Interface for building and updating processing modules in a manufacturing environment

1. A computer program product comprising one or more computer storage media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a computing system, cause the computing system to perform the following method:

analyzing, with a manufacturing and production process analyzer, a manufacturing and production process and dividing the manufacturing and production process into a plurality of physical, discrete steps;

identifying, with a dependency identifier, dependencies between the discrete steps in the manufacturing and production process;

generating, with a structure builder, one or more reusable global software code elements comprising data structures that are implemented to dynamically create interactive interfaces that present and allow interaction with the discrete steps of the manufacturing and production process, wherein the interactive interfaces that have dependencies or parallel processes are marked in a specified manner;

accessing, with an interactive interface builder, the global software code elements and the identified dependencies to generate multiple interactive manufacturing and production process interfaces, the multiple interactive manufacturing and production process interfaces allowing users to provide information relating to the discrete steps, ensuring that the manufacturing and production process is performed in a specified manner, and the multiple interactive manufacturing and production process interfaces indicating, based upon average times for batch records, whether a given task is behind or ahead of schedule; and

receiving, with a software code updating interface that includes a software code updating module, software code updates and identifying the global software code elements that are affected by the received software code updates, wherein:

the global software code elements are implemented within the multiple interactive manufacturing and production process interfaces, and

after the global software code elements that need to be updated are identified, the identified global software code elements are automatically updated, such that the multiple interactive manufacturing and production process interfaces are also automatically updated.

2. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the discrete steps of the manufacturing and production process include unit procedures, operations, and sections in which operators interact with the dynamically created interfaces.

3. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the information relating to the discrete steps provided by the users signify completion of one or more of the discrete steps.

4. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the global software code elements comprise library elements that provide features that are reusable in different interactive interfaces.

5. The computer program product of claim 4 , further comprising:

determining that at least one of the library elements has been updated; and

marking the at least one updated library element with an identifying mark, such that other software code elements that use the library element will use the at least one updated library element.

6. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the global software code elements are modular, independent units that are reusable in a plurality of interactive interfaces for different manufacturing and production processes.

7. The computer program product of claim 6 , wherein properties are implemented across modules, data types, and forms, allowing change control in the manufacturing and production process.

8. The computer program product of claim 7 , wherein the properties identify which groups, supervisors, and/or products to use in the manufacturing and production process.

9. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the manufacturing and production process interactive interfaces have data reviews that provide a means for inputting signatures that are compliant with associated regulations.

10. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the dependency identifier receives one or more inputs defining dependencies between different manufacturing and production process steps.

11. A computer system for a software code building interface comprising:

one or more processors, and

one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors configure the computer system to perform at least the following:

analyze, with a manufacturing and production process analyzer, a manufacturing and production process and divide the manufacturing and production process into a plurality of physical, discrete steps;

identify, with a dependency identifier module, dependencies between the discrete steps in the manufacturing and production process;

generate, with a structure builder, one or more reusable, global software code elements that comprise library elements that provide features that are reusable in different interactive interfaces, that are implemented to dynamically create interactive forms that present and allow interaction with the discrete steps of the manufacturing and production process, wherein the interactive forms that have dependencies or parallel processes are marked in a specified manner;

access, with an interactive form builder, the global software code elements and the identified dependencies to generate multiple interactive manufacturing and production process forms, the multiple interactive manufacturing and production process forms allowing users to provide information relating to the discrete steps, ensuring that the manufacturing and production process is performed in a specified manner, and the multiple interactive manufacturing and production process interfaces indicating, based upon average times for batch records, whether a given task is behind or ahead of schedule;

determine, with a library element updater, that at least one of the library elements has been updated and mark the at least one updated library element with an identifying mark, such that other software code elements that use the library element with the identifying mark will use the updated library element; and

receive, with a software code updating interface that includes a software code updating module, software code updates and identify the global software code elements that are affected by the received software code updates, wherein:

the global software code elements comprise library elements that provide features that are reusable in different interactive interfaces,

determining at least one of the library elements has been updated,

identifying a mark that indicates that the at least one library has been updated, such that other software code elements that use the library element will use the at least one updated library element,

the global software code elements are implemented within the multiple interactive manufacturing and production process interfaces, and

after the global software code elements that need to be updated are identified, the identified global software code elements are automatically updated, such that the multiple interactive manufacturing and production process interfaces are also automatically updated.

12. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the manufacturing and production process forms interface with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) module to present a bill of materials, and an indication of quantities consumed.

13. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the interactive form builder is configured to generate a batch record template and provide the batch record template to a documents module that has revision control.

14. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein a form builder provides change control on both a form level and on a user level to track who makes changes to forms and when, the changes being controlled via a rights-based policy or a role-based policy.