Leading/Trailing Whitespace in Unique Key Fields - Previous versions of the software unintentionally allowed users to enter leading or trailing whitespace characters for fields that represent a unique key for an item (for example, the Name field for a Customer). Because those whitespace characters weren't visually apparent on the screen, other users could become confused by seeing two items that seemed to have the same unique key. For example, two Customers could be created with the same name, only differing by a single tab character at the beginning. This release continues the work started in 15.0 to migrate unique key fields to prevent users from including whitespace characters at the beginning or end of the value. The upgrade for each field will attempt to remove any previously entered leading or trailing whitespace from unique key fields. Each item modified by this upgrade will have a corresponding "Database Upgrade Notification" task in its Task History, describing the change that was made to the item. The specific items and fields modified by this upgrade are listed below for each module.
  • If the system was able to remove whitespace and maintain unique values, the Database Upgrade Notification task will be automatically closed.
  • If removing whitespace from a unique key field would result in a duplicate key with another item (e.g. the same Customer Name for two Customers), the upgrade will automatically append a unique suffix to the field that originally had the whitespace, and the Database Upgrade Notification task will remain open as an indicator that a System Administrator should review the new value and change it if necessary.
  • If the system is unable to remove the whitespace from the field in a way that would result in a unique value (for example, because doing so would require a suffix that results in a value longer than the maximum length for the field), no change will be made to the field, and the Database Upgrade Notification task will remain open until a System Administrator is able to change the field value to remove the whitespace manually.
• Leading/Trailing Whitespace Removed from Unique Key Fields - This upgrade attempts to remove leading spaces from the following unique key fields for items:
  • Audit Requirement - ID
  • Audit Template - Name
  • Department - Name
  • Design Control Checklist - Name
  • Design Project - Project ID
  • Document Collection - Name
  • Document Collection Type - Name
  • Document Type - Name
  • Equipment Status - Name
  • Equipment Type - Name
  • Training Profile - Name
  • User - User ID
• Changes to Supported Client Platforms
  • macOS - macOS 11 ("Big Sur") is now supported starting with this release.
• Changes to Supported Browsers
  • Legacy Microsoft Edge ("EdgeHTML") - The legacy version of Edge on Windows is being forcefully removed by Microsoft, and as a result will no longer be supported starting with this release. Windows users can either switch to Microsoft's new Chromium-based Edge, or one of the other supported browsers.

Audit Management

• Return to My Audits Page After Closing an Audit - The "Close Audit" button on the Close Audit page now returns the user to the My Audits page if they're still the Audit Manager for one or more open Audits. Previously this action always incorrectly took the user back to the My Tasks page.

Connector

• Connector Write - This release introduces the Connector Write module which supports creating Parts, Customers and Suppliers using the Connector APIs. The creation of additional Grand Avenue process items will grow over time based on customer feedback.
• Connector OpenAPI JSON - Documentation for the endpoints and operations exposed by the Connector modules is available through an OpenAPI-compliant interface. The documentation has been extended to include information about the new operations supported by the Connector Write module. See the Configure OData API page to access the OpenAPI Specification.

Document Control

• Access to Additional Document Files for Document Collection Owners - Document Collection Owners can now be authorized to view the Additional Files for documents associated with their collections, even if they are restricted by the Document Control Module Access List. In previous releases, Document Collection Owners could only view the primary file for a document, not the additional files.
  • This feature is defined by new configuration option on each Document Collection Type. The upgrade process for this release will automatically initialize this option to "No", to maintain the existing behavior.
• Incorrect Open Tasks Warning for Sign Off Disposition Verification Page - The Sign Off Disposition Verification page should display a warning if there are any open Disposition Verification Collaboration tasks at signoff. However, in previous releases the page incorrectly displayed a warning about the Disposition Verification task itself being open. The defect was originally introduced with GAS 14.0, and has been corrected in this release.

Changes in Release 15.1 (14 Oct 2020)

General

• Database Upgrade - This release includes database upgrades that may take several minutes to complete, depending on the size of the database. The upgrade process begins when you first attempt to connect to the application after installing a new version of the software.
  • You can monitor the status of the upgrade process in the Grand Avenue Software event log on the web server machine. Log entries are written at the beginning of the upgrade process, at the completion of each upgrade step, and at the completion of the entire upgrade process.
  • The specific upgrade actions that will take the longest time are associated with the "Grand Avenue System Initialization" steps for the EntityAuditTrail table.
  • If you have any questions or concerns regarding this upgrade please contact support@grandavenue.com.
• Leading/Trailing Whitespace in Unique Key Fields - Previous versions of the software unintentionally allowed users to enter leading or trailing whitespace characters for fields that represent a unique key for an item (for example, the Name field for a Customer). Because those whitespace characters weren't visually apparent on the screen, other users could become confused by seeing two items that seemed to have the same unique key. For example, two Customers could be created with the same name, only differing by a single tab character at the beginning. This release continues the work started in 15.0 to migrate unique key fields to prevent users from including whitespace characters at the beginning or end of the value. The upgrade for each field will attempt to remove any previously entered leading or trailing whitespace from unique key fields. Each item modified by this upgrade will have a corresponding "Database Upgrade Notification" task in its Task History, describing the change that was made to the item. The specific items and fields modified by this upgrade are listed below for each module.
  • If the system was able to remove whitespace and maintain unique values, the Database Upgrade Notification task will be automatically closed.
  • If removing whitespace from a unique key field would result in a duplicate key with another item (e.g. the same Customer Name for two Customers), the upgrade will automatically append a unique suffix to the field that originally had the whitespace, and the Database Upgrade Notification task will remain open as an indicator that a System Administrator should review the new value and change it if necessary.
  • If the system is unable to remove the whitespace from the field in a way that would result in a unique value (for example, because doing so would require a suffix that results in a value longer than the maximum length for the field), no change will be made to the field, and the Database Upgrade Notification task will remain open until a System Administrator is able to change the field value to remove the whitespace manually.
• Leading/Trailing Whitespace Removed from Unique Key Fields - This upgrade attempts to remove leading spaces from the following unique key fields for items:
  • Customer - Customer Name
  • Document - Document Number, Revision, Minor Revision
• Administrative Update for Field Values - When performing batch administrative updates for field values the system validates that all date values are in the past.
• Close Button - In some versions of FireFox when opening a new tab from an Info link the Close button did not work in the new tab. This has been fixed in this release.
• Activate User - A deactivated user can no longer be reactivated if they're currently assigned to a deactivated department. An administrator will need to assign them to an active department before the user can be reactivated.

Audit Management

• Audit Manager - The "Lead Auditor" role for an Audit has been renamed to "Audit Manager", to clarify that the responsibility of the user is primarily to manage the audit process within Grand Avenue, and not necessarily perform the actual audit.

Complaint Handling

• Initiate Approve Closure - A bug existed in previous versions where clicking Cancel on the Initiate Approve Closure page would redirect back to that same page if only a single Complaint Review Board was configured. The system now correctly redirects to the Review for Closure page.
• Customer Name/ID - The Customer Name field has been renamed to Customer Name/ID.
• Customer Description - A new optional Customer Description field has been added. It can be used to differentiate customers with similar names/IDs. For example, a customer may appear in the system more than once and the Customer Description field could identify different locations or business units.
• Manage Customers - The "Define Customers" page has been renamed to "Manage Customers", and reorganized into separate pages for adding, importing, editing and deleting customers. A new Select Customer to Edit page uses a search-based UI to find the customer to edit, rather than displaying the entire list of customers for the system. This change was introduced to improve interactive performance for sites with large numbers of customers.
• Delete Customers - Users authorized to manage the list of customers can now delete multiple customers in a single operation. Previously the UI only allowed a single delete at a time.
• Deactivate Customers - Users authorized to manage the list of customers can now deactivate customers that should not be selectable when initiating Issues. A new "Is Customer Active?" field indicates whether a customer is activated or deactivated. Links for deactivating and reactivating customers have been added to the new "Manage Customers" page.
• Customer Importer Role Authorization - Users assigned the Customer Importer role are now authorized to search for and view all information about Customers (including Customer Attachments), even if they are restricted by the Complaint module access list. Previously users assigned the Customer Importer role could only view customer information on the Define Customers page and could add attachments to customers but not view them.
• Issue Customer Detail - Issues/Complaints now reference customers by an internal key, and customer details (e.g. Address, Country, etc.) are no longer stored directly on the Issue. As a result, changes to the customer will now be immediately reflected on any corresponding Issues/Complaints. When viewing an Issue or Complaint, the "Customer Name/ID" field will display as a link to view the corresponding Customer and provide easy access to the rest of the detail about the customer.
• Search for Issues and Complaints by Customer Country - Users can now search for issues and complaints by the country of the associated customer.
• Rename Customer - Users authorized to manage the list of customers can now change the name of an existing customer, using the "Edit Customer" page.
• Missing Customers Recreated - In previous versions of Grand Avenue Software, customers could be deleted even though they were referenced by Issues/Complaints. To preserve referential integrity, this release will automatically recreate any deleted customers that were previously referenced by Issues, and the recreated customers will be deactivated with an open Database Upgrade Notification task assignment to document the reason why it was created.
• Configurable Coding and Extra Data Fields for Customers - Five custom coding fields and three extra data fields have been added to Customers, for use in defining additional site-specific ways of classifying and recording additional information about each customer. These fields can be configured by the Complaint Module Administrator on the "Configure Complaint Fields" page.
• Administrative Update for Customer Field Values - This new link on the "Manage Customers" page allows the Complaint Administrator to administratively update the values for fields on multiple customers. This administrative update records an entry in the task history showing exactly what field was changed, when it was changed, and the reason for the update. The page allows updates to the following fields for customers:
  • Customer Name/ID
  • Customer Description
  • Customer Address
  • Customer Country
  • Shipping Address

Connector

• Connector Read - The Connector module has been renamed to Connector Read module in preparation for the introduction of a Connector Write module in a future release.
• Connector Resource IDs - The unique ID for each item exposed by a Connector resource (e.g. Complaints, Parts, Suppliers, etc.) is now stored and retrieved as a 64-bit integer (previously 32-bit).
• Connector OpenAPI JSON - A new OpenAPI specification is available in the Connector Read module. It can be used by OpenAPI tools, such as Swagger UI, to see the endpoints and operations exposed by the module. See the Configure OData API page to access the OpenAPI Specification.

Equipment Management

• Administrative Update for Equipment Field Values - This feature now allows the Equipment Module Administrator to administratively update values for the following additional fields:
  • Equipment ID
  • Equipment Description
  • Equipment Location
  • Manufacturer
  • Model Number
  • Serial Number

Supplier Management

• Initiate Formal Review - A bug existed in previous versions where clicking Cancel on the Initiate Formal Review page would redirect back to that same page if only a single Supplier Review Board was configured. The system now correctly redirects to the Edit Supplier Evaluation page.

Training Management

• Administrative Update for Training Record Field Values - When performing administrative updates for training record field values the system validates that date values are in the past.
• Training/Certification Signoff Timestamps for Training Records - In previous versions the system would record the dates on which training and certification were signed off for each Training Record. Starting with this version the system will track both the date and the time that the signoff occurred. All previously signed off Training Records will not be changed, and only have the date information (with a time of 00:00 UTC).
• Training Status Reports - A new Training Status Report feature has been added, to allow users to see whether a user is up to date on their training for a required training item. The following reports are available from the Manage Training / View All Training / My Training pages:
  • Training Status Report for User - Displays the training status of a user for each of their required training items.
  • Training Status Report for Training Profile - Displays the training status on each training item required by the profile for each user assigned the profile as a requirement.
  • Training Status Report for General Training Item - Displays the training status on the General Training Item for each user assigned the item as a requirement.
  • Training Status Report for Document Revision - Displays the training status on the Document Revision for each user assigned the document as a requirement.
  • Training Status Report for Document - Displays the training status on all Pending Effective and Effective revisions of the Document for each user assigned the document as a requirement.
• Training Type Indicates Requirement Satisfied for Training Status - Each Training Type (e.g. Formal Training, Read-and-Understand Training) can now be configured to indicate whether a training record completed with the Training Type will be considered as "satisfying" the training requirement. This setting is used by the Training Status Reports to determine whether the user is up to date with their training.
  • Training Type Definitions
    • In previous releases the "Indicates Training Performed" field was intended to denote whether a training record should be considered when determining the training status of a user. This field has been replaced with a new "Indicates Requirement Satisfied" field, which will more definitively indicate whether a training record should be considered as satisfying a training requirement. The field has the following configurable values:
      • Yes - A training record with this Training Type indicates the user successfully completed the training and satisfied the training requirement.
      • No - A training record with this Training Type indicates the user failed the training and does not satisfy the training requirement.
      • N/A - A training record with this Training Type indicates that the record should not be considered when determining whether the user satisfies the training requirement (For example, if training was not actually performed, and the determination should be based on previous training records instead of this one).
    • An upgrade will automatically update existing Training Types to use the new field:
      • A Training Type with a value of "Yes" for Indicates Training Performed will now have a value of "Yes" for Indicates Requirement Satisfied.
      • A Training Type with a value of "No" for Indicates Training Performed will now have a value of "N/A" for Indicates Requirement Satisfied.
    • The Training Module Administrator should review these settings and determine how they should be configured to reflect the organization's training policies for passing and failing training.
  • Training Records
    • The changes to Training Types for the new "Indicates Requirement Satisfied" field are also applied to Training Records.
    • An upgrade will automatically update existing Training Records to use the new field:
      • A Training Record with a value of "Yes" for Indicates Training Performed will now have a value of "Yes" for Indicates Requirement Satisfied.
      • A Training Record with a value of "No" for Indicates Training Performed will now have a value of "N/A" for Indicates Requirement Satisfied.

Changes in Release 15.0 (5 Jun 2020)

General

• .NET 4.8 - .NET 4.8 is now required for this release. You will need to verify that .NET 4.8 is installed on your web server before you can install this release. See the Installation Instructions for guidance on verifying which version of .NET is currently installed.
• Changes to Supported Web Server Platforms
  • The following web server versions are no longer supported. Contact support@grandavenue.com if necessary, for assistance in migrating your application to a new web server.
    • Windows Server 2008 R2
• Changes to Supported Database Platforms
  • The following database server versions are no longer supported. Contact support@grandavenue.com if necessary, for assistance in migrating your database to a more recent version of SQL Server.
    • SQL Server 2008
    • SQL Server 2008 R2
• Changes to Supported Client Platforms
  • The following client operating system versions are no longer supported.
    • Windows 7
    • Mac OS X 10.11 ("El Capitan")
    • macOS 10.12 ("Sierra")
    • iOS 10
    • Android versions earlier than 8.0
• Changes to Supported Browsers
  • The following client operating system versions are no longer supported.
    • Safari - Safari 10 is no longer a supported browser version.
• Last Successful Login for User - A new field has been added to the View User page that displays the last time the user successfully logged in to the system.
• Popup Windows for Valid Value Selection - A defect was identified that prevented a user from opening multiple value selection popup windows for a single page. The defect has been corrected in this release.
• Search by Deactivated User - When searching for process items you may now select deactivated users as your search criteria. For example, when searching for Task Assignments you may now select a deactivated user as the Assignee.
• Manage Users - A new Manage Users link has been added to the left-hand navigation bar. The new page consolidates the different actions that can be performed for user accounts. The Define Users link previously in the navigation bar has been moved to this new page.
• View User Responsibility Reports - Administrators can now view a summary of User Responsibilities for multiple users with a single search-based interface. The link to this summary report is available on the new Manage Users page.
• Canceled Task Assignments - A new "Canceled" field for task assignments indicates whether an assignment was canceled and closed before it was completed by the assignee. The new field is included when viewing or exporting task assignments and can be used in search criteria and charts.
• Initial Window Scroll Position - Whenever a user navigates to a new page, the browser window will now attempt to scroll the page contents so that the first Task Instruction is visible. If a page has no Task Instructions the browser window will instead scroll the page contents so that the field or button of the current keyboard focus is visible.
• Reassign or Change Due Date for Multiple Tasks - A defect was identified for the Reassign Multiple Tasks and Change Multiple Due Dates actions on the My Tasks page, causing an error when a user had one or more tasks that they were not authorized to manage. This defect has been corrected in this release.
• Leading/Trailing Whitespace In Unique Key Fields - Previous versions of the software unintentionally allowed users to enter leading or trailing whitespace characters for fields that represent a unique key for an item (for example, the Number field for a Part). Because those whitespace characters weren't visually apparent on the screen, other users could become confused by seeing two items that seemed to have the same unique key. For example, two Parts could be created with the same number, only differing by a single tab character at the beginning. Starting in this release we will begin migrating unique key fields to prevent users from including whitespace characters at the beginning or end of the value. The upgrade for each field will attempt to remove any previously entered leading or trailing whitespace from unique key fields. Each item modified by this upgrade will have a corresponding "Database Upgrade Notification" task in its Task History, describing the change that was made to the item. The specific items and fields modified by this upgrade are listed below for each module.
  • If the system was able to remove whitespace and maintain unique values, the Database Upgrade Notification task will be automatically closed.
  • If removing whitespace from a unique key field would result in a duplicate key with another item (e.g. the same Part Number for two Parts), the upgrade will automatically append a unique suffix to the field that originally had the whitespace, and the Database Upgrade Notification task will remain open as an indicator that a System Administrator should review the new value and change it if necessary.
  • If the system is unable to remove the whitespace from the field in a way that would result in a unique value (for example, because doing so would require a suffix that results in a value longer than the maximum length for the field), no change will be made to the field, and the Database Upgrade Notification task will remain open until a System Administrator is able to change the field value to remove the whitespace manually.
• Leading/Trailing Whitespace Removed from Unique Key Fields - This upgrade attempts to remove leading spaces from the following unique key fields for items:
  • Equipment - Equipment ID
  • Part - Part Number
  • Supplier - Supplier ID
  • General Training Item - Name
• Configure Product Disposition Location - A defect was identified that resulted in an unhandled error page when saving values with nested quotes for the Process / Operation Found List. The help examples were also incorrect. Both defects have been corrected in this release.
• Instructions for Assigning Reviewers - Task instructions and error validation messages were improved on all pages where review teams are assigned.
  • Audit Management - Request Audit Findings Review
  • CAPA - Sign Off Preliminary Review
  • CAPA - Submit for Closure Approval
  • Complaint - Initiate Approve Closure
  • Design Control - Send Email Notification for Design Project Review
  • Design Control - Initiate Phase Signoff
  • Document Control - Approve Coordinator Review
  • NCM - Request Input for Disposition Plan
  • NCM - Sign Off Propose Disposition
  • Supplier Management - Initiate Formal Review
• View Setting for Idle Session Timeout - The Configure Password Policy page now displays the current value for the web server setting that controls how long a user session can remain idle before it is forced to log in again.

CAPA

• Delete CAPA Correction Attachment - A user interface defect was identified for the Edit CAPA Correction page, where deleting a Correction Attachment would not refresh the contents of the "Attachments" column in the Corrections table on the same page. This defect has been corrected in this release.
• Search for CAPA Requests - The following changes have been made to the Search for CAPA Requests page:
  • Has Open Overdue Tasks - A new "Has Open Overdue Tasks" field has been added to the Search for CAPA Requests page, allowing users to narrow their search results based on whether a CAPA Request has open overdue task assignments.
  • Only Overdue Implementations - The "Only Overdue Implementations" field has been removed. Users can still search for CAPA Requests with overdue implementation tasks by setting the "Status" field to include "Implementation" and setting the new "Has Open Overdue Tasks" field to "Yes". An upgrade step will update any saved charts using the old field with this new search approach.
• CAPA Request Investigation Completed Date - A new "Investigation Completed Date" field has been added to CAPA Requests, indicating the date on which the CAPA Request successfully completed the investigation phase and moved into Implementation.
• CAPA Request Implementation Completed Date - The "Completed Date" field has been renamed to "Implementation Completed Date".
• View Implementation Tasks for CAPA Solution - The CAPA Solution Summary and Solution Detail views now display any action implementation tasks that have been initiated.
• Cancel CAPA Implementation - The CAPA Module Coordinators have the option to cancel an implementation that is currently in progress, in order to make necessary changes to the implementation plan or potentially withdraw the CAPA permanently from the process. Any remaining open implementation tasks will be canceled, and the CAPA Request will return to the Preliminary Review task, where the assigned Coordinator can make changes to the original plan before re-submitting for approval. This new feature is available using the Manage Implementation link on the Manage CAPA Requests page.
• Return to Implementation for Process Impact Implementation tasks - The Return to Implementation feature during the Review for Closure task can now be used to reopen the "Assign Impact Implementation Tasks" assignment, allowing new Impact Implementation tasks to be assigned for any additional work required for process impacts. Previously this feature could only be used to reopen Review Action Implementation tasks for CAPA Actions.

Complaint Handling

• Complaint Process Impacts - The Complaint Module Administrator can now configure Process Impacts that must be considered during the Complaint process. A "Configure Complaint Process Impacts" link has been added to the "Configure Complaint" page. Consult the online help for further information on how these process impacts are applied to the Complaint process.
• Notification for Finish Investigation - If the Initiate Complaint task is still open when the Finish Investigation task is signed off for a complaint, the system will send an email notification to the assignee of the Initiate Complaint task, to let them know that the investigation has been completed.
• Enable/Disable Field Action Process - A new configuration option has been added to the Configure Complaint Process Options page to allow the Complaint Module Administrator to enable or disable the Field Action process step in the Complaint workflow. An upgrade will initialize this setting to "Yes" for existing sites using the Complaint module to maintain the current behavior.

Connector

• Connector WCF Services Obsoleted - All WCF services are being retired in favor of the OData Connector APIs. All WCF services will be removed at release 16.0.
• OData API Version v1 Removed - v1 of the OData API was previously obsoleted and has been removed in this release. All usages of the OData API should be changed to use v2.
• OData API Version v2 Update - Additional entity types and navigation properties have been added to the v2 version of the OData API.
  • New Entity Types
    • Part - A new entity type has been added for Parts. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: Complaint Handling, NCM, Supplier Management
    • Customer - A new entity type has been added for Customers. This entity type is available whenever any of the following modules are activated: Complaint Handling
  • New Navigation Properties
    • AssociatedPart.Part - An expandable navigation property for the Part associated with a Complaint Handling Associated Part.
    • NcmReport.Part - An expandable navigation property for the Part associated with an NcmReport.
    • Supplier.Parts - An expandable navigation property for the Parts associated with a Supplier.
    • TaskAssignment.ReassignedFromAssignment - An expandable navigation property for a Task Assignment that has been reassigned, navigating to the original assignment.
    • TaskAssignment.ReassignedToAssignment - An expandable navigation property for a Task Assignment that has been reassigned, navigating to the subsequent assignment.

Document Control

• Administrative Update for Document Files - The "Administrative Change" feature for making corrections to files for controlled documents has been renamed to "Administrative Update for Document Files", for consistency with all other administrative update features. All corresponding links and pages have been renamed to reflect this change.
• Upgrade to Remove Invalid Process Impacts for External Change Requests - Process Impacts are not supported for External Change Requests. However, beginning with the introduction of conditionally applicable Process Impacts in Release 14.3, a defect allowed Process Impacts to be incorrectly added to External Change Requests, but hidden from the user. An upgrade step in this release will remove these incorrectly added process impacts for External Change Requests and record the changes in "Database Upgrade Notification" tasks.
• Document Collection Table of Contents - For document collections configured to display all effective revisions in a single table, the "Document Number" column now links each revision to its corresponding "View Document" page, allowing the user to quickly view details about the document revision.
• Delete Multiple Imported Documents - The delete operation on the Import Documents page has been moved to a separate "Delete Imported Documents" page that allows the user to select and delete multiple imported documents in single operation.
• File Access Restricted? - A defect in the system allowed this field to be left blank when creating new documents if the feature was disabled. This would confuse searched when the feature was enabled. This defect has been corrected and an upgrade has been added to populate this field where necessary.

Equipment Management

• Overdue Task Alert Notification for Unassigned Equipment Activities - A bug existed in previous versions where a task notification could be sent for this alert without identifying if the tasks were overdue or upcoming. The system now correctly identifies overdue and upcoming tasks in task notification emails that include this alert.

Nonconforming Materials

• Minimum Number of Reviewers for Request Disposition Input - The disposition input feature now requires a minimum of two unique assignees. This change was made to maintain consistency with the rules used for the Approve Disposition process. Coordinators that only require assistance from a single user can instead use the Disposition Collaboration feature.

Training Management

• Training Record Terminology - The following Training Record fields have been renamed/reorganized to reduce confusion reported by users:
  • "Completion Recorded By" split into "Training Signoff User" and "Training Signoff Authorization"
  • "Completion Signoff Date" renamed to "Training Signoff Date"
  • "Completion Evidence Files" renamed to "Training Evidence Files"
  • "Certified" renamed to "Certification Completed"
  • "Certification Recorded By" split into "Certification Signoff User" and "Certification Signoff Authorization"
• Authorization to View Training Records - Users restricted by the Training Module Access List can now be authorized to view detailed information about training records (using the View Training Record page). Previously the Training Module Access List would prevent the user from viewing any training records, regardless of their role in the system.
  • Training Module Administrator, Training Module Coordinator and Training Viewer - Users assigned any of these roles are authorized to view all training records
  • Department Manager and Department Trainer - Users assigned either of these roles for a department are authorized to view all training records for users in the corresponding department
  • Item Trainer - Users assigned this role for a training item are authorized to view all training records for the corresponding training item
  • User - Users with no authorizing roles are still authorized to view their own training records, but cannot view the training records for any other user

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