Daily PLM Think Tank Blog

Well, Product Lifecycle Management sounds like a very profound concept. I can see organizational benefits, values, etc… etc… But I’m not buying yet! You are probably familiar with such behavior – it all sounds good, but people are keeping their positions and not moving. So, I tried to analyze and talk with a few of our customers.

Here is my list of “why I’m not buying yet”?

1. Complexity. This is key. I mentioned it yesterday in a separate blog post called “Complexity Kills…”. It’s too complex to be true. I’m afraid that when I start following all the processes, recommendations, models, and user interfaces…. I see too much. So, in this situation, my reaction is – you guys are too smart and too complex for me.

2. Need to change the way I work. PLM comes with a state of mind “We know how to change it — believe me!” My user’s position here is that I want be able first to see how PLM handles my environment. So, from this standpoint, I want the company to be able to implement PLM, see how it works in not optimized way and then optimize everything.

3. Additional hassle to handle. Unfortunately, this is another system on the table. I need to learn it, handle it separately, ultimately work on this system separately. So, I don’t like this idea  …

4. Want LEGO approach. This is want I want. I want my PLM LEGOLAND. I want to add blocks as easily as possible – to play with them, allow to users to play with them, and only after we’ll see how it flies in the organization – by moving it to the user’s daily work. And… one more thing: Users need to be part of this process. They need to provide inputs interactively– not only to see it.

So, what is my bottom line? I want to go with the Toyota approach – “test before design”.  So, afterwards, we will make the system simple — the main approach will be to see how the system can work in the organization AS IS, use it, and improve it with small steps. All this will help people want to buy PLM to improve their daily work within their organizations.

What do you think?