Time for Some PLM Spring Cleaning

I finally think spring is here! I could be hallucinating, but I don't think so. I am starting to see flowers, and blossoms, and people on the driving range, so spring must be here. Just thinking about spring makes me feel happy and all warm inside! If you're like me, it's time for some spring cleaning as well. If you need some tips to help with your spring cleaning, you can look here. If you need some tips to help with your PLM spring cleaning, keep reading:

Communication

First, take a look at how your Engineers communicate among themselves and with others: Do they use email only? Do they yell over the cubicle walls? Can they chat easily with others, especially with remote users? Is there a way for people to share information easily? Maybe it's time to look at better ways of communicating in your company. There are many tools today that allow information to be shared just as you would with social media. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Youtube are all ways that people share information when not at work. There should be some similar kinds of internal tools that allow people to communicate better. Putting in place a more robust framework for communication will have all kinds of positive benefits.

Finding Information

Next, think about how people search for information in your company: Can people go to one place and find everything they need to do their job? Is your company filled with multiple disconnected databases that require multiple searches from various systems to actually find information? Are there still people inputting manual data into your systems? Do you still rely on MS Excel spreadsheets for important product information? Do people still have important information stored on their personal laptops or other devices?

All of these challenges can be reduced with a strong integration plan. Manual data entry should be the first activity to vanish. Manually entering information will lead to mistakes and impact product development. There should also be some very serious rules about keeping important information on personal disk drives; this should never be allowed. Getting rid of Excel spreadsheets should also be a top goal of any business. Working on these areas will provide a much more efficient environment for information sharing and tracking.

Managing Change

Finally, you should look at how people manage change in your organization: Do your engineers kick off a custom ad-hoc workflow whenever there is a change? Do they keep all changes until the very end, and then release them in a lethal flow of paperwork? Do you have too many change processes? Can you track your change processes easily (and, by that I don't mean on a spreadsheet)? Can you see at any time how a change will effect your product requirements? All of these challenges may be sucking the efficiency out of your business.

Implementing good configuration management processes in your company can have a powerful affect on everything you do. Don't try to do everything at once, but take one step at a time and you will soon see some powerful benefits. Keeping an eye on change processes will allow more changes to be processed more quickly, and will ultimately lead to better, more innovative products, with higher quality, that get to market faster with greater customer satisfaction; and who doesn't want that?

So, keep working on that spring cleaning, and in no time at all you will have your house in order.

What do you think?

Cheer,

Jim

Back to the Future: The 5 Best PLM Posts of 2012

Before we rush off down the road that is 2013, let's take a moment, and look back at some of my best and most commented posts from 2012. Sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy. Perhaps as we look at these posts, we can learn something about the future of PLM:

1) Most Commented Post: PLM Education, Gangnam Style

I don't like to think that I got any bump in comments based on the popularity of the YouTube video, but it didn't hurt. PLM education is important. I hope you have some PLM education planned during 2013. If you don't know where to start, CIMdata has a PLM certificate class that really rocks! I ought to know, since I teach it.

2) Most Liked Post: What the Mars Rover Landing Can Teach us About PLM

The landing of the Mars Rover in September 2012 had a lot to teach us about PLM. The landing was complex and tedious, but after many trial runs, simulations, and testing, it worked perfectly. We can learn a lot about how we approach PLM from this exciting event.

3) Most Insightful Post: Top 10 Ways to Tell if Your Business Needs PLM

There are some key signs that point to the need for PLM in your business. I got many comments from people who thought they already had PLM, but realized there might be more to it. This kind of company effort can have many benefits.

4) Most Sagacious Post: How Will Social Media Technology Impact PLM?

When I posted this back in May, it was clear that PLM would be impacted by social media tools. This trend has not diminished, and I think we will see some very exciting advances in 2013. New devices and software will slowly make PLM a much more social activity.

5) Most Viewed Post: 2013 - The Year of PLM!

This is a great blog post to end with, since my hope for everyone is that 2013 can be a great year. I hope you get everyone at your company educated about PLM, and watch your efficiency, innovation and ROI increase.

So, what do you have planned for 2013? What do you think we will see this year? I hope it's a great one!

Jim

CIMdata PLM Roadmap Hits the Mark Again!

The CIMdata PLM Roadmap 2012 concluded this week in Plymouth, Michigan. If you missed it, you missed a sold out PLM event that provided detailed discussions about Systems Engineering, Model Based Design, Simulation, and more!

The conference started with an excellent talk from Jon Hirschtick, the father of Solidworks, about the future of the CAD market. He told the engaged audience that CAD was only about half done, and that there was still many opportunities in this space. The afternoon had sessions about PLM implementation, using analysis in your PLM activities, how to interact with vendors and systems integrators.

The best part of the conference was the hallway conversations, the lunch time discussions, and the new information shared among industry peers. There was a vendor area called Eye On Technology where many PLM vendors provided information about their excellent solutions.

There was great food, great people, and a good time had by all. The CIMdata website has more information on future conferences, and information about how you can get education and information about PLM.

See you later,

Jim

Why You Should Attend CIMdata PLM Roadmap 2012

In the late 1940's, the St. John's Provincial Seminary was opened on a choice piece of land just outside of Plymouth Michigan. In 1955 the remarkable chapel was dedicated with little fanfare; this was a religious place, and not given to extravagant celebrations. The seminary continued to serve the Catholic Church of Detroit for some 40 years; but sadly, in 1988 the doors closed.

Today, after an $11 million restoration, this iconic seminary has been reborn as the St. John's Golf and Conference Center. They not only have 118 luxury guest rooms, and a new ballroom, but they boast many more amenities:

• Stately Romanesque architecture, beautifully renovated to reflect its heritage
• Twenty two distinct meeting rooms, ideal for corporate breakout session or smaller meetings
• A breathtaking two-story glass Atrium which provides a truly unique setting for cocktails, hors d oeuvres and music for up to 600 guests
• Twenty-two distinct meeting rooms, ideal for corporate breakout session or smaller meetings
• A challenging 27-hole championship golf course (great course - I played it last year)!
• The Grande Gallroom with seating for up to 450 guests
• And More!

Learn more about this fantastic property

Not only is this a fantastic venue, but the line-up of speakers at PLM Roadmap 2012 is one of the best I have ever seen at any conference in many years. Go here to register and see the amazing line-up! Or, you can watch and share this excellent video about the conference.

As for me, I plan to be on the golf course at around 8:00 AM on Monday, October 1. Please come and join me to make things interesting.

I look forward to seeing you there!

How Will Collaboration Look in the Future?

If you're like me, you expected flying cars, personal jet-packs, and robot butlers by the year 2012; where are they? Like many predictions of the future, these did not come to pass. I will just keep waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

I read an interesting article recently titled: "Were they right? 25 years ago, science thinkers predicted the world in 2012". The answer to the question, "were they right", is no. They were not right. Most of their predictions were wrong, and were based on the world having about 1 Billion more people than it does today. However, it was interesting to see what people thought would happen in the future.

Another article that I read recently talked about collaboration, and looked at the many technologies that will impact our interactions in the future. This article was called: "The Changing Face of Collaboration - A CIMdata Commentary". Those guys at CIMdata really know their stuff! I should know, I'm one of them.

No matter how cynical you are about what the future holds, you cannot ignore some of the powerful changes that are impacting the way we collaborate. Social and mobile tools are generating tons of valuable information; this value can only be realized with strong data collaboration tools. Companies are being forced to address these issues by social-savvy consumers wielding smart phones, tablets, and other collaboration devices. In the future, companies that rely on PLM to develop products for these consumers will be required to interact in different ways than the standard email tools employed today.

How this will be done in the future is still an open question, but there are many companies working on this today. Nuage is one of those companies, and their approach to collaboration will have an impact on how we interact in the future. I liked the following passage:

"Some companies, such as Nuage (www.go-nuage.com), are offering social computing solutions as their product. This trend is a clear indication of what is to come. As the demand for more natural ways of finding, communicating, and collaborating on product data continues to increase, today’s PLM solution providers need to continue to adjust or they will not be part of the solution, but rather an example of other legacy systems–systems that today’s social media-savvy workers will bypass."

The trend is clear. If you want your business to be around in the future to enjoy flying cars, personal jet-packs, and robot butlers, you must learn how to adopt these new collaboration tools. No one knows exactly what it will be like in the next 25 years, but those who fail to adopt these new technologies will likely be no more than a smudged footnote.

What do you think. Do you have any good predictions for the next 25 years?

Let me know what you think.

-Jim

Making Connections at PLM Connection 2012

I recently spent several days at the Siemens PLM Connnection 2012 event in Las Vegas. Luckily, I did not lose all my money and end up in a ditch. I also did not sell my hair to a wig shop; but I digress. Despite all the distractions there, I was able to learn a lot of new things. There were tons and tons of sessions to choose from and a lot of good information was shared; three of the sessions were actually mine (below), so I am a bit biased.

CIMdata PLM University Session 1
CIMdata PLM University Session 2
CIMdata PLM University Session 3

Most importantly I met some great people! We often follow people on Twitter, or read blogs, or watch videos, but often we don't actually meet many of the people we follow. Two of the people I met there were Susan Cinadr (@susancinadr) and Dora Smith (@dorsmith). I have followed both of these interesting people for several months on Twitter, and now I have actually met them; they are much nicer in person, by the way.

There are many lessons one could take a way from PLM Connection 2012. What stands out for me is the amazing breadth and depth of PLM technologies available today. A popular Chinese saying, "May you live in interesting times", was actually an ancient curse. All the options for PLM today might seem daunting, but there is no reason to worry when you have an event like PLM Connection where you can learn as much as you want.

These are certainly interesting times for PLM. There are new technologies like cloud computing, big data analysis, mobility, gamification, social PLM, and others that will make big impacts. I look forward to seeing what Siemens PLM will do in the future to support these and other exciting technologies.

For me, PLM Connection 2012 provided a peek into the expanding world of PLM, and provided a lot of food for thought. I look forward to future events where I can continue to connect with my social peeps!

Cheers,

-Jim