When I was young and Saturday morning cartoons were still the only way you could see super heroes I was always struck by how much Batman suffered in comparison to other members of the Super Friends. Almost all the other members of the team had some sort of special ability while Batman got by with gadgets and strategies. Superman could fly and had super strength and lasers shooting from his eyes and Batman had a utility belt. So it was not a surprise that he often took second billing to his more gifted team members. Process Man suffers a similar fate. He is often overlooked when it comes to implementing Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). Companies and vendors tend to fixate on the software and hardware and often forget the whole purpose behind why the software was purchased in the first place. Some PLM implementation partners offer up front workshops where they might train a cursory glance on process and then dive into defining file vaults, security models and workflows. Many clients also do not value this activity and want to cut to the chase of installing software as quickly as possible so that they can start getting a return on their PLM investment. As they say haste makes waste and not including Process Man in on the planning side of PLM implementations can lead to a failure of epic proportion. In the second installment of the Super Friends PLM team blog we will discuss the often overlooked and undervalued role of Process Man.
The one lesson we have learned from watching Batman is that ingenuity and courage can often overcome superior force. His clever gadgets seem to always appear just when he needs them most and get him out of many perilous predicaments. Similar situations arise in product development processes. Unless a company is willing to look inward and address fundamental issues about how they conceptualize, design and manufacture products adopting PLM can end up as we sometimes say in Texas like "putting lipstick on a pig". Process Man is someone who has been through the pain of failed product development he has seen how it is done wrong and how it is done properly. His background makes him an authority on how to herd up the cats and figure out the "as is" as well as the "to be" of product development process. He is wise beyond his years and bears the scars of spirited discourse. Process Man could actually come from either the vendor or the client side. Having grown up in inefficient companies and seen the toll poor planning and process takes on the company and its employees he has taken a vow to fight for optimization wherever he can. His enemies are apathy and inertia. It is important that he have a role in PLM implementation and that the role be prominent and up front. One thing PLM is typically not; is easy to change once it is in place so knowing up front what your key bottlenecks and highest value areas are will set the stage for success with PLM.
As we discussed above courage and ingenuity are Process Man's key attributes. Why courage? It is very easy for vendors and their clients to follow the path of least resistance when it comes to PLM. Vendors are taught that long drawn out IT projects are the bane of the industry's existence and once you start scratching at the surface of process optimization it can unleash a process that truly has no end. Stepping up and pointing out the most effective ways to implement PLM and where change needs to be applied in order to have success is not as easy as it sounds. Being bold and honest is not always the popular path and many companies would prefer to just apply band aids as opposed to really try and understand how to make meaningful improvement. Process Man is often the voice in the wilderness when it comes to strategic deployment of PLM. The problem is that by the time people realize he was correct too much time and money has been invested to change directions.
What are some of Process Man's clever tools that he can apply when fighting inefficiency and waste? Being prepared is one of his best weapons. Product development has been going on since the carving of the first wheel and there are consistent patterns that appear in product development companies that Process Man can anticipate. By leveraging formatted workshops and modeling best practices he can quickly identify areas of pain and how to overcome them. With some planning, data gathering, and clever use of diagram tools he should be able to effectively communicate how to make adjustments to PLM strategy to make the most impact and avoid just moving bottlenecks further down the process. Process planning does not have to be a long involved experience. With established methods and tools it can be very targeted and precise and be an effective compliment to the actual configuration of PLM.
Even though Batman lacked the physical tools of other superheroes at the end of the day with courage and ingenuity he still usually caught his man even if he did sometime need Robin's help. This leads to Thursday's article on Project Man, an essential partner for Process Man much like Robin was for Batman. We will discuss the need for dedicated project management resources and why they are necessary for successful PLM. Tune in to this same bat channel.
[Edit: Repost from 2012]
