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* Welcome * Welcome to 2PLM, an e-zine distributed about every two weeks. This issue includes :
Once again SofTech, Inc. has teamed up with leading PLM authority, author, consultant, and speaker John Stark to deliver his insight and knowledge on the Top 10 Business Reasons for Implementing PLM. This latest whitepaper was developed as a follow-on to the 10 Critical PLM Facts Every Executive Should Know briefing that had been prepared as a result of the SofTech/John Stark Associates PLM Webinar Series entitled PLM: Understanding, Justifying and Realizing. The quick easy-to-read whitepaper spells out the top reasons businesses can benefit from the implementation of a PLM solution. Details * Wikipedia and our Dear Acronyms * Menno Huijben The other day, I was browsing in Wikipedia and looked up "PLM" (Product Lifecycle Management). According to the history page, the first entry was made on 15 April 2004. It was interesting to scroll through the different revisions (about 14 pages of history, with 191 different authors and/or IP addresses) and see how the definition has grown from a few sentences into the current seven pages. The discussion tab of PLM talks, among other things, about the difference between Product Lifecycle Management and Product Life Cycle Management. Well, I guess there is a difference - but frankly, this simple mind here failed to grasp the point. Looking up our other favorite acronyms showed:
Another way to look at this Wikipedia PLM definition is in a metaphorical way, with its long definition, the many revisions of the definition, and the underlying iterative, collaborative process. The long definition shows the PLM paradox and can serve as a warning: PLM should be about simplifying and gaining full control over our products throughout their lifetime. However, the, mostly top-down, approaches to establish this control, bring and reveal so much complexity, that the simple PLM vision becomes difficult to understand and to deal with. The existence of many revisions of the PLM definition as documented in Wikipedia is implicitly a very good way to tell what PLM is about. It starts with a simple vision, it continues with a long (Information Technology focused) implementation phase, and ends with something that very often only the insiders will perceive as created value. On a more positive note, such an iterative process, or one could almost say such an evolutionary process of making small changes and seeing how they survive a selection process, is also the right way to go about PLM: take small steps and correct what does not work. A top down "Intelligent Design" simply does not work. Writing this, it might seem that I'm gearing up to give yet another definition of PLM. But, no way, I cannot beat the collective contribution of 191 or so authors, and I do think that the information given on PLM is relevant and correct. What's my problem? Venting my continuous frustration on the mismatch between PLM as a vision and the reality on the ground? Yes, indeed. So, I guess I will continue now by reading the Wikipedia entries on (Organizational) "Change Management", "Learning Curve", "Organization Development" and "Data Quality". Menno Huijben is a senior advisor at Sofigate Oy. Sofigate is dedicated to improve the performance of Information Management in organizations, hands-on and down-to-earth. Menno can be contacted at an address of the type firstname.secondname@sofigate.com * Global PLM 2007 Survey * The Global PLM Survey is a survey of the status of PLM thought and practice in manufacturing and engineering companies throughout the world. Details. There is still time to participate. Request your copy of the questionnaire here. * PLM Strategi & Vision 07. 18 oktober 2007 * För andra året i rad arrangerar Tekniska Mässan konferensen PLM Strategi och Vision. Höstens bästa tillfälle att lyssna till det senaste om Product Lifecycle Managements (PLM) för mindre och medelstora företag. . . . . PLM Strategi & Vision 07. Agenda 
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