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By Rick Carroll,
Product Data Management Information Center
Originally published
in the Winter 2000 Issue of PDMIC News
Greetings from the PDMIC!
This month we once again take a break from our series on
implementing a PDM solution. Instead of addressing the tactics and
strategies involved in choosing a PDM software product we will focus
on Management Roundtable's (MRT) "Design Anywhere,
Manufacture Anywhere" (DAMA) conference held October 16-18
in San Diego, CA.
The statement, "Design
Anywhere, Manufacture Anywhere", creates a visualization of a
world where products are designed and developed, uninterrupted,
around the clock as well as around the world. 3D CAD departments
scattered strategically around the globe, divided evenly by eight
hour time zones to ensure a 24 hour design effort for each project.
Multi-corporate, super design teams feeding off each other's core
competencies through virtual collaboration drastically streamlining
the product development process. Today's internet technology is
leading us into the realm of super achievement, creating a golden
age of product design and development. This era can only come into
being with change and acceptance by those who will benefit from the
use of new technologies. This is defined as "Cultural Impact" and
this was the primary thrust of the MRT DAMA conference.
From the pre-conference
workshops "Managing Co-Wired Teams" by Dr. Scott Elliot [PDC, Inc.]
and Dr. Brian Hughes [Agilent] and "Global Product Development --
Bridging the Cultural Divide" by Jerry McColgin [McColgin
Consulting] through to Wednesday's "The SuperTeam Approach" by Gary
Lenik [Pairgain Technologies] and "Managing the Virtual PD
Organization" by David Roach [Navitrak International], it became
very clear that the new thrust in advancement of the global product
development discipline will be centered on the management of those
persons working in that environment.
Much like the reality
faced by the DOD involving pilots unable to survive the
technological advances of their fighter aircraft's improved
maneuverability, the technology of virtual collaborative product
development may be at a point where the human component needs to
move forward to catch up.
Many innovative business
and collaborative approaches were presented during the conferences.
Some standout moments included Bob Berk's [Ford Motors]
presentation, "Parallel Design Across the Globe", outlining the
mind-numbing network of suppliers and partners that make up the Ford
collaborative web of development and how that network is being
managed; Gary Lenik's "SuperTeam Approach" presentation which
shattered all preconceptions concerning how to structure a project
design team and what that team can accomplish with minimal member
time investment and commitment; and (my favorite) Andrew McGrath's
[British Telecom] extremely popular presentation "Virtual
Collaboration, Community and Culture" which showcased a video game
style animation product which enabled virtual collaboration team
members to replicate daily human office interaction on screen
(meetings, chance encounters in a virtual hallway, etc.) This
product seemed to amplify the feeling that one got from this
conference that the cultural impact of true global virtual
collaboration will have to be addressed to ensure the maximum
benefit of this newest product development evolution.
Of course, the technology
of virtual team collaboration was properly addressed in several case
studies and most notably during Mark Silvestri's [Life Cycle
Solutions Inc.] pre-conference workshop "Enabling Technology for
Virtual Collaboration with Contractors and Partners". Mark's
presentation was effectively timed to answer the question, "What is
available to help us put together this collaboration network that
you are describing?". His vision of "portals in combination with
ASPs in Collaborative Product Commerce as a revolutionizing
influence, making this technology accessible to small and mid-sized
firms that make up the supply chain" set a tone that was echoed
throughout the rest of the conference. Again, the business model
dominated the technological even as the enabling technology was the
focus of discussion.
What does this all mean?
As Dave Howells [CSC] seemed to stress in his conference wrap-up,
although the technology is definitely there and the business plans
are evolving to better take advantage of that which the technology
has enabled, managing the human factor in 24/7 product design and
multi-corporate virtual collaboration, across physical and cultural
divides stands as the next frontier to be conquered. Clever
animation software can help us to feel connected, aggressive virtual
contact can help with the minutia of personal interaction, but the
basic need for humans to look their partners in development directly
in the eye at times may be something deeper and harder to compensate
for through any technology. As in the early years of the 20th
century, when the users of the new technology had to make the
adjustment from reins to a steering wheel, this may take a new
generation, raised within these technological environs to make the
true leap required to take total advantage of what this new
technology has to offer. Of course, by then, who knows what cultural
challenges they will be facing.
Management Roundtable's
Design Anywhere, Manufacture Anywhere conference professionally,
logically and comfortably presented at the Hilton Beach and Tennis
Resort in beautiful San Diego, California posed a lot of questions,
answered many, and most of all, took a hard look at aspects of the
future of product development that may take more than a software
design team to address.
...Read another review of DAMA1 by Mid Range Enterprise Magazine |
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