Of PLM Vision, Strategy and Planning

This chapter is the first of several that address Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Vision and Strategy. One of the many confusing things for someone trying to develop a coherent approach to PLM is to understand the various ways in which words such as vision, mission, objectives, strategy, plan, metrics, structure and policy are used and understood. They’re often used with different meanings in different situations and by different authors. This chapter defines these terms in the context of PLM. A PLM Vision is defined as a high-level conceptual description of a company’s product lifecycle activities at some future time. It provides a Big Picture to guide people in the choices they have to make, when strategising and planning, concerning resources, priorities, capabilities, budgets, and the scope of activities. There’s a saying, “a ship without a destination doesn’t make good speed”. Without a PLM Vision, people won’t know what they should be working towards, so won’t work effectively. They’re unlikely to get to a suitable destination. This chapter explains that, to achieve the PLM Vision, two strategies need to be developed, the PLM Strategy and the PLM Implementation Strategy. The PLM Strategy shows how PLM resources will be organised in the future, envisioned environment. The Implementation Strategy shows how resources will be organised to achieve the change from the current environment to the future environment.