This weekend I spent a good amount of time out on the lake and my son and daughter and several others were attempting to learn how to wakeboard and surf behind the boat. I grew up on the water and have owned a couple of boats in my day so I am very comfortable behind the boat. Skiing and wakeboarding is second nature to me. I am not turning pro at any point but I can hold my own jumping wakes and doing the occasional trick. I was struck by how difficult it is to transfer that knowledge to others. Trying to explain to others the steps it takes to get up on a wakeboard or a surfboard is very difficult. I have noticed some similarities in trying to transfer knowledge to others about Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) as well. As consultants we tend to immerse ourselves in whatever PLM technology we implement and support and sometimes this makes it difficult to share with others how to use the technology effectively in their environments. This blog will discuss how to overcome these challenges and analyze the different ways knowledge can be transferred to end users and administrators attempting to leverage PLM in their companies. I will also discuss a couple of miscellaneous topics around PLM websites including our recent launch of our new review site PLMState. (http://www.plmstate.com).
I was listening to some of the other more experienced "boarders" advising my nephew on the best way to get up on the board. I was struck by the mixed messages he was getting. One person would tell him to keep the board flat until the last minute while another told him to turn it. There was a dizzying array of instructions that would make anyone's head spin. Unfortunately in the end he was unsuccessful in getting up. I also had similar struggles with my son and daughter. They are younger than my nephew and the physical aspects of the sport may have come in to play since neither has been around boats much and even though experienced wakeboarders make it look easy getting up can be a little challenging. I think the main problem we experienced was that there was no formal process for instruction and that no one person was in charge of communicating the information. Again I see parallels in the PLM world. As PLM tools become easier to use formal training becomes less emphasized and this can lead to challenges in adoption and system performance. Given our comfort level with the tools as consultants we can forget how difficult it can be for others who do not eat, sleep and drink PLM to understand how the applications work.
Another issue around training is the type of training materials utilized and the delivery method for the training. Web based training has become the platform of choice for delivering PLM training. Oracle has UPK, PTC has PTC University. Most if not all PLM vendors offer some sort of web based recorded training curriculums. While I really appreciate the value of this type of solution it has limits. Being able to access the training at any time and replay it as needed is very appealing but there is no substitute for interactive instructor led training. Context is critical when it comes to PLM. Providing generic instruction about the capabilities of the tool will only take you so far. In most cases each PLM implementation has elements that are unique to one company and their process and generic training cannot address this. It is important that companies adopting PLM or upgrading PLM allocate time and resources for instructor led training with their content as part of the project if they want maximum value from their system.
It is also important that the training being delivered have some structure and not be an ad hoc exercise where a consultant hops on the system and does a glorified demo via a web meeting. Their needs to be some thought and structure behind the curriculum that aligns with the companies value objectives for the project. This means companies need to expect some cost associated with the curriculum development and that consultants need to take the time to follow this best practice with their clients.
I wanted to take the opportunity to also thank Dassault for responding to my last blog with some helpful information about their site. I had pointed out a few issues in my blog article reviewing the Dassault site. One area that was mentioned in the response was a You Tube Channel that Dassault has created featuring numerous product demonstrations for PLM. I think this is a great resource and encourage Dassault to publicize this more aggressively in the future to provide benefit for their customers and prospects. I also wanted to express appreciation for the level of interest around our new website PLMState. We have received an enormous amount of traffic on the site and registrations for users on the site have increased significantly. Several PLM vendors and partners have requested to be included on the site and as I mentioned in last week's blog we are happy to list qualified partners and products. We will continue to expand the list of products and partners as we go forward. I encourage you to contact us if we have missed a vendor or partner you think should be included. I also want to encourage the community to start leaving constructive and informative reviews to help their fellow users. I think this site can be a great conduit to vendors and partners from the community and will help us raise the standard of technology and services which will benefit everyone in the industry.
To wrap it up knowledge transfer can be tricky. There are things that are learned from experience that are difficult to convey via training. Web training and videos are great tools but need to be combined with structured interactive training to yield the best results. If you want to end up on top of the water gliding over the wake you need a focused instructor otherwise you will end up being dragged around plowing the water with your face and feeling quite frustrated. Keep your weight back and your knees relaxed and soon you will be up on top enjoying the view and reaping the benefits of a successful PLM implementation.
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