I've setup PDM at 3 different companies now. For each, I've been unhappy with the result of how workflows were setup. The following examples are taken from the canned workflows as shown below by choosing "SolidWorks Quick Start" or "Default" predefined configurations. I'm currently using a workflow that may be represented by the "Default" below.

The thing that troubles me is that in both cases, once a file is in the "Released" or "Approved State", and changes are desired to uprev the component, the file is moved to a "Work in Process" or "Under Change" State respectively. 

This means that while the changes are being prepared, anyone referencing these files in assemblies are working with the latest unapproved updates to the file in the "Work in Process" or "Under Change" States. On one hand, this is good because everyone is working on the most up to date design. But bad, in the sense that they may be working toward unapproved geometry. 

Now let's say the drafted changes have been made to that file we moved to "Work in Process" or "Under Change" State and it is submitted to "Pending Approval" or "Waiting for Approval" respectively. The change is rejected or even worse it is decided that the change will not be implemented. What now? The latest version of the updated file now has changes that will not be implemented. A rollback may not be the best way to handle this because it destroys version history that, who knows, may need to be brought back at a later time. So what do you do with this file that no longer represents the latest Released file?

There must be methods of workflows that others have figured out that could really help the rest of us build better workflows into our processes. I understand everyone may have different requirements. Maybe even implementing parallel sign-off transitions to incorporate signoff right into the workflow. But I truly believe that the scenario I've laid out is not isolated to the few. So who has figured out how to manage abandoned changes, without sacrificing the integrity of our assemblies. 

Please, if you can, post a screenshot of your sample workflows and explain how you handle these types of issues. I can't wait to see the different ways others are doing this. 

Sample Workflow of a predefined configuration using "SolidWorks Quick Start"

Sample Workflow of a predefined configuration using "Default"