PLM Interest Group

The PLM Self-Assessment Toolkit enables the PLM Team to carry out an internal comparison of different parts of the PLM implementation; or to conduct a comprehensive, high-level assessment of the entire PLM setup; without recourse to external advisors.

It can be used by a new PLM Manager in the early stages of adoption to highlight barriers and areas of attention to senior management; or by an experienced implementation team to compare or balance progress between different parts of the organisation.

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The PLM Benchmarking Handbook contains a comprehensive, structured methodology for benchmarking any number of PLM environments against each other.

With step-by-step instructions and three levels of detail, comparisons can be made from overview to deep drill-down.

The process is straightforward and easy to follow, and the Handbook methodology captures the results for presentation and future use.

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The PLM Maturity Reference Manual contains the most detailed and accurate framework for assessing PLM Maturity.

It enables the PLM Team to answer the question: "How far have we progressed along the road to Full PLM?", and shows how to compile the findings to form a PLM Roadmap for the business.

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The PLMuERP Handbook is the definitive, neutral working manual for effective integration of PLM and ERP.

The Handbook formalises the neutral knowledge that exists on the subject.  It enables the technical teams to work together to create a long-term strategy that will unify the two environments.

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The PLM Standardisation Manual provides a structured methodology for 'productionising' your PLM implementation so that it runs more effectively.

It explains the current standards scenario, and why 'Standards' and 'Standardisation' are different.

Standardisation is a continual drive towards common, proven best practices; and is one of the cheapest and most productive ways of improving a mature PLM implementation.

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The management structure and approach that surrounds PLM can affect the performance and effectiveness of the whole implementation.

The PLM Governance Standard enables the management and governance of any PLM implementation to be compared against best practice.

The Governance Standard is easy to apply, and produces clear findings; with role-based conclusions and actions for stakeholders from the Board to the coal face.

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Understanding your company's product structure, across product types and divisions, is one of the most important aspects of PLM.  And this understanding is of no use unless it is embodied into the system-level PDM environment.

Any mistakes or errors can mean that the PLM investment is wasted.

The PLM Product Structure Standard is the most technical Standard that the PLMIG has produced, and enables PLM Teams to cross-check their setup against best practice.

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Keeping hardware and software configurations in step has intrinsic problems due to the differing release sequences.  The product design must be the master, and PLM must be able to reproduce past configurations if required for legal or fault-tracing reasons.

This task can be entrusted to a PLM-ALM system, but the PLM Team must be able to understand the logic if it is to manage the process.

The PLM-ALM Standard defines the level of integration that is required, and includes a Reference Manual to explain the theory.

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The CEO Briefing Document provides a rapid, tailored explanation of "What PLM Is" to Board members and VPs.

It gives a high-level overview of PLM principles, with examples that can be used to support presentations to the Board.

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For those new to PLM, it can be very difficult to find out about the subject. Google searches and blogs produce a confusing and often contradictory picture.

At the other end of the scale, practitioners who have been working in PLM for years can find their 'thought space' becoming restricted as they deal with the same type of problems in the same working environment.

The Compendium of PLM Ideas is a structured compilation of more than 300 pages of material distilled from PLMIG initiatives over the past 15 years.  It is an incomparable reference point for those who wish to expand or refresh their thinking.

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The Path to PLM is a comprehensive adoption framework that leads from the first decision to try to understand PLM, through to a fully-working implementation.

A clear and straightforward adoption process is set out in modular steps that can be extended or compressed as required by real events.

The process enables you to commit to having a working PLM implementation two years in advance of a selected 'go live' date, thus building momentum in the project and confidence in the outcome.

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People work better when they can see a picture of what they are working towards. PLM Teams are more effective if they are bold enough to aim for specific and well-publicised results.

Target-Oriented PLM is a method of putting PLM progress on a fast track, and using publicity and expectation to drive results.  It is a way of being sure that your implementation is going in the right direction for the business, and pulling it along that path at optimal speed.

Over time, it creates a natural, annual regeneration of the PLM horizon that advances towards Full Maturity year on year.

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The scope of PLM does not shrink for Small or Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), but SMEs do not have the resources to spend $millions and man years on adoption.

The PLM Handbook for SMEs explains how to create a very specific approach that is tailored to the SME's role in the product ecosystem and their internal ways of working.

This approach focuses as much on the principles (which are free) as the technology.  As well as helping the SME serve its PLM-oriented Customers, it can open up ideas for new opportunities within the Value Chain.

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There is still no central definition of what it means to be a PLM Manager, or what a PLM Manager should do.

The PLM Manager's Handbook brings together some of the fundamental management concepts and principles that set a PLM Manager apart from his or her colleagues.

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When you get to a critical point in your implementation, you do not want to have to re-invent the wheel.  PLMIG Toolsets have been developed from years of workshops and embody the wisdom and experience of the many PLM practitioners who contributed.

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