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Compendium of Ideas
  - The Document
  - Up-To-Date Thought
  - PLM Scope
  - Detailed Narratives
        - PLM Definition
        - PLM Evolution
        - Adopting PLM
        - Awareness & Justification
        - High-Level PLM
        - Concept Set
        - PLM Vision
        - Best Practice
        - Standardisation
        - Reference Models
        - PDM
        - PLM-ERP
        - Digital Transformation
        - PLM Governance
        - Metrics
        - Project Management
        - Financial Management
        - PLM Delivery
        - User Communities
        - Professionalism
        - PLM Research
        - Industry Future
  - High-Level Picture
  - Purchase
  - Home

 

Compendium of PLM Ideas

PLM practitioners tend to be thirsty for ideas on the subject.  Pundits and marketeers have come forward to fill the space, but not with anything that could be regarded as a Body of Knowledge about PLM.

For more almost 15 years, the PLMIG published thought-provoking material for its members and the wider PLM community in the PLM Journal and the 2PLM e-zine.

During that time, the PLMIG has also run a wide range of initiatives that have generated survey results and White Papers, all of which crystallised new knowledge about what PLM is and what it could be.


 
PLM Governance Standard
 

The very best of these have been compiled into the Compendium of PLM Ideas.


With over 500 pages of material, this is the largest collection of neutral PLM theory ever assembled in book form.


Whether you are new to the subject, and are looking for some background reading that will bring you up to speed: or an experienced practitioner looking to refresh your thinking; this Compendium is the place to start.

 

 
 
 

Compendium of Ideas
  - The Document
  - Up-To-Date Thought
  - PLM Scope
  - Detailed Narratives
        - PLM Definition
        - PLM Evolution
        - Adopting PLM
        - Awareness & Justification
        - High-Level PLM
        - Concept Set
        - PLM Vision
        - Best Practice
        - Standardisation
        - Reference Models
        - PDM
        - PLM-ERP
        - Digital Transformation
        - PLM Governance
        - Metrics
        - Project Management
        - Financial Management
        - PLM Delivery
        - User Communities
        - Professionalism
        - PLM Research
        - Industry Future
  - High-Level Picture
  - Purchase
  - Home

 

 

Up-To-Date Thought

 

This amounts to an enormous amount of structured, well-directed PLM material, all of which was written to enthuse PLM practitioners of the time with the most advanced thinking.

The timeframe runs from 2004 to 2020, which gives an unparalleled view of the evolution of PLM.  Some of the earliest predictions of the future are now in the past, but this in itself gives insights into where PLM is going.

This is not just a random collection of past articles.  It represents a wealth of neutral and accurate material that is available nowhere else.  Most of the fundamental truths of PLM are timeless, and all of the content has been edited with the modern viewpoint in mind, which means - it has not been edited very much. Everything is in context, and all the detail is there.

 

PLM Scope

 

Ranging from pure theory (why are there 3 different ways to define PLM?) through to where PLM could go in the long-term future (Level 6 and the 2022 Vision) the articles cover the whole scope of PLM.

The list of Section headings reads like a walk-through of what PLM is, and what it could be:-

  • Defining PLM
  • Three Definitions of PLM
  • How PLM Has Evolved
  • Adopting PLM
  • Awareness and Justification
  • High-Level PLM
  • PLM Concept Set
  • PLM Vision
  • PLM Best Practice
  • PLM Standardisation
  • PLM Reference Models
  • PDM
  • PLM-ERP
  • Digital Transformation
  • PLM Governance
  • Metrics
  • Project Management
  • Financial Management
  • PLM Delivery
  • User Communities
  • Professional PLM
  • Professional PLM Round Table
  • Syllabus and Qualifications
  • The Professional PLM Initiative
  • PLM Research
  • Research to Transform PLM
  • Future of the PLM Industry

 

This one book contains all of these ideas, adding up to over 500 pages of PLM information and guidance.

 
 
 

Compendium of Ideas
  - The Document
  - Up-To-Date Thought
  - PLM Scope
  - Detailed Narratives
        - PLM Definition
        - PLM Evolution
        - Adopting PLM
        - Awareness & Justification
        - High-Level PLM
        - Concept Set
        - PLM Vision
        - Best Practice
        - Standardisation
        - Reference Models
        - PDM
        - PLM-ERP
        - Digital Transformation
        - PLM Governance
        - Metrics
        - Project Management
        - Financial Management
        - PLM Delivery
        - User Communities
        - Professionalism
        - PLM Research
        - Industry Future
  - High-Level Picture
  - Purchase
  - Home

 

 

Detailed Narratives

 

The big advantage of bringing all this material into one place is that ideas that were once spaced weeks or months apart now sit together and can be grouped into themes.

And these themes form narratives - short stories about how a particular issue has developed, and where it might go in the future.  These narratives range across all of the most important issues in PLM.

<<< Hide the Expanded Narratives

This is what you can learn:-

 
  PLM Definition

 

Everyone wants an accurate definition of PLM (and the Compendium provides one); but did you know that there are three different ways to define PLM?  They are listed here, along with the Master definition.

These are particularly important for a clear understanding of how PLM and ERP relate to each other; and also for positioning in-house applications and legacy systems within the total framework of PLM.

 
 
  How PLM Has Evolved

 

Five years after this new paradigm first emerged, the future for PLM looked bright, and everyone was enthusiastic.  Fifteen years later on, the track record is one of missed opportunity.

Understanding what happened creates a chance to regain the original high aims for the future.

 
 
  Adopting PLM

 

Three routes to PLM, a 2-Year Path to your first live implementation, and how to visualise its progress.  Easy orientation for new starters.

 
 
  Awareness and Justification

 

PLM often starts small, and with a certain leap of faith.  The process from adoption to maturity requires a conscious and continuous effort to firm up the concept, promote it around the organisation, and create more detailed and compelling reasons for support.

 
 
  High-Level PLM

 

PLM can also meet problems and pitfalls that are well above the detailed level.  Implementors need to consider the bigger picture, and the 'Executive' viewpoint.

 
 
  PLM Concept Set

 

What is it that separates a knowledgeable PLM practitioner from his or her non-PLM colleagues?  What intrinsic understanding is necessary in order to apply PLM properly?  These 7 concepts are an essential part of that skill set.

 
 
  PLM Vision

 

This is the fundamental of PLM that is most frequently overlooked. The vast majority of implementations do not have a written Vision of where they will be in 5 years' and 10 years' time.

The PLM Vision is a short document, but creating and adopting it is not straightforward.  This Section shows what you should look for.

 
 
  PLM Best Practice

 

Over the past 15 years, many organisations have claimed that something is "Best Practice": usually vendors or advisors referring to their own products or projects; and always without any corroboration.

Neutral, agreed definitions of Best Practice would be very useful, but so far none exist. What is 'Best Practice', and how can we achieve it?

 
 
  PLM Standardisation

 

There are some standards that are important to some areas of PLM, but the issue of Standardisation applies everywhere.

A carefully standardised PLM environment will save time, effort, and enable faster progress.

 
 
  PLM Reference Models

 

In the early days of PLM, it was proposed that there should be Reference Models for PLM Benefits, Maturity and Best Practice that everyone could refer to in order to justify new projects, and measure success with existing projects.

The PLMIG ran workshops on the subject, supported by the major vendors of the time, and even though the concept is now on the back burner, some very useful material was generated.

 
 
  PDM

 

PDM used to be seen as a smaller, partial subset of this great subject called PLM.  This is no longer true.  PDM and PLM are completely and inseparably entwined - and an in-depth knowledge of PDM is essential.

 
 
  PLM - ERP

 

This is probably the most technically difficult question that PLM practitioners have to deal with, with a massive impact on operations and profitability - and it is also the most widely misunderstood.

It took a three-workshop series in three different countries to establish the real relationship between PLM and ERP, and its effect on how PLM and ERP teams work together.  The logic is explained here.

 
 
  Digital Transformation

 

The shiny new future of manufacturing, or just PLM dressed up in new clothes - the Digital Wave is causing fantasy and confusion in equal measure.

This narrative covers the background to the debate, and presents the White Paper, Survey Results and Position Paper that were generated in 2020-21.

 
 
  PLM Governance

 

PLM impacts the whole enterprise, and if it is not implemented in the right context, the detail can be ineffective.  The context of PLM management is Governance, and every PLM Team needs to ensure that theirs is correct if they are to keep on the right track.

 
 
  Metrics

 

Everyone believes that we should have some sort of metrics for PLM, but which ones?  What metrics are possible, and how do you choose the ones to measure?  The metrics for PLM and those for PDM can be very different.

 
 
  Project Management

 

Project Management as a discipline has its own methodology and best practices, but somehow PLM doesn't seem to conform.

PLM is often a continually-changing environment, with many unknowns.  It can be difficult to know what the future situation will be.  Conventional planning doesn't quite seem to work.  PLM and PDM require specific, and very different thought processes.

 
 
  Financial Management

 

PLM has long been regarded as being unquantifiable, but in fact it can be monitored, managed and directed in purely financial terms if required.  The PLMIG developed the methodology, and all you have to do is apply it.

Of course the PLM Manager must be financially aware; the fundamental principles must be understood; and the PLM Team must be prepared to do some work.  The potential outcomes range from easy project justification through to showing financial progress to the Board, with the aim that "the Finance VP cannot say 'No'".

 
 
  PLM Delivery

 

So you understand Financial Management, and know what targets and metrics you are working towards.  You need more software (or 'solutions'), and talk to vendors about what they could provide.  The vendors paint a picture of the benefits you should get for the money you spend, but how will you know that you get what you are paying for?

 
 
  User Communities

 

The PLMIG held user-only meetings as far back as 2008, and again in 2020 just before the pandemic.  These show that there is a place for three different types of user community: informal contact; hands-on working sessions for PLM Managers; and company groups that generate new advanced material for themselves.  There is also the wider question of how users can influence vendors in a constructive way.

These findings have been distilled, and form useful guidance for anyone with plans to bring together a group of their own.

 
 
  Professional PLM

 

PLM practitioners like to think of themselves as being "professional" in the way they work, but this has no real meaning.  Professional behaviour, competence and skills have never been defined, and there is no PLM Profession to become a member of.

The industry drive towards real professionalism started in mid-2017, and the whole saga is described here.  There is the growing definition of what 'professional' means, which led to the formation of a Round Table; the seven premises that were established as a result of the Round Table's work; and the planning that can lead to the formation of a globally-recognised Professional Body for PLM.

 
 
  PLM Research

 

PLM is not just the concern of industry - there is a huge academic contribution to be made.  The Compendium devotes 95 pages to describe what this might be.

Academics and researchers have been involved with the PLMIG since its inception, with the formation of a Research SIG that explored the concept of a global Academic/Industry Research Platform.  This was followed by a more 'blue sky' approach that aimed for a PLM International Research Foundation (PLM-IRF).

The RSIG was interesting and is still useful, but the PLM-IRF could change the future of PLM beyond anything that is envisaged at the moment.  This is the area of maximum impact for academics worldwide.

 
 
  Future of the
PLM Industry

 

At the moment the PLM industry is rudderless, drifting on the tides of vendor product development and increased digitalisation.  It is in need of an Industry Vision - and once that is recognised, a whole new thought process happens.

By extrapolating from the past, and focusing on the possibility of widespread Full Maturity, a far more advanced future in 5 and 10 year's time can be envisaged.  This leads to the concept of 'Level 6 PLM', and an Industry Vision that can inspire everyone.

 

 

 

This is not an instruction book - it's a vast collection of ideas.  First, read what you want to read; then browse around the subjects; then dip into it again and again.

 
 
 

Compendium of Ideas
  - The Document
  - Up-To-Date Thought
  - PLM Scope
  - Detailed Narratives
        - PLM Definition
        - PLM Evolution
        - Adopting PLM
        - Awareness & Justification
        - High-Level PLM
        - Concept Set
        - PLM Vision
        - Best Practice
        - Standardisation
        - Reference Models
        - PDM
        - PLM-ERP
        - Digital Transformation
        - PLM Governance
        - Metrics
        - Project Management
        - Financial Management
        - PLM Delivery
        - User Communities
        - Professionalism
        - PLM Research
        - Industry Future
  - High-Level Picture
  - Purchase
  - Home

 

 

High-Level Picture

 

The Sections themselves provide a higher-level overview from the beginnings of PLM and the development of its internal mechanisms, through to how to do it well and how to shape its future.  It almost describes the 'Story of PLM' since it first became recognised.

It is therefore an excellent resource for those who are just starting with the subject, and are faced with endless Internet searches in order to get up to speed.

It is also a reference point for all of the initiatives, surveys, white papers and new theory that were generated by enthusiastic PLM practitioners in the course of trying to improve the world in which they operate.  In PLM, good ideas last a long time, and are relatively easy to pick up and run with if the will is there.

For experienced practitioners, with a long track record and years of PLM under the belt, the sheer range of topics can act as a refresher, to cross-check your thinking and stimulate a few new ideas about what might be improved.

 

 

How to Purchase the Compendium

 

The Compendium of PLM Ideas is provided in electronic format with Q&A support to PLMIG Members, so you will receive a copy if you join with any class of Membership.

Alternatively, you may buy hard copies from Amazon.

For more information about the Compendium of PLM Ideas, contact .


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