Top 10 Ways PLM Initiatives Get “Stuck”

Top 10 Ways PLM Initiatives Get “Stuck”

Last week we did an interview with Peter for the Siemens PLM Community online magazine titled PLM Doesn’t Have to Weigh You Down along with our own blog post titled Frustrated by a Stuck PLM Project?

Then, yesterday I saw that Oleg had his own thoughts on the subject in BeyondPLM titled Stuck PLM Project and Leo Tolstoy.

While Oleg’s post seems to be focused on the financial problems that can cause a corporate PLM initiative to become “Stuck”, I thought that I’d put forth some of the other reasons we hear from companies quite regularly on why PLM Initiatives get stuck… many of which are NOT related to cost.  Things like Complexity, Vision/Strategy, Implementation approach, force-fitting the wrong tool for the job and others.  Here’s the full Top 10 list:

Top 10 Ways PLM Initiatives Get “Stuck”

1. Wrong Tool for the Job - Don’t buy a PDM System to do the work of a PLM System

2. False Starts - The consulting cycles continue to churn and go-live is nowhere in sight

3. One (GIANT) Step Implementation - Fastest way to overwhelm users and ensure system failure

4. Sticker Shock - PLM quotes can be hard to swallow, especially the ones with all those named user license fees

5. No Vision. No Roadmap - If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll never know when you get there – or how far off you are

6. Overcomplicated UI - Second fastest way to overwhelm users and encourage workarounds

7. Growing Pains - Everyone needs access, but there’s no way you can afford it

8. Poor Planning - Know your requirements, separate the must-haves from the nice-to-haves and prioritize

9. Gaps in Coverage - You can’t provide end-to-end results with isolated point solutions

10. Automating EVERYTHING - Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should - think before you automate

If there are other reasons you think I’ve missed here, please Comment on this post or send me an email directly (mlind at aras dot com).

There’s also a really good related article by Graham McCall over at AESSiS that’s worth checking out titled PLM Time To Value if you’re interested in this topic.

What’s your take? Is your PLM initiative going to be perpetually stuck because of one or more of the reasons on the list? Or is your company ready to take matters into your own hands and get results?