Product portfolio management (PPM) is somewhat of a hot topic. Way Back in 2006 Aberdeen was touting the critical nature of new product development indicating that in their benchmark study almost 25% of companies realize margins of 50% or higher on products that are two years old or less. A little googling will reveal how popular the PPM term is. Obviously it is critical to have a well managed process for bringing new products to market and PLM is very useful in this regard. What is surprising however is how few companies actually leverage PLM as a tool for controlling project management, resource allocation and other aspects of PPM within the context of their PLM application. I recently came across this movie again as I was flipping through channels and I decided I am going to write about how the "The Blind Side" relates to Product portfolio management. At the beginning of the movie she goes through an extended explanation about the importance of the left tackle in football accompanied with a graphic illustration of this via the infamous hit on Joe Theisman by Lawrence Taylor that ended his career. Upon reflection since my whole life seems to revolve around the aspects of PLM I was struck by a thought. PPM is the left tackle of PLM. Before you write me off as a technology obsessed crackpot give me a moment to justify my position. Executives of product development organizations can be considered the quarterbacks of their companies directing them down the field and calling the plays. Without visibility into how projects are progressing they can be blindsided by events and delays which can drastically alter delivery schedules and revenue. PLM and PPM provide management with vital data they need to make critical decisions. Marrying project data and tasks to the deliverables contained in a PLM system provides real time feedback that is essential in optimizing new product delivery. When it comes right down to it a properly implemented PLM system with PPM provides protection for the executive team to avoid being blindsided or sacked by the unknown much like a left tackle protects a quarterback.

Given the value PPM provides and the hype it generates in the market place why are so few companies leveraging it as part of their PLM implementation? Probably the biggest reason is the requirement for major cultural change in the product development process. A PLM solution provides the necessary tools to control new product introduction but typically most companies have conducted this activity in a less regimented and more fragmented way with responsibility being shared over a number of executive positions. Additionally, most executives are not necessarily heavy users of PLM technology. They do typically consume the reports generated from certain aspects of PLM but need to take a more active role in designing their company's PPM strategy. If you boil down the technical pieces of PPM in a PLM system they really aren't that exotic. You already have a mechanism to capture roles and responsibilities of users, the workflow and routing mechanism is already in place and just needs additional configuration to accommodate the new product introduction process and finally the data vault is already in place to capture the deliverables of assigned tasks. One of the major elements of PPM involves reporting and the executive dashboards. Executives need to determine what information is critical to them and then the PPM system needs to be designed in a way that the gathering of this information is automated. Most of the data in a PPM exists today in some form or fashion in a company but it is fragmented among various systems applications and locations. The gathering of the information is manual and time consuming. By the time the information is located and conveyed it is often too late to act on it. Being able to make decisions based on real time data as opposed to historical trends is a luxury for most companies today.

Culture and resistance to change are the biggest barriers to adoption of PPM. Companies are starting to recognize how critical new product development is and with finite resources to leverage for this activity strategic planning is mandatory. PPM gives companies the ability to prioritize projects based on return and timeframes and then monitor progress once these projects begin. Having PPM integrated into PLM makes perfect sense given the fact that the entire framework is in place to support the activity. While it is possible to implement PPM without PLM I do not think it is the most effective way to leverage the technology. I also think it is important to have a stable PLM system in place before you attempt to take on PPM. I think historically some executives were enamored with the potential ROI of PPM and tried to force it early and ended up with failed implementations. This type of experience can sour a company on trying to leverage PLM for PPM. As with all change it is best to try and shrink the change by taking it in steps and to shape the path by re-architecting process to be compatible with the system. Start with one project and then use it as a template for future projects and then you can start using the system for "what if" scenarios and start to project out which projects make the most sense. Eventually you will start to compile historical data that can be used to assess future projects and help your company avoid repeating the same mistakes. By putting a PPM system in place you will eliminate the guess work from new product decisions and have full visibility into your company's progress on these projects. Nobody likes being driven to the ground by a 275 lb linebacker and nobody likes being blindsided by missed deadlines or other unknown issues. Left tackles and PPM are critical ingredients in successful teams for football and product development.