A lifecycle definition is an engine that can be configured to automatically assign security, behaviors, and properties to Vault objects based on where the object is in the life of the design process. This functionality allows you to streamline your work environment by removing the overhead involved in managing groups of files, custom objects, or an entire project.
A lifecycle definition uses states to identify the object's status in the lifecycle. Examples of states are Work in Progress, For Review, or Released. An object moves from one state to another based on the lifecycle definition's transition rules. These transition rules determine when the state change happens, if it can occur manually or automatically (or both), based on criteria determined by the administrator. The lifecycle definition also determines if any other automatic behaviors occur based on a state change.
For example, a lifecycle definition can be configured to automatically revise a file when it moves from a Work in Progress state to a Review state. Or if a user changes a folder's status to obsolete, the lifecycle definition can automatically apply security settings to the folder so that only an administrator can modify the folder and its contents or reinstate it for use.