This time it is again about learning. Last week, I read John Stark’s book: Products2019: A project to map and blueprint the flow and management of products across the product lifecycle: Ideation; Definition; Realisation; Support of Use; Retirement and Recycling. John, a well-known PLM consultant and writer of academic books related to PLM, wrote this book during his lockdown due to the COVID-19 virus. The challenge with PLM (books) is that it is, in a way boring from the outside. Remember my post: How come PLM and CM are boring? (reprise) ?

This time John wrapped the “boring” part into a story related to Jane from Somerset, who, as part of her MBA studies, is performing a research project for Josef Mayer Maschinenfabrik. The project is to describe for the newly appointed CEO what happens with the company’s products all along the lifecycle.

A story with a cliffhanger:

What happened to Newt from Cleveland?

 

Seven years in seven weeks

Poor Jane, in seven weeks, she is interviewing people on three sites. Two sites in Germany and one in France, and she is doing over a hundred interviews on her own. I realized that thanks to relation to SmarTeam at that time, it took me probably seven years to get in front of all these stakeholders in a company.

I had much more fun most of the time as you can see below. My engagements were teamwork, where you had some additional social relief after work. Jane works even at the weekends.

However, there are also many similarities. Her daily rhythm during working days. Gasthaus Adler reflects many of the typical guesthouses that I have visited. People staying there with a laptop were signs of the new world. Like Jane, I enjoyed the weissbier and noticed that sometimes overhearing other guests is not good for their company’s reputation. A lot of personal and human experiences are wrapped into the storyline.

Spoiler: Tarzan meets Jane!

Cultural differences

The book also illustrates the cultural difference between countries (Germany/France/US) nicely and even between regions (North & South). Just check the breakfast at your location to see it.

Although most of the people interviewed by Jane contributed to her research, she also meets that either for personal or political reasons, do not cooperate.

Having worked worldwide, including in Asian countries, I learned that understanding people and culture is crucial for successful PLM engagements.

John did an excellent job of merging cultural and human behavior in the book. I am sure we share many similar experiences, as both this book and my blog posts, do not mention particular tools. It is about the people and the processes.

Topics to learn

You will learn that 3D CAD is not the most important topic, as perhaps many traditional vendor-related PDM consultants might think.

Portfolio Management is a topic well addressed. In my opinion, to be addressed in every PLM roadmap, as here, the business goals get connected to the products.

New Product Introduction, a stage-gate governance process, and the importance of Modularity are also topics that pop up in several cases.

The need for innovation, Industry 4.0 and AI (Artificial Intelligene) buzz, the world of software development and the “War for Talent” can all be found in the book.

And I was happy that even product Master Data Management was addressed. In my opinion, not enough companies realize that a data-driven future requires data quality and data governance. I wrote about this topic last year: PLM and PIM – the complementary value in a digital enterprise.

There are fantastic technology terms, like APIs, microservices, Low Code platforms. They all rely on reliable and sharable data.

What’s next

Products2019 is written as the starting point for a sequel. In this book, you quickly learn all the aspects of a linear product lifecycle, as the image below shows

I see an opportunity for Products2020 (or later). What is the roadmap for a company in the future?

How to deal with more data-driven, more agile in their go-to-market strategy, as software, will be more and more defining the product’s capabilities?

How to come from a linear siloed approach towards a horizontal flow of information, market-driven and agile?

Perhaps we will learn what happened with Newt from Cleveland?

Meanwhile, we have to keep on learning to build the future.

My learning continues this week with PI DX USA 2020. Usually, a conference I would not attend as traveling to the USA would have too much impact on my budget and time. Now I can hopefully learn and get inspired – you can do the same! Feel free to apply for a free registration if you are a qualified end-user – check here.

And there is more to learn, already mentioned in my previous post:

Conclusion

John Stark wrote a great book to understand what is currently in most people’s heads in mid-size manufacturing companies. If you are relatively new to PLM, or if you have only been active in PDM, read it  –  it is affordable!  With my series Learning from the past, I also shared twenty years of experience, more a quick walkthrough, and a more specialized view on some of the aspects of PLM. Keep on learning!