Project Management

A Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) or Enterprise Content Management (ECM) will require a wide range of information technology expertise during implementation.

The team carrying out the work is typically comprised of a full time project manager and two or three experienced system developers. Additional resources may be required to conduct complex integration tasks, data loading, testing, and other situation-dependent activities. The Gateway PLM/ECM methodology breaks-down implementation tasks into the following phases:

Product Installation
The PLM/ECM team responsible for product installation will be required to load a complex software stack. The complexity of the baseline installation increases with the number of applications and integrations. The baseline installation process is not a one-time event. In order to deploy a real production system, the baseline will have to be installed several times. The developers require a process for producing a replicated baseline in order to:

• Reduce the effort to create each new PLM/ECM installation
• Maintain uniformity between development, test and production systems.

System Development
A qualified team with a broad range of IT skills will be needed to implement the PLM or ECM system design. Although out-of-the-box modules are available for many popular applications they do require varying degrees of configuration for the intended business processes. The complexity and skill levels required for development rise sharply when the tools are integrated with applications such as CAD or ERP. PLM and ECM systems are built on web-based system architectures that require configuration as well for enterprise systems to function. A development program leading to a PLM/ECM production instance will require:
• A well disciplined s/w configuration management process.
• A comprehensive test and remediation program.
• A disciplined approach to managing issues that arise with the software suppliers.

Procedure Development
Once a PLM/ECM system instance has been configured, tested and released, it is critical to communicate how to effectively use the system for its intended purpose. This is the focus of the Procedure Development phase. Those familiar with PLM/ECM applications will appreciate that leading products are rich in functionality, features and out-of-the-box modules aimed at reducing the programming effort to deploy a new system. As a result the menus, tabs and tool bars presented to a new user can seem a bit intimidating.

The project team should plan to develop use-case specific procedures and help tools to guide users through each new business process. The generic manuals and training offered by most software vendors will prove helpful but not adequate to meet user needs.

Content Migration
A PLM or ECM project may require data to be extracted from a legacy system and loaded into the new PLM/ECM system. The level of effort required to conduct the "Content Migration" phase is often under estimated. The project team should prepare a Content Migration Plan that includes:

• A content extraction process that describes the files, objects, attributes, and relationships moving out of the legacy system. It also identifies the requirements for any data extraction tools and/or scripts.
• A content load process that describes how content will be uploaded into the new system. It also describes the requirements for any data load tools and/or scripts.
• A content remediation process that describes how the integrity of the extracted files, objects, attributes, and relationships will be tested and issues remedied. Several iterations will be required for each data load to identify and resolve issues.

System Deployment
To obtain a rapid return on investment most PLM/ECM project teams deploy systems incrementally. The initial systems are often released for production within the first year of the project and then enhanced in subsequent releases.

Enhancements may include the addition of more users, new business processes and out-of-the-box applications. The system may grow in functionality through strategic integrations with CAD, ERP or other major applications. There may also be a need to upgrade the core PLM/ECM products over time. The project team should expect to retain system design and development resources for several deployment cycles. They should also expect to revisit most of the phases of this methodology as well in order to design and implement subsequent releases.