Automotive PLM - Applying a Product Design Mindset in PLM Implementation

This paper draws an analogy between product development and PLM development in order to address issues which have been observed in PLM development projects in two different automotive companies. In particular it applies ideas from the methodologies of VDI2221 and systems engineering to address issues in requirements management, functional design, top-down vs. bottom-up thinking and outsourcing. The main findings include that PLM development needs a higher level of “process as the customer” focus in order to manage the requirements. Related to these are also proposals regarding the funding and organization setup which need to reflect the customer focus. Other findings include a possibility to apply ideas from VDI2221 and systems engineering to increase architectural considerations and focus on functions rather than solutions when developing PLM. Regarding the issue of supplier management the authors propose the use of Technology Readiness Level to assess the maturity of PLM solutions before they are implemented. It is concluded that methods and models from product development can be used in PLM development and their application should also facilitate the communication between PLM developers and product developers