Introduction To Development Process
The core of PLM (product lifecycle management) is in the creation and central management of all product data and the technology used to access this information and knowledge. PLM as a discipline emerged from tools such as CAD, CAM and PDM, but can be viewed as the integration of these tools with methods, people and the processes through all stages of a product’s life. It is not just about software technology but is also a business strategy.
For simplicity the stages described are shown in a traditional sequential engineering workflow. The exact order of event and tasks will vary according to the product and industry in question but the main processes are:
- Conceive
- Specification
- Concept design
- Design
- Detailed design
- Validation and analysis (simulation)
- Tool design
- Realize
- Plan manufacturing
- Manufacture
- Build/Assemble
- Test (quality check)
- Service
- Sell and deliver
- Use
- Maintain and support
- Dispose
The major key point events are:
- Order
- Idea
- Kickoff
- Design freeze
- Launch
The reality is however more complex, people and departments cannot perform their tasks in isolation and one activity cannot simply finish and the next activity start. Design is an iterative process, often designs need to be modified due to manufacturing constraints or conflicting requirements. Where a customer order fits into the time line depends on the industry type and whether the products are for example, built to order, engineered to order, or assembled to order.
Read more about this topic: Closed-loop Lifecycle Management
Famous quotes containing the words introduction to, introduction, development and/or process:
“Do you suppose I could buy back my introduction to you?”
—S.J. Perelman, U.S. screenwriter, Arthur Sheekman, Will Johnstone, and Norman Z. McLeod. Groucho Marx, Monkey Business, a wisecrack made to his fellow stowaway Chico Marx (1931)
“The role of the stepmother is the most difficult of all, because you can’t ever just be. You’re constantly being tested—by the children, the neighbors, your husband, the relatives, old friends who knew the children’s parents in their first marriage, and by yourself.”
—Anonymous Stepparent. Making It as a Stepparent, by Claire Berman, introduction (1980, repr. 1986)
“As long as fathers rule but do not nurture, as long as mothers nurture but do not rule, the conditions favoring the development of father-daughter incest will prevail.”
—Judith Lewis Herman (b. 1942)
“The process of writing has something infinite about it. Even though it is interrupted each night, it is one single notation.”
—Elias Canetti (b. 1905)