Managing Products & Product Families
The Product Module provides a structured way to manage your product data through a hierarchical system of families, products, units, and topics. This guide explains how to work with these components effectively.
Product & Family Structure
Products in CertHub follow a tree-like structure where:
- Product Families can contain multiple products
- Products inherit data from their families
- Both contain Knowledge Units (KUs) and Knowledge Topics (KTs)
- Data can be reused across the hierarchy
The product overview shows your product hierarchy, with families on the left and their associated products on the right. The main area displays the selected product's data structure.
Creating Products and Families
Creating a new family or product follows the same basic workflow, with products having the additional step of selecting a parent family. This hierarchical structure is particularly useful for:
- Medical device variants sharing common characteristics
- Product lines with similar regulatory requirements
- Devices with multiple models or configurations
- Products sharing design elements or components
The creation dialog lets you specify basic information and, for products, select which family they belong to.
Start by organizing your products into logical families based on shared characteristics. This makes it easier to manage common data and maintain consistency across related products.
Import Options
When creating a new product or family, you can import data from various sources to save time and ensure consistency:
The import dialog allows you to reuse entire Units from other products or import from schema libraries, ensuring consistency across your product portfolio.
Managing Product Data
Editing Products and Families
The edit interface provides comprehensive control over your product data:
*The edit interface allows you to:
- Delete products or Families (must be empty to be deleted)
- Duplicate Products or Topics to quickly create variants
- Manage metadata and relationships
- Configure inheritance settings*
Working with Knowledge Units
Knowledge Units (KUs) are containers that organize related data within your products. They help structure your technical documentation by grouping related information together. Common examples include:
- Design Input Requirements
- Risk Management File
- Clinical Evaluation Data
- Manufacturing Process Parameters
*When creating a new Unit, you can:
- Select the Unit type based on regulatory needs
- Choose which schema to base it on for consistent data collection
- Configure inheritance and sharing options for family-level data*
Understanding Knowledge Topics
Knowledge Topics (KTs) are where the actual data lives within your Units. They come in two types: Single and Multi-entry topics, each serving different purposes:
Single vs. Multi-Entry Topics
When deciding between Single and Multi-entry topics, consider:
- Will you need to manage multiple records of this type?
- Does the data naturally fit in a table structure?
- Will you need to import/export lists of values?
- Are you describing a single characteristic vs. a collection of items?
| Feature | Single-Entry Topics | Multi-Entry Topics |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Store individual data points | Manage collections of related records |
| Use Case | Device classification, Intended Use | Product variants, Risk items, Material lists |
| Data Structure | One value per topic | Table-like structure with multiple rows |
| Editing | Direct value editing | Spreadsheet-like interface |
| Import/Export | Basic value updates | CSV import/export supported |
| Best For | - Core product information- Regulatory classifications- Single-value specifications | - Component lists- Test results- Risk assessments- Requirement lists |
For detailed information about importing and exporting data from Knowledge Topics, including CSV templates and bulk operations, see the Import & Export Guide.