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Research Rap: X Marks the Spot for PLM
July 30, 2008

I posted earlier about What Gives Chief Engineers Sleepless Nights based on a benchmark report from Aberdeen Group. I followed that with a bit about what the Engineers are Doing to Shrink Development Time. What occurred to me recently was that the Design for "X" capabilities identified in the report are really a good metaphor for PLM as a whole.


Note: If you are not familiar with the term, just replace the "X" with "Manufacturability," "Compliance," "Sourcing," "Cost," "Service," or any other function downstream of design and recognize the need to consider their needs early in the design process.

My PLM Soapbox (a brief intro or review)
The highlights of my views on PLM include:

• Managing the "lifecycle" of a product is somewhat of a myth
• The key is managing the "product"
• Yes, manging the product across the lifecycle is one expansion that PLM offers - a broader view of the product than just the design phase
• Just as importantly, is the broader view of the product beyond it's physical nature - considering the product as the combination of the product, packaging, pricing, sourcing, documentation, manufacturing procedures, and commercial information
• Also as importantly, is the broader view of product design and development to include more people - not to mention including suppliers and the rest of the supply chain

In short, PLM expands and integrated the people involved, the scope of the product characteristics they are involved with, and the life of the product beyond release to manufacturing.

Design for X as a Metaphor for PLM
Isn't that exactly what the findings in the Aberdeen report related to Design for "X" are trying to tell us? The research indicates that engineering executives in Best-in-Class companies are:

Assessing their products against more than form, fit and function such as:

• Compliance (85% versus 65%)
• Quality (79% versus 64%)
• Serviceability (81% versus 57%)
• Raw material costs (84% versus 67%)

Thanks again to Chad Jackson and the team at Aberdeen for some great research.

So that was a further peek into some recent research on what gives Engineering execs sleepless nights and my realization that the one set of finding from that report provides a wealth of support for the overall PLM movement. I hope you found it interesting.

Does the research reflect reality? Do you see it differently? Let us know what it looks like from your perspective.

Posted by on July 30, 2008 | Comments (0)