PLM Interest Group

The path to Class A PLM begins with a formal written overview of the current situation, and production of the working documentation.  Begin by fulfilling the requirements of Demystifying PLM, and then apply the PLM Self-Assessment Toolkit to assess and review whether you are ready to start.  The findings can be written into the Company PLM Overview Document, which can be circulated for feedback and dissemination.

How well are the PLM Team managing the implementation, as managers?  And how good is the management structure from PLM operations up to Board Level?

The way to evaluate a company's PLM Governance is to apply the PLM Governance Standard.  This highlights to everybody the areas where the management structure is strong, and where improvements might be made - and ensures that there is a sound platform for the other phases.

The first step to evaluating PLM performance is to understand the Drivers, Capabilities and Processes that apply to PLM.  These can be compiled into a Navigation Model that will be the basis of further analysis.

Every organisation can create its own evaluation by running a Level 0 Benchmark as specified in the PLM Benchmarking Handbook. The results make it clear why PLM is running, what it is capable of doing for the business, and its current impact on operations.

In Advanced PLM, the entire lifecycle needs to be covered with equal emphasis, from cradle to grave - not just the areas that are under the PLM Manager's immediate control.

This requires synergy between many different disciplines, such as CRM, Portfolio Management, Requirements Management, PLMuERP, SCM, MRO, IoT, and modern internet applications.

In most implementations, Lifecycle Management is seen as a subject that is "implicitly part of PLM", and which therefore should be covered by general PLM thinking.  In Class A PLM this subject is reviewed in full detail, so that the full extent of lifecycle implications and possibilities are covered.

At the end of this Step the findings are written into the Company PLM Overview Document as the basis of future thinking.

As with Lifecycle Management, very few implementations take a focused and thorough look at CPD. At every interface in the Customer and Supplier chains there are PLM effects, and the quality and detail of the PLM interactions may vary in each case.

This Value Chain ecosystem needs to be mapped and annotated across as many levels as are visible, so that the performance, risks and opportunities for improvement can be determined.

At the end of this Step the findings are written into the Company PLM Overview Document as the basis of future thinking.

The new 'Digital Wave' is largely a new technology solution chasing a problem, and it finds some of those problems in PLM.

Whilst Digital inter-connection of everything offers many opportunities, and is likely to change the future business landscape, it needs to be viewed in the context of accurate PLM thinking.  PLM itself has been 'Digital' for years, and without a proper PLM infrastructure the results of infinite connectivity will be disastrous.

In this Step, the Class A PLM methodology generates an 'As-Is' position statement and a SWOT of future possibilities than can then be mapped back onto the other subject themes.

PLM is not a theoretical exercise - it is carried out to impact and improve the business.  Traditional thinking has shied away from this, in the belief that PLM is somehow unquantifiable.  In a Class A PLM implementation, hard figures are produced to show the financial benefits.

The preparation for this is to carefully review three of the fundamental PLM Concepts as they apply to the current implementation:-

• PLM Permeation
• PLM Traction
• PLM Best Practice

The PLM Justification Handbook is then used to produce financial figures that support the current level of implementation, as a baseline for moving forward.

The key to PLM roadmapping is to understand the maturity of all of the elements of your implementation in full detail, measured against the 16 Axes of PLM.  The low scores and the gaps will show exactly where you can improve on the way to Full PLM Maturity.

Full PLM Maturity will take some years to achieve, but a Class A implementation will have the Roadmap evaluated, agreed and published.  The Maturity Manual enables you to calculate your scores, and explains how to set out the results to create the Roadmap.

The whole Class A PLM methodology is iterative.  Experience has shown that this level of detailed analysis reveals actionable insights very quickly, so the findings and documentation generated at each Stage can yield improvement projects that can run while the later Stages are still being actioned.

In Stage 1 you thoroughly review the fundamentals of your implementation, and start to generate the documentation set that will be required for Class A PLM.

In Stage 2 this same approach is applied to the wider issues of Lifecyle Management, CPD and the Digital Future.

In Stage 3 the investigation becomes much more technical, with the use of the Justification and Maturity toolsets.

Now in Stage 4 everything is analysed and reviewed against PLM Best Practice and criteria such as Scope, Balance, Metrics, Rigour and Documentation.  The results are formalised and presented at internal workshops where the PLM Team and leading stakeholders can plan for the Follow-On.

At this point it will be clear which aspects of the implementation are 'Class A' and which need improvement, and the target is to improve this year on year.