John Stark Associates

The objective of the PLM Status Review is to describe the status of a company's PLM situation.

At its broadest, the scope of the PLM Status Review is the complete product lifecycle - "from cradle to grave", "from sunrise to sunset". However, in many cases, a company will prefer to focus the review on particular parts of the lifecycle such as Product Innovation and Product Development.

The PLM Status Review addresses 10 components of PLM - products, processes, product data, PDM, PLM applications, people, methods, facilities and equipment, metrics, organisation.

The PLM Status Review evaluates, for each of these components, the level the company has achieved. It positions the company at one of 8 levels, with an 'A' ranking being highest.

A PLM Status Review is usually carried out on-site. It can also be carried out by phone or by Web, but an on-site review is usually more thorough and leads to more accurate results.

The duration of a PLM Status Review depends greatly on the size of a company. For a small company it may be just a few days, for a large company, it may take several weeks.

The PLM Status Review is application vendor-independent. It has been carried out in companies using applications from vendors such as Autodesk, Dassault Systemes, Oracle, PTC, SAP, Siemens PLM Software and Softech.

PLM Status Reviewers are experienced PLM professionals with more than 20 years experience of defining and implementing PLM strategies and components in companies of various sizes from many industry sectors.

- provides a clear description of the current position of PLM in the company

- is a great starting point for identifying next steps in the PLM project

- can be used to describe the company's PLM status to potential partners and customers

- highlights the areas in the company where PLM is least advanced (these are often areas to be addressed in the next step of the project)

- highlights the areas in the company where PLM is most advanced (often potential areas of competitive advantage)

- highlights the differences between rankings in different areas (large differences can indicate a need for harmonisation)

- helps get visibility and consensus in the company about the real state of PLM

- aids in the understanding of a company's PLM capability

- provides quantified information for reports to business and corporate management

- gives a neutral view free from departmental and vendor bias

- supports development and extension of PLM strategies and plans

- helps coordinate product-related improvement initiatives

For more information about a PLM Status Review, contact John Stark Associates.