[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":74},["ShallowReactive",2],{"help-article-attaching-artifacts":3},{"data":4},{"title":5,"excerpt":6,"content":7,"help_category":8,"seo":11},"Attaching Artifacts to PD","Attach a rich-text Artifact to any PD node — Solution, Feature, Model, or Controller — so the reasoning behind your spec lives right next to the structure.","\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>What you'll learn\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>What an Artifact is in m18t.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>How to attach an Artifact to any PD node — Solution, Feature, Model, Controller, and the rest.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>Why the structured spec and the rich-text thinking are kept as separate-but-linked things.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\u003Cp>This pairs with \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fthe-product-development-concept\">The Product Development Concept\u003C\u002Fa>. PD gives you structure; artifacts give you the prose that explains it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch2>What an Artifact is\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>An \u003Cstrong>Artifact\u003C\u002Fstrong> is a rich-text document with a title, a status, a priority, and dates. You write it in the editor (it stores structured rich text), and it lives in the \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fstudio\u002Fartifacts\">Artifacts Manager\u003C\u002Fa> as a first-class record in its own right — not a comment buried on another entity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The point of an artifact is to hold the thinking that's normally trapped in a random Google Doc: a brief, a decision record, research notes, a spec rationale, a link to a mockup. In most tools that context ends up in a separate doc, a Slack thread, or someone's head — disconnected from the work it describes. An artifact keeps it as a real, brand-scoped record you can attach where it belongs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch2>Why structure and prose are separate\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fthe-product-development-concept\">PD tables\u003C\u002Fa> are deliberately structured — Models have Attributes, Features have Models, statuses \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fstatus-rollups\">roll up\u003C\u002Fa>. That structure is what makes the \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fthe-dependency-graph\">dependency graph\u003C\u002Fa> and the rollups possible. But structure is bad at holding \u003Cem>why\u003C\u002Fem>: why a Feature exists, why a Model is shaped the way it is, what you decided and rejected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rather than cram free text into the structured fields (which would break the structure's value), m18t keeps the two separate and links them. The Model stays a clean record; the reasoning lives in an artifact attached to it. You get both — queryable structure and readable context — without one polluting the other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An artifact can attach to more than just PD nodes — it can also link to \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fthe-unified-content-table\">content\u003C\u002Fa>, \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fthe-workspace-media-hub\">assets\u003C\u002Fa>, and other artifacts. The polymorphic attachment to PD entities is the path this article covers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch2>How to attach an artifact to a PD node\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Col>\n\u003Cli>Open any PD entity — for example a Model — from the \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fthe-product-development-concept\">Product Manager\u003C\u002Fa> tables.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>Switch to the \u003Cstrong>Artifacts\u003C\u002Fstrong> tab on that record. (It appears once the record has been saved — you can't link to a node that doesn't exist yet.)\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>Link an existing artifact, or create one and link it. The link is what ties this artifact to this specific node.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>The PD tables show an \u003Cstrong>Artifacts\u003C\u002Fstrong> rollup column on the entity, so you can see at a glance which nodes have thinking attached and the \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fstatus-rollups\">status spread\u003C\u002Fa> of those artifacts.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Fol>\n\u003Cp>The same artifact can be attached to several nodes — a single architecture-decision record can hang off every Model it affects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch2>Variations\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>From the PD side or the Artifacts side.\u003C\u002Fstrong> You can link from a node's Artifacts tab, or work in the \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fstudio\u002Fartifacts\">Artifacts Manager\u003C\u002Fa> and target a PD node from there.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Reuse one artifact across nodes.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Because the link is a relation, attaching one artifact to many PD entities doesn't duplicate it — there's one source document, many links.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Artifacts on a whiteboard.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Artifacts can also be dragged onto a \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fwhiteboards-overview\">whiteboard\u003C\u002Fa> as entity nodes, so a brief can sit visually next to the models it describes.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch2>FAQ\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>What's the difference between an artifact and a Model's description field?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\nThe description is a short label-level field on the structured record. An artifact is a full rich-text document with its own status, priority, and dates that you attach by reference. Use the description for a one-liner; use an artifact for the real write-up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Can one artifact be attached to several PD nodes?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\nYes. The attachment is a link, so the same artifact can hang off many entities without being copied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Why don't I see the Artifacts tab on a new record?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\nThe tab appears after the record is saved — you can only link an artifact to a node that exists. Save first, then attach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Are artifacts brand-scoped?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\nYes, like the rest of PD. An artifact belongs to a brand; see \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fthe-brand-switcher\">The Brand Switcher\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Can artifacts attach to things outside PD?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\nYes — to \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fthe-unified-content-table\">content\u003C\u002Fa>, \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fthe-workspace-media-hub\">assets\u003C\u002Fa>, and other artifacts as well. PD nodes are one of several attachment targets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>What's next\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fthe-product-development-concept\">The Product Development Concept\u003C\u002Fa> — the structure artifacts hang off.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fstatus-rollups\">Status Rollups\u003C\u002Fa> — including the Artifacts rollup column.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fwhiteboards-overview\">Whiteboards Overview\u003C\u002Fa> — put artifacts on a canvas next to entities.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Ca href=\"\u002Fhelp\u002Fyour-first-solution\">Your First Solution\u003C\u002Fa> — build nodes worth attaching context to.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n",{"slug":9,"title":10},"product-manager","Product Manager (PD)",{"meta_title":12,"meta_description":6,"keywords":13,"canonical_url":14,"og_title":12,"og_description":6,"og_image":15,"robots":16,"json_ld":17},"Attaching Artifacts to PD | m18t Help","attaching artifacts, PD artifacts, rich-text document, artifacts manager, polymorphic attachment, decision record, m18t","https:\u002F\u002Fm18t.com\u002Fhelp\u002Fattaching-artifacts","https:\u002F\u002Fm18t.com\u002Fog-default.png","index, follow",{"@context":18,"@graph":19},"https:\u002F\u002Fschema.org",[20,33,58],{"@type":21,"headline":5,"description":6,"articleSection":10,"inLanguage":22,"datePublished":23,"dateModified":23,"image":15,"author":24,"publisher":28,"mainEntityOfPage":31},"Article","en","2026-06-25",{"@type":25,"name":26,"url":27},"Organization","m18t","https:\u002F\u002Fm18t.com",{"@type":25,"name":26,"url":27,"logo":29},{"@type":30,"url":15},"ImageObject",{"@type":32,"@id":14},"WebPage",{"@type":34,"mainEntity":35},"FAQPage",[36,42,46,50,54],{"@type":37,"name":38,"acceptedAnswer":39},"Question","What's the difference between an artifact and a Model's description field?",{"@type":40,"text":41},"Answer","The description is a short label-level field on the structured record. An artifact is a full rich-text document with its own status, priority, and dates that you attach by reference. Use the description for a one-liner; use an artifact for the real write-up.",{"@type":37,"name":43,"acceptedAnswer":44},"Can one artifact be attached to several PD nodes?",{"@type":40,"text":45},"Yes. The attachment is a link, so the same artifact can hang off many entities without being copied.",{"@type":37,"name":47,"acceptedAnswer":48},"Why don't I see the Artifacts tab on a new record?",{"@type":40,"text":49},"The tab appears after the record is saved — you can only link an artifact to a node that exists. Save first, then attach.",{"@type":37,"name":51,"acceptedAnswer":52},"Are artifacts brand-scoped?",{"@type":40,"text":53},"Yes, like the rest of PD. An artifact belongs to a brand.",{"@type":37,"name":55,"acceptedAnswer":56},"Can artifacts attach to things outside PD?",{"@type":40,"text":57},"Yes — to content, assets, and other artifacts as well. PD nodes are one of several attachment targets.",{"@type":59,"itemListElement":60},"BreadcrumbList",[61,65,69,72],{"@type":62,"position":63,"name":64,"item":27},"ListItem",1,"Home",{"@type":62,"position":66,"name":67,"item":68},2,"Help","https:\u002F\u002Fm18t.com\u002Fhelp",{"@type":62,"position":70,"name":10,"item":71},3,"https:\u002F\u002Fm18t.com\u002Fhelp\u002Fcategories\u002Fproduct-manager",{"@type":62,"position":73,"name":5,"item":14},4,1786312171797]