PLMIG

The Reference Model must satisfy the needs of all types of PLM organisation, and therefore must be:-

• Open
• Independent
• Quantifiable
• Useable
• Internationally Accepted
• Scaleable
• Sustainable

To create such a complex model, and to generate the industry acceptance that it will need, will require a global collaborative project in which the most advanced PLM practitioner organisations take part.  It will also require a common understanding of the framework of PLM Benefits, and this is being generated during the Launch Phase.

The first two BRM Launch Workshops were hosted by Founder Members UGS and PTC in London and Boston respectively.

Each workshop created its own coherent framework for PLM Benefits, encompassing a high-level overview, the detailed mechanics or "engine room", and the tools that would be needed to enable companies to use the Model for themselves.  The results were summarised in the Q1 2006 Issue of the PLM Journal, and were presented at the European PLM Summit in June.

The detailed mechanics envisaged by the workshops were different, as could be expected on different continents, but they do not contradict each other, and they represent different elements of what could be a single larger framework.

This means that the next BRM events will be able to build on the London and Boston results. They will generate, as their deliverable, a unified structure that will become the first standard taxonomy for PLM Benefits.

Your organisation can become part of the Benefits Reference Model initiative by participating in the workshops; by becoming a Founder Member; or by becoming a Corporate Member (which also gives a 'Steering Committee' role in the other Reference Models).

You can keep up to date with progress by means of the PLM Journal, or request more information via brm@plmig.com