Over the last couple of weeks, I have talked about your ‘vision’ for a solution and I talked about ‘scope creep’.  This week I will cover ‘change’.

People, in general, hate change.  How often have you heard, “I really REALLY hate change”?

That’s normal. That’s most people. But why do we dislike it so much?

Suddenly the rules are unclear: we don’t know how we fit into the new scheme; we are adrift; we are unsure.  And it takes a while to learn the new rules.  We knew what to do and when to do it, and now we don’t.  That’s why most people hate change…

A simple example - When a student moves from Middle School to High School, the school goes to great lengths to prepare them for the ‘change’.  Still that change is a shock to the system.

My Strategy…

Change is one reason why PLM projects need to be implemented in a relatively short period of time.  You don’t want the worker community to have a lot of time to over think it.  Change is where the ‘champion’ comes in.  The ‘champion’ is your internal sales person.  Not only do they guide your worker community through the changes, they will do it with enthusiasm.

They need to point out how much better life for the worker will be when the new solution is in place.  They will enthusiastically explain how the solution is not only better for the worker, it is better for the company.  They will gently guide the workers through the transition. 

I can’t stress enough how important this is.  One negative person can kill an entire project.  The potentially negative person must become a part of the solution.  The better the ‘champion’ performs their tasks, the better chance for successful project.Let’s not forget that a PLM project, managed properly, can bring your company some significant financial benefits.  So, what are you waiting for?

Your Thoughts…

What has been your experience?  Have you had a project like this fail due to a bad attitude of one person? 

Last week, I talked about managing expectations surrounding your vision for a solution.

Looking at a PLM project using the ADCI model [derived from the ‘big’ consulting companies], the 4 phases are Analysis, Design, Construction and Implementation.

The analysis step is critical.  If this is done properly, then the rest is ‘fairly’ easy.  It all starts with your ‘vision’ of how you would like your business to function.  Working with your consultant/vendor, you will make compromises where it makes sense.  Either the feature is too expensive or doesn’t exist.  The resulting ‘vision’ that is doable will dictate your expectations.  At this point all of your expectations should be doable – success is achievable.

I do like to point out early and often that it is a bad idea to change the requirements.

  1)      It is impossible for a programmer to program to a moving target.

  2)      Changes quickly add $ dollars to your project.

  3)      The longer a project takes, the greater the chance of something going wrong.

  4)      The more time a project takes, the more enthusiasm wanes.

Obviously, the odds of getting it absolutely right the first time is slim.

My Strategy…

Just do it.  Get the solution out there while there is some enthusiasm.  Get people using it.  Gather their suggestions of how to make it better.  Their suggestions will likely change what you thought should be altered.  Create new requirements for ‘Phase 2’ and go from there.

‘Phase 2’ becomes a new project.  It starts with a new enthusiasm and internal sales pitch.  If this project takes longer, it is OK because your company has seen ‘success’ and their expectations include knowing that the ‘Phase 2’ project isn’t just a pipe dream – it will get done.

Your PLM project, managed properly, can bring your company some significant financial benefits.  Now is a good time to get started.

Your Thoughts…

What has been your experience? 

From a John Stark article in his 2PLM Ezine…

A vision of PLM is needed to provide a clear picture of the future PLM environment.  Without a clear PLM Vision, companies can invest heavily in many improvement activities, yet fail to meet their product-related objectives. Development of a PLM Vision is the first step towards making major improvements in product development and support performance.

My Thoughts…

I agree whole heartedly.Last week, I discussed steps that a company can take that will increase their chances for success.  In another blog, I have said that implementing the software is the easy part while gathering the requirements is the hard part.

I have performed the analysis & design activities for a number of PLM projects.  Early on, I learned to uncover the customer’s vision for a solution.  A large part of a PLM sale includes managing expectations.  If their expectations [vision] for a solution are not possible, you will not have a successful implementation.  During early discussions about PLM, I ask the prospect for their vision of a solution.  We would work from there to talk about what is possible and what is not.  At some point, the prospect will have altered their vision of a solution to something they are comfortable with and can actually be delivered.

Amazingly, if you deliver what the customer is expecting, you will have a happy customer. 

I can’t stress enough how important it is to manage your prospect’s expectations.  Communications plays such an important part in the success of a PLM implementation.

Your PLM project, managed properly, can bring your company some significant financial benefits.  Now is a good time to get started.

Your Thoughts…

What has been your experience? 

Someone posed the following question on one of the LinkedIn Groups:

What is the biggest PLM [product lifecycle management] Challenge? 

Good Question…

Implementing PLM software is the easy part of your project - gathering the requirements is difficult.  If you have taken the time to accurately gather all of the requirements, configuring/coding up the solution isn’t hard.Taking on a PLM project is challenging.  There are steps you can take that will increase your chances for success?  In my experience, if I covered these bases in advance, the project went smoothly:

• Identify an Internal Champion – This person will be the internal sales person for this project.  This is not a one time sales activity, it is ongoing.  And, he/she can help you wade through the internal politics.
• Manage Change – People hate change.  A PLM project will not only change the way a person works, it can change the corporate culture.  Typically, the Champion leads your company through the changes.
• Manage the Project – You will need to identify a [good] project manager.  In order to secure success, select a cross functional team so that they can feel some ownership.  Be sure to involve potential nay-sayers – if they have some ownership, the nay-saying will be greatly reduced.  It only takes one unhappy person to derail a project like this – I have seen it happen.

From a project perspective, it would not be unusual to spend most of a year gathering requirements and only a few months on the actual implementation. 

Your PLM project, managed properly, can bring your company some significant financial benefits.  Now is a good time to get started.

Your Thoughts…

What has been your experience?  What might you add to this list?

Within a Business Process Improvement group on LinkedIn, the following question came up and it has garnered a lot of comments:‘Is it right to automate the As-Is Process?’

My thoughts…

This question applies to PLM as well as BPM.  If you weren’t aware, the engineering change process is the most expensive [complex] process in a manufacturing company.  When implementing your PLM software, you will need to configure it to manage your change process.  I have my customers start with the as-is process for several reasons.

First, companies that have successfully improved their processes have followed this tried and true strategy [process]: 

    1.      Document the process

    2.      Check to be sure you have it documented properly

    3.      Measure how long that process takes today

    4.      Improve the process

    5.      Measure again to see if you really did improve it

Following this strategy, you define the status quo, attempt to follow it and measure the results.  Step 4 should include removing non-value add activities and automating where feasible.  And then in step 5, you measure this implementation and compare it to your original as-is. Only then will you know if you were successful.

Second, if you thought you could come up with the ‘perfect’ process – I guarantee that by the time you implement it, you will find new ways to improve it.  So, the search for perfection is a wasted effort.

Third, implementing your ‘perfect’ process without measuring the existing process leaves you with no way to show that you actually have made any improvement.  ‘It just feels better’ isn’t measurable.It only makes sense to start with your as-is process.

Your Thoughts…

Where do you stand on the topic?  Contact me to share your ideas…

From an article by Marc Hafer, CEO of Simpler Consulting…

Waste isn’t to be found only in a company’s operations and manufacturing activities.  It can be a drag on innovation in the R&D department as well.

As businesses in every sector make their way through an uncertain economy, launching new products that deliver value to customers and create new revenue streams is a critical but difficult task.  The ability to launch products quickly and cost effectively has never been more important but also never more challenging.

My Thoughts…

Some reasons for the uncertainty - Economic news hasn't been good; Consumer sentiment hit a historic low; Job growth is not enough to dramatically lower U.S. unemployment; The housing market remains in the doldrums; And companies don’t know what is going to happen to their tax rates. 

Some companies will break out of this slump in better shape than others.  There are many strategies they could follow that might help them get there.

One strategy would be to get leaner.  In that article, they talk about reducing the iterations of the design process by moving more of it upstream to the exploration phase where it is cheaper.

New product development is a process that goes from idea to design concept.  Do you even know what your process is?  Now would be a good time to look at this process and find ways to make it leaner.  As the economy turns around, the companies that find ways to be leaner now will be the ones that break out ahead of their competition. 

PLM software can help you with this – Contact me to learn more.

Your Thoughts…

What strategies are being looked at in your company? 

Autodesk is taking a different approach to the PLM space.

For most companies, document management started in the engineering department.  The engineering departments have hundreds if not thousands of drawings that they must keep track of.  The first time that the wrong version of a drawing got to the factory floor, they began looking for solutions.

Early document management software was simply called EDM [engineering document management].  They provided a ‘Vault’ with check-in, check-out capabilities so that they could be sure of the ‘latest released’ documentation.  A few of these EDM software companies could even manage a bill of materials.

Over time, workflow was added to the offering so that companies could manage their engineering change control process.  This is the most expensive process in any manufacturing company.  This kind of software was referred to as PDM [product data management].

Autodesk has a product called Vault Professional [PDM] that provides Vault, workflow and allows companies to manage their bills of materials.  This solution resides in engineering departments – Bills of Materials can be ‘thrown over the wall’ or you can automate that task [think integration].

Since other divisions in a manufacturing company also have a need for Vault functionality, Autodesk is introducing Nexus 360 PLM.  This new offering crosses all departments and overlays Vault Professional.  It allows users to check-in, check-out any kind of document and adds a workflow component.

Why workflow?  The typical document is not stateless – it is either being created, changed, stored or published.  It goes through a process and the Autodesk offering allows you to map those processes.

The advantage to being late into this space is that Autodesk can address the problems encountered by earlier solutions.  We expect the user interface to be very user friendly and the software to be easy to implement – configure vs code.

I will publish more details when I have them…

Autodesk is taking a different approach to the PLM space.

For most companies, document management started in the engineering department.  The engineering departments have hundreds if not thousands of drawings that they must keep track of.  The first time that the wrong version of a drawing got to the factory floor, they began looking for solutions.

Early document management software was simply called EDM [engineering document management].  They provided a ‘Vault’ with check-in, check-out capabilities so that they could be sure of the ‘latest released’ documentation.  A few of these EDM software companies could even manage a bill of materials.

Over time, workflow was added to the offering so that companies could manage their engineering change control process.  This is the most expensive process in any manufacturing company.  This kind of software was referred to as PDM [product data management].

Autodesk has a product called Vault Professional [PDM] that provides Vault, workflow and allows companies to manage their bills of materials.  This solution resides in engineering departments – Bills of Materials can be ‘thrown over the wall’ or you can automate that task [think integration].

Since other divisions in a manufacturing company also have a need for Vault functionality, Autodesk is introducing Nexus 360 PLM.  This new offering crosses all departments and overlays Vault Professional.  It allows users to check-in, check-out any kind of document and adds a workflow component.

Why workflow?  The typical document is not stateless – it is either being created, changed, stored or published.  It goes through a process and the Autodesk offering allows you to map those processes.

The advantage to being late into this space is that Autodesk can address the problems encountered by earlier solutions.  We expect the user interface to be very user friendly and the software to be easy to implement – configure vs code.

I will publish more details when I have them…

Autodesk is taking a different approach to the PLM space.

For most companies, document management started in the engineering department.  The engineering departments have hundreds if not thousands of drawings that they must keep track of.  The first time that the wrong version of a drawing got to the factory floor, they began looking for solutions.

Early document management software was simply called EDM [engineering document management].  They provided a ‘Vault’ with check-in, check-out capabilities so that they could be sure of the ‘latest released’ documentation.  A few of these EDM software companies could even manage a bill of materials.

Over time, workflow was added to the offering so that companies could manage their engineering change control process.  This is the most expensive process in any manufacturing company.  This kind of software was referred to as PDM [product data management].

Autodesk has a product called Vault Professional [PDM] that provides Vault, workflow and allows companies to manage their bills of materials.  This solution resides in engineering departments – Bills of Materials can be ‘thrown over the wall’ or you can automate that task [think integration].

Since other divisions in a manufacturing company also have a need for Vault functionality, Autodesk is introducing Nexus 360 PLM.  This new offering crosses all departments and overlays Vault Professional.  It allows users to check-in, check-out any kind of document and adds a workflow component.

Why workflow?  The typical document is not stateless – it is either being created, changed, stored or published.  It goes through a process and the Autodesk offering allows you to map those processes.

The advantage to being late into this space is that Autodesk can address the problems encountered by earlier solutions.  We expect the user interface to be very user friendly and the software to be easy to implement – configure vs code.

I will publish more details when I have them…

Autodesk is taking a different approach to the PLM space.

For most companies, document management started in the engineering department.  The engineering departments have hundreds if not thousands of drawings that they must keep track of.  The first time that the wrong version of a drawing got to the factory floor, they began looking for solutions.

Early document management software was simply called EDM [engineering document management].  They provided a ‘Vault’ with check-in, check-out capabilities so that they could be sure of the ‘latest released’ documentation.  A few of these EDM software companies could even manage a bill of materials.

Over time, workflow was added to the offering so that companies could manage their engineering change control process.  This is the most expensive process in any manufacturing company.  This kind of software was referred to as PDM [product data management].

Autodesk has a product called Vault Professional [PDM] that provides Vault, workflow and allows companies to manage their bills of materials.  This solution resides in engineering departments – Bills of Materials can be ‘thrown over the wall’ or you can automate that task [think integration].

Since other divisions in a manufacturing company also have a need for Vault functionality, Autodesk is introducing Nexus 360 PLM.  This new offering crosses all departments and overlays Vault Professional.  It allows users to check-in, check-out any kind of document and adds a workflow component.

Why workflow?  The typical document is not stateless – it is either being created, changed, stored or published.  It goes through a process and the Autodesk offering allows you to map those processes.

The advantage to being late into this space is that Autodesk can address the problems encountered by earlier solutions.  We expect the user interface to be very user friendly and the software to be easy to implement – configure vs code.

I will publish more details when I have them…