Piloting Your Way to PLM Profits: Engage the Organization or Run the Risk of Failure

by Kalypso on July 3rd, 2009

Rapid prototyping using solid freeform fabrication has become a popular technique in product design. Prototyping allows designers to receive customer feedback and create multiple design iterations without the expense of scale production. Applying this concept to the design of your PLM solution can deliver similar benefits, especially when it is implemented as part of a comprehensive plan to engage your organization in the development process.

Conference room pilots (CRP) are a great way to solicit feedback from internal and external constituencies whose support is critical to success. Giving users the opportunity to get their hands on the solution and “take it for a test drive” will provide the implementation team with insight into what people like and dislike about the proposed design. In some cases, it may be appropriate to make changes to the design immediately and create a new “prototype” of the solution on the spot. That type of rapid response to feedback will be well received.

Topics: Perspective, PLM