Comments on: Why is Implementing PLM Hard?

By: PLM Transformation: Easy, No; Costly, Yes. « Daily PLM Think Tank Blog

PLM Transformation: Easy, No; Costly, Yes. « Daily PLM Think Tank Blog — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:09:27 +0000

[...] blog posts related to this topic – “A PLM Success Story with ROI” by Jos Voskuil and “Why is implementing PLM Hard” by Jim Brown. Few days ago I wrote about how to move PLM to mainstream. However, my take in this [...]

By: prashant dhonde

prashant dhonde — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:04:41 +0000

Thanks Jim – It would be wonderful working with you on PLM Implementation

Thanks Enjoy,
Prashant

By: Jim Brown

Jim Brown — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:46:34 +0000

Prashant,
Nice to hear from you! Thank you for your perspective. You touch on a very interesting point that I try to stress to people when they are starting a PLM project. Think of the key people in your business that are really the starts – the ones that make things happen, the ones that get respect, the ones you can’t afford to be away from their projects – and free them up for the project. Not part time, not 1-2 hours, but dedicate them. If a manufacturer is not willing to invest the right people for the project, they will not get the results they are looking for. They may get a very good technical implementation, but they will not see the business benefits.
I am glad you say it isn’t hard. Remind me to pull you in if I ever need PLM implemented!
Jim

By: Prashant Dhonde

Prashant Dhonde — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:12:07 +0000

Implementing PLM is not hard! nor people are lazy

Many times PLM projects are started with core resources of company who are given the responsibility to implement PLM along with external consultants but not the time
Role of these people gets limited to just providing the information what PLM consultants are asking and they never get enough time to analyze outcome
or usefulnness of the data provided.By the time they start understanding PLM software behaviour ,consultants already finish up their project and their is no scope for further improvement

Most of these champions hardly get 1-2 hrs to work dedicatedly with team implementing PLM,that too sometime they spend on getting appointments from different groups

Solution I see here is to have PLM projects implemented with proper time frame considering availability of core resources of company implementing PLM.

Other aspect on service provider side is many of these companies are in rush to get the next order thus giving only the bare minimum services to customer without doing complete analysis of proposed solution

All of the above to be done within constraints of cost,competition and customer demands!!!

By: Jim Brown

Jim Brown — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:16:43 +0000

Scott,
I agree with you on change management, it is critical. A portion of change management is teaching people how to use the software (click here, click there, wait for this, enter some data, click twice, …) That can absolutely be improved with better user interfaces (along the lines of what Kenneth Wong is saying). The more “configuration” users can do to make their environment work on their own without changing code via “customization” the more usable it becomes.

Another portion of change management is teaching processes beyond the system, but how it fits into the busines. Enhancing software systems can help there too, because today’s systems are better at emobodying the process. But better systems is only a part of the answer, because companies have to figure out what the processes will be in the first place. Templates, industry-tailoring, and other advancements definately help here. But there is also a business analysis role that needs to be played, and new processes need to be put into the context of the user’s job.

The other part (or one other, maybe I am not complete) is organizational change management. Aligning the software initiative and processes with business strategy, redefining roles, changing workflow and responsibilities between departments (and getting the managers to agree to it), and getting the intended users of the system to see what it is in it for them (including performance metrics and incentive programs) are all important for success. And I am probably leaving things out, as I have been more on the “process” and “technology” side than the pure “people” side. These, unfortunately, the software really can’t help with. These are purely business functions that need to be addressed or the software might very well get implemented, but it will not return the “exponential benefits” as described in the chart early on.

So Scott, I feel like I am preaching to the choir a bit because I know you live this on a regular basis.

To net out my thoughts on this discussion:
1 – Yes, absolutely improve the software. Do it. No doubt. It will help.
2 – Don’t expect PLM to suddenly implement itself, even if the “install” becomes a 30-minute download or just pointing people’s browsers to a new bookmark.

Thanks to all for a great discussion on this topic. And thanks Oleg for getting it started.

Jim

By: Kenneth

Kenneth — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:39:20 +0000

Two things I notice about General Y, or the iPod and Facebook generation: (1) They like to be in charge of their own digital environment. They want to be able to set their own privacy levels, background colors, layout, and RSS feeds that appear on their virtual wall. (2) They’re comfortable mixing work and play, personal and professional interactions. To ask this demographics to work in a one-size-fits-all Excel-like interface where there’s no amusement of distraction to keep them engaged is next to impossible. Unfortunately, that pretty much describes most PLM systems.