Patent ID: 8117157

Claim:
A system to manage external data in a product creation process, the system comprising: a data storage system configured to store: a historic version of a product record in the product creation process of a physical product, the historic version of the product record including a first product structure and a link to external data, the first product structure comprising a plurality of object records regarding respective aspects of the physical product, the first product structure being indicative of relationships of the plurality of object records to one another, the external data including results of evaluations performed by an external entity on the first product structure, and a current version of the product record including a second product structure and a link to the historic version of the product record, the second product structure including changes to the first product structure based on the results of the evaluations; and a processor configured to provide a user interface to present: the current version of the product record, and a user interface control representing the link to the historic version of the product record, the user interface control to provide access to the historic version of the product record and to the external data.