P L M

Product Life Management______________________________________

MY DEFINITION

SKILL TO EXCEL FOR CONTINUOUS SURVIVAL

PRODUCT ?

According to Dictionary, it is –

• Some thing that is manufactured

• A consequence

• Result of Multiplication

FOR US, it is –

• End result of a process to be offered to market to satisfy a need.

• It could be a physical object, service or utility that is useful, desirable, convenient and affordable.

• It is totality of what a customer/user buys

• It offers value satisfaction to the customer

• The customer/user only can assign worthiness to it. It has meaning only from customers point of viewIt is used for ethical purpose

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

RAW MATERIAL

MANUFACTURING

TRANSPORTATION

UTILISATION

DISPOSAL/RECYCLING

RAW MATERIAL

WHY NEW PRODUCT?

In this era of Faster, Cheaper and Better,

• To stay in market continuously by retaining revenues, or even

• To enter into an existing market,

one has to offer to the user a product that is better than the one he is using.

HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?

New Business StrategyIdentifying of Improvement opportunity as obvious to personnel within the organizationMarket assessment

QUESTIONS THAT SHOULD COME TO THE MANAGEMENT:

• Where to start?

• How do we compare with the rest of industry?

• How do we compare with the best in industry?

• What are our strengths and weaknesses?

• Is our development process aligned with our strategic objectives?

• What improvements need to be made?

• What are our priorities within the resources that are available to us?

• What benefits can we expect?

• How can we figure this out quickly so that we can get started?

ASSESSMENT No organization can improve all aspects of product development at once.

Product development is a journey (continuing process improvement) rather than a destination.

Priorities need to be developed for implementing the best practices of product development.

The organization must start by understanding what practices should be adopted (what is possible).

Next, given its market, its objectives, and its competitors, it must consider strategic directions

e.g., time-to-market

being the low cost producer,

the most innovative producer,

the highest quality/reliability producer,

flexibility to respond to new products and markets)

Next, the organization must assess its strengths and weaknesses. By focusing on the "gap" between where a company is and where it needs to be

This is represented in the following figure.

P D B P A

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT BEST PRACTICES AND ASSESSMENT

There are five major dimensions to PDBPA

ORGANIZATION

STRATEGY

TECHNOLOGY

PROCESS

OPTIMIZATION

ORGANIZATIONORGANIZATION

Management leadershipManagement leadership Management Involvement/InterferenceManagement Involvement/Interference Product Development teamProduct Development team Organizational environmentOrganizational environment

STRATEGY

Business & Product strategyBusiness & Product strategy Product planning & management strategyProduct planning & management strategy Technology management strategyTechnology management strategy

TECHNOLOGYTECHNOLOGY

Product dataProduct data Design automationDesign automation Simulation & AnalysisSimulation & Analysis Computer Aided ManufacturingComputer Aided Manufacturing Support technologySupport technology Knowledge organizationKnowledge organization

PROCESS (of product development)PROCESS (of product development)

Process managementProcess management Process improvementProcess improvement Resource managementResource management Understanding customer (Requirement/Problem)Understanding customer (Requirement/Problem) Configuration managementConfiguration management Requirements and specifications managementRequirements and specifications management Design assuranceDesign assurance Development process integrationDevelopment process integration Supporting agencies integrationSupporting agencies integration Transition to productionTransition to production

OPTIMISATIONOPTIMISATION

The designs have to be optimized for;The designs have to be optimized for;

ManufacturabilityManufacturability Market PriceMarket Price DurabilityDurability PerformancePerformance TransportabilityTransportability MaintenanceMaintenance DisposalDisposal

X x x XX x x X

COMMON SHORTCOMINGS OF THE ORGANIZATIONS IN THE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS:

1. No defined product strategy or product plan2. Lack of resources

Will PowerSpaceLocationSkills/KnowledgeFinances

3. Inadequate understanding of customers inputs/requirements4. Constantly evolving specifications.

This is very critical. This, if happens in any product development process, will require increased designing efforts and repetition.

Any organization will never blindly respond to opportunities and customers needs. There is a business strategy that influences the response. Before commencement of the product development process a proper Product Plan has to be worked out.

PRODUCT PLANPRODUCT PLAN

A properly worked out product plan is helpful in resolving;A properly worked out product plan is helpful in resolving;1.1. Issues related to marketIssues related to market

1.1. Who is your customerWho is your customer2.2. What is his problem/requirementWhat is his problem/requirement3.3. Comparison with competitionComparison with competition4.4. Identification of the influencing factor in customers buying Identification of the influencing factor in customers buying

decisiondecision2.2. Types of products to be developedTypes of products to be developed3.3. Opportunities available from the developmentOpportunities available from the development4.4. Working out of resourcesWorking out of resources5.5. Positioning of the product w.r.t competitionPositioning of the product w.r.t competition6.6. Rationalizing Product Development prioritiesRationalizing Product Development priorities7.7. SchedulingScheduling8.8. Working out of Technology & MarketingWorking out of Technology & Marketing