How Do You Know Your PLM Project is in Trouble?

by Oleg on December 19, 2011 · 13 comments

Blogosphere and other literature are full of remarks about companies that stuck in different phases of PLM process. You probably had a chance to read Aras’ Frustrated by a stuck PLM project? blog post last year. Recent Autodesk announcement of Nexus PLM raised again many publications about the complexity and sophistication of existing PLM implementations. While time will show if Autodesk cloud PLM technologies will be able to reduce the complexity of PLM implementations, I’ve been thinking about how you can today to identify your own PLM project (if you are running one already) is in trouble.

I had a chance to read infoworld article earlier this week – Six lessons from lightning ERP rollout. Have a read and make your opinion. I especially like the following passage from the beginning:

Here’s something you don’t hear everyday: “Our SAP implementation finished ahead of schedule. Sorry, let me rephrase that. Hearing about an SAP implementation that finished ahead of schedule is like hearing that someone captured the Loch Ness Monster and turned it into a kiddie ride. It’s as likely as Bigfoot singing “La Traviata” at Lincoln Center. It’s as if you called a software company’s tech support line and the voice on the other end didn’t insist you reboot your PC.

This article made me think (again and again) about how you need to plan your PLM implementations. Here is my top 5 symptoms you should be careful about. When you discover them, you better check what you do with your PLM project:

1. You cannot control your PLM project budget. As R&D, you know that “shit happens” all the time. However, be aware – the achievements of your PLM system will be significantly diminished when you overspend 200-300%.

2. Engineers and other people in your company work around PLM system. This is should be a “red-flag” for you. If people think the system doesn’t work (or way too complex), check your fasten belt and run fast to understand what is the core reason for that.

3. The infrastructure becomes more and more complicated. You need more databases, storage, CPU, etc.You are probably familiar with that – after first pilot, the system requirements are growing. Watch carefully the fist production data load. Your bill of materials, check-in/out operations and some other elements are sensitive and your can run out of budget fast.

4. Vendor is pushing you towards the next release of their flagship product. This is another “red-flag”. Normally, it means something was over-promised by sales fellows. Watch this moment as well.

5. You start hearing that you will be able to take a full advantage of your PLM system when you completely integrate it with your ERP (and other systems) as well as migrate to another CAD system. This is, actually, the right time to stop and re-think what you do. The best talk with somebody who is not involved in the business of PLM vendors.

What is my conclusion? Looking up on what I wrote, I found symptoms that probably will be true not only for PLM, but for a broader range of enterprise software. However, as you probably know, in PLM and enterprise, one size doesn’t fit all. You need to have a diversity of knowledge and experience to make thing work. Just my thoughts…

Best, Oleg

picture courtesy digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Tagged as: Implementations, PLM, Projects, Troubles

  • Jonathan_Scott

    From my perspective, I think there is one warning sign that you can see even earlier in the process (before the project gets past the planning stage).  If there isn't a step in your project that provides some measurable benefit within the first 6 months, you should be concerned.  That doesn't mean that failure is certain, but I think its a bad sign.

    There are still companies doing “big bang” PLM deployments and maybe some of them are having success with that, but my company's projects are most successful when people start seeing benefits early and the project builds momentum into the later phases (instead of waiting until the end for a big finish).

  • J Mckinney

    A good PLM Cost/Benefit analysis done in the early stages of a PLM project let you know where to expect benefits and when to expect them; and then tweaking the cost/benefit model as you go also leads to a very predictable outcome.

  • Guest

    At one place I worked we were forced to use six sigma tools to find ROI … and even though the numbers weren't real, they pleased the bean counters. The big bang for your buck is managing CAD assemblies and forcing standardization throughtpart numbers rather than 'names' … junk1, junk2, etc. Native CAD systems (such as NX) allow the user to build their own folder heirarchy for loading and that causes trouble with multiple copies of parts in numerous locations. Part numbers and a good status/release wrokflow can remove garbage to the production line. JJust my 2 cents.

  • beyondplm

    Jonathan, thanks for the comment! Certainly having a measurable result in 6 months make a lot of sense. However, I think this is an attribute of smaller companies. Large companies are funning multi-year PLM programs and for them, 6 months can be too granular scale. Don't you think so? Best, Oleg

  • beyondplm

    Jim, thanks for the comment! I agree. Good cost/benefit analyzes can help to predict the trajectory of your PLM implementation. Best, Oleg

  • beyondplm

    Thanks for commenting! What do you mean by “Native CAD systems” (i.e. NX). I'm not familiar with this definition… Best, Oleg

  • http://www.stalkerplm.com/ Kulga Konstantin

    Oleg!Appeals to you Kulga Constantine, you and I met at a conference ISICAD-2008 in Novosibirsk.I sincerely congratulate you on coming New Year 2012!May the coming 2012 will be successful and rewarding for you. I wish you good health and well-conceived deeds of all the scientific and personal plans for further development!
    All the best.Yours faithfully. K. Kulgahttp://www.stalkerplm.com

  • beyondplm

    Konstantin, thanks! I wish you the same! Happy new Year!

  • Jonathan_Scott

    @09d35fcee6f03da0530330a278dd66a5:disqus - I agree that a cost/benefit analysis can be helpful. I think most projects have a life of their own, and they need to start small, build momentum, and work their way up to larger wins. So in a PLM project's cost/benefit model, I think it is important for there to be some kind of measurable benefit in the first 6 months.
    @beyondplm:disqus - Even in large companies, I believe getting something measurable done in the first 6 months is important. That measurable objective may be minor in the scope of the overall project goals, but I think it is very important.

  • beyondplm

    Jonathan, very often, people take decision based on their feeling and not based on precise calculations and analyses. What is your experience? Have you seen it in your practice? 

  • Jonathan_Scott

    @beyondplm – Absolutely, I see most decisions as emotionally driven and subsequently justified with analysis/calculation.

  • http://www.engineering-matters.com/ Chad Jackson

    I have to agree with you. I think organizations fall into two camps. In the first, there is some doubt in the organization's mind about the value of the solution they are considering and they don't do it. In the second, there's no doubt they want to do it, it's just about how they can justify it to executives. It's extremely rare when you see an organization build out a ROI to see if they want to purchase something or not.

  • beyondplm

    Chad, I've seen so many “group 2″ :) …

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