A blog by Oleg Shilovitsky
Information & Comments about Engineering and Manufacturing Software

Top annoying things about PLM software.

Top annoying things about PLM software.
olegshilovitsky
olegshilovitsky
26 August, 2009 | 2 min for reading

PLM as a combination of technologies, software, and methodology came long way from initial CAD systems, followed by CAE, Product Data Management and Collaboration Software. Some of the PLM-software components are very mature, but some of them are still in the early beginning. While we’ve innovated in many PLM products and technologies, we’ve also continued to disregard pre-existing PLM issues.

Here my list about top annoying things in PLM with no specific order, however, I do believe I started with the most significant ones.

PLM Implementation Scope. PLM software pretends on overall control of product IP and data. By saying that PLM companies, in my view, try to boil an ocean and claim to support unlimited capabilities in management of information and business processes around product development and manufacturing. Multiplied by marketing and sales, PLM creates perception of “do everything” software.

PLM Uniqueness. Ability to support a design process, manage product data and collaboration presented as unique capability of PLM software. Such position creates perception of premium value provided by PLM software and, very often, disregards other available alternatives in managing data and collaboration.

PLM Complexity. I have to admit product engineering and manufacturing are not a simple topic. To manage such processes and data, software needs to achieve a specific level of sophistication and complexity. However, in my view, PLM often exaggerated needed a complexity level and sophistication. In the end complexity creates a significant adoption rate problem. These time people like simple words and simple software.

Terminology. PLM domain created huge terminological barrier for people to get into this space. Number of multiple buzzwords and terms create difficulties to understand business purpose and capabilities of software. Heavy usage of overlapping and confusing terminology put a very significant constraint on ability to use software and tools that come from different software vendors.

Bizarre User Interface. Because of a long life cycle of a software product, user interface is something that was development during many years and contain multiple “historical reasons”. Even if during last few years, user experience was priorities by most software vendors in PLM space, this is still pace requirement multiple improvement and innovation.

Slooooow…. After all, performance isstill one ofthe most discussed issue software vendors isfocusing on. Refresh time, Render Time, regeneration, display, view etc. All these functions are very time consuming and contains space for innovation.

Best, Oleg

Recent Posts

Also on BeyondPLM

4 6
28 October, 2014

  Few months ago, I posted about potential for Apple and IBM to open a door for mobile PLM future....

19 April, 2013

Technological predictions are tough and nobody wants to make them. Back in 2010, I came with the following post –...

25 February, 2011

CAD and PLM world is extremely competitive. The decision process in the manufacturing industry is not fast. Companies are spending...

17 September, 2014

Earlier today at Accelerate 2014 in Boston, Autodesk PLM360 team provided an update about PLM360 product, technologies, as well as...

14 October, 2023

It is almost 40 years after PLM was introduced by American Motors Corporation (AMC). Digital Engineering article PLM Stays Relevant...

26 February, 2021

How to approach a large mass market? Many companies in the software business asked this question when building their products,...

15 September, 2015

How are you doing this morning? About joining IoT world and create (or buy) IoT platform? You are not alone,...

18 June, 2009

Short note following Devon Sowel blog about SolidWorks on Cloud/SaaS plans. This is good continutation to thoughts and discussion started...

13 July, 2011

I like searching for new technologies. One of the technologies I’m following a long time already is so called “mashup...

Blogroll

To the top