PLM Interest Group

The twin drives towards Professional PLM and the PLM Body of Knowledge have a lot of synergy, and need a well-structured approach to achieve them.

			The PLM 2025-35 Project provides the over-arching framework that maximises the cross-over benefits while minimising the input required from participants.

By integrating the two programmes, everyone who participates learns from both streams and can make use of the combined knowledge set.

An article on LinkedIn proposing a discussion about Advanced PLM drew a comment that presentations at trade shows are on the same subjects as ten years ago.

When this is explored further (Forgetting What You Never Knew) it becomes clear that:-

Way back in 2010 a 10-Year PLM Vision was published, entitled '2020 PLM'.  It set out some reasonable aspirations as to how the PLM industry could progress over the forthcoming decade, and how things would be better at the end of it.  Needless to say, when 2020 arrived absolutely none of this had been achieved. The PLM scenario was completely unchanged.

If this is true (and there are no case histories to show that it isn't) then this is a lost opportunity for everybody.  Repeating mistakes costs money, so every implementation that does it is overspending. Learning takes time, and learning the hard way takes longer.

Global corporations have high-level business and geographical requirements for PLM that need very complex, structured solutions. Over the years, the complexity of that effort leads each company to generate its own methodologies based on what is found to work best.

This effort embodies many man-years of experience and learning that have never been shared or re-used. Thousands of different implementations around the world with locked-in knowledge, possibly because the advanced aspects of PLM are so difficult to explain and compare.

The solution is very simple.  Take a number of user implementations that have each developed in their own random way, in response to their different business drivers and technical competences.  Array them in parallel, and we find that their strengths and weaknesses are in different areas.  Where one implementation has a weakness, others will have strengths - so the 'weaker' implementation gets a problem solution for free, immediately.  And that same implementation will have strengths that the others will use.

The PLMIG not only facilitates the solutions, but also distils the learnings into a neutral format.  The second, parallel stream of the Project brings together PLM organisations from all parts of the industry to review and refine it.

Not only does this resolve a wide range of specific problems and issues for the direct participants, but it builds the kernel of an industry-wide Body of Knowledge that can be used worldwide, for right-first-time adoption and as the basis for a future PLM Profession.

The PLM 2025-35 Project will run for a year initially, aligned with the natural pace of actual PLM implementations and consisting of two streams:-

PLMIG experience with user groups shows that users come up with much more detailed and practical ideas when working amongst themselves than they do when vendors or advisors are present.  Keeping the separation provides a double benefit, because in order to derive common, neutral conclusions from the Users' work, the findings must be distilled and rationalised - which is exactly what is needed for a Body of Knowledge.

There is obviously an overhead in setting the project up, and for each participant to apply the comparison tools, but this is a fraction of the time and effort it would take to chase through each problem in isolation. The project activity as a whole helps improve governance and adds a layer of discipline, and the overall pace matches the ongoing implementations.  The solutions come holistically and can be applied immediately.

This is a real opportunity for mature PLM organisations that want to make significant improvements. Sharpen up your project documentation, share outline parameters and problem sets with other user companies, and use the PLM 2025-35 workshop mechanism to get detailed solutions that you can apply.

The PLMIG generates a neutral format and structure from the learnings, which is then built into the nascent PLM Body of Knowledge.  Participants become the de facto custodians of this and guide its development as the programme evolves.

Everything will be explained at a 90-minute on-line meeting that will happen at the end of the month:-

The PLMIG will present the rationale, structure and benefits, and the group can give feedback about any aspect of it.

This is an entirely open meeting but we need people to register so we can manage the invitation links.  If you would like to take part then complete and return the Registration Form below.

Download the Registration Form >>>

A Datasheet has been produced that explains the background and the current planning.  It will evolve in the next few weeks and so feedback is welcome.

Download the Datasheet [PDF] >>>

If you would like to know more about the Initiative or take part in PLM 2025-35, you can request information via plm2025-35@plmig.com.

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