Integral PLM Solution to Product Development Challenges and Supporting Technologies

Product development today is more complex and more difficult than ever. Manufacturers face significant challenges understanding the full impact of changes proposed at various stages of development, and demand for collaboration is at an all-time high. At the same time Product Development differs from Manufacturing in that the objective is to create a digitally validated representation of the product and manufacturing processes, rather than physical product. The flow of digital product and process information between the different stakeholders involved in product development is critical to the performance of product development processes. The main challenge is to create and communicate this information with minimum waste. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) offers the solution from planning to support, across all applicable departments, and throughout the entire supply chain. By working with complete digital product representations, teams can quickly experiment, make changes, perform what-if scenarios, refine designs, and more. Technologies supporting product development processes notably define and impact the information flow. When product development technologies involve multiple point solutions that manage independent views of the digital Product (i.e., the MCAD view, the BOM view, the cost view) it is nearly impossible for various users to piece together a consistent picture or maintain integrity between the views. Product development environment with multiple disconnected tools and databases that house different information product is still common. There are many barriers to information transfer and availability — and as a result there is little information flow. At a high level, an integral product development system, a single source of truth for product data whose components are designed to work together seamlessly, can greatly streamline information flow. Information fidelity is not compromised, and as a result information flows rapidly and consistently. PTC’s Product Development System (PDS) represents such integrated PLM solution that manages interdependencies across all forms of product information, so that everyone on the team can easily understand how their input impacts the overall product. There are key process principles or initiatives that a company may choose to focus on to reduce waste in product development: front loading, visual planning and tracking, standardizing work, systematic knowledge capture and reuse, closer manufacturing and supplier partnering, and improving the efficiency of review or collaboration activities. This lecture is going to focus on making the connection with relevant technologies that can play a critical supporting role, and on software components of Product Development System representing corresponding technology enablers.