When exporting an item as a partial reference, only the basic information about the item is included in the package (ID and name). This means that during import, a partially referenced item must be mapped and is unable to be set for Create or Replace. Also, when an item is partially referenced, any other items referenced by that item are not included in the package.
The primary reason partial references exist is to prevent a package from being an unreasonable size due to referenced items that might not be necessary. The more items in a package, the greater possibility for having difficulty setting resolutions correctly, due to the large number of items and dependencies. If everything in the package is set to Create, decisioning is straightforward, but if you are creating items, replacing items, and mapping items, it is considered a best practice to work with the smallest collection of items that makes sense for your system.
The following are common cases where partial references are used:
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Something within a life cycle references a different life cycle or WorkView Application
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Something within a WorkView Application references a different life cycle or WorkView Application
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Any other configuration item references a life cycle or WorkView Application
After an export is complete and the package is generated, the export results window will show you all of the items that were included with partial references.