Other

March 24, 2026

An Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG)-sponsored project team undertook the challenge of advancing industry’s awareness and understanding of the current practical value potential of digital twin-digital thread (Dtw-Dth) investment. They did this by benchmarking use cases using commercial...

An Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG)-sponsored project team undertook the challenge of advancing industry’s awareness and understanding of the current practical value potential of digital twin-digital thread (Dtw-Dth) investment. They did this by benchmarking use cases using commercially available Dtw-Dth solutions, including software and services. Domain experts from AD PAG member companies partnered with four industry organizations and engaged with seven leading solution providers to execute the benchmarks. An initial set of use cases was proposed by domain expert members of the AD PAG Digital Twin-Digital Thread project team. All four partnering organizations contributed use cases from their internal Dtw-Dth project libraries. The use case selection and refinement process with each of the solution providers followed a structured, collaborative approach to ensure the most relevant and well-defined scenarios were chosen for demonstration. In the end, 28 use cases were selected for demonstration. This document is a reference resource offered to the PLM community that captures all 80 use cases created and assembled in the course of the benchmark project. That includes the initial set of use cases drafted by the AD PAG Dtw-Dth project team plus the use cases contributed by the partnering organizations and the use cases negotiated with the participating solution providers.

Research Report

December 16, 2025

An Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG)-sponsored project team proposed advancing industry’s awareness and understanding of the current practical value potential of digital twin-digital thread (Dtw-Dth) investment by benchmarking use cases using commercially available Dtw-Dth solutions, i...

An Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG)-sponsored project team proposed advancing industry’s awareness and understanding of the current practical value potential of digital twin-digital thread (Dtw-Dth) investment by benchmarking use cases using commercially available Dtw-Dth solutions, including software and services. Domain experts from seven AD PAG member companies partnered with four industry organizations and engaged with seven leading solution providers to execute the benchmarks. Results were consolidated, analyzed, and configured so each participating solution provider could view the benchmark scores and evaluator observations for their solution. Publicly reported results were generalized to mask specific solution performance. This report documents 1) a catalog of use cases representative of Dtw-Dth value opportunities across all lifecycle stages for aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their supply chain, and 2) the findings and conclusions from evaluating the capability of commercially available solutions to perform those use cases. Recognizing the topic’s breadth and state of maturity, the Dtw-Dth Benchmark inquiry was not focused solely on “measuring how well it is done” but more broadly on “understanding how it is done, what is real today, and where it is going.” The report describes an evolving landscape of highly capable commercial solutions characterized by varied approaches, uneven maturity, and a clear set of technological and organizational challenges that must be addressed to unlock the full potential of this paradigm. It concludes that the current practical value potential of Dtw-Dth investment is real and substantial, as verified by the demonstration of very powerful Dtw-Dth solutions in existence in industry today.

Presentation

December 9, 2025

The Value Potential of Digital Twins and Digital Threads – Results of Recent Industry Research - a presentation made at PLM Road Map NA 2025 Digital thread and digital twin are inspiring in their simplicity and implied power to render accessible all desired information about a product at any sta...

The Value Potential of Digital Twins and Digital Threads – Results of Recent Industry Research - a presentation made at PLM Road Map NA 2025 Digital thread and digital twin are inspiring in their simplicity and implied power to render accessible all desired information about a product at any stage of its lifecycle. While there are examples of digital threads and digital twins, the knowledge of what is possible today and how to build digital threads and twins is not well understood. The Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG) partnered with AIAA, OMG, Prostep iViP, and SAE International and engaged with seven digital twin-digital thread solution providers to address three research objectives: the broad assessment of commercially available solutions, the mutual education and alignment of thought leaders, and the advancement of industry’s understanding of the what, why, and how of digital twin-digital thread investment. This presentation summarizes this groundbreaking effort to engage a wide range of experts in curating their knowledge and making it generally available. The presentation originally made at PLM Road Map Europe 2025 summarizes findings from the recent benchmark study.

Presentation

June 10, 2025

AD PAG Digital Twin/Digital Thread Benchmark - a presentation made at PLM Road Map NA 2025 The PLM AG Digital Twin and Digital Thread benchmark study is a broad assessment of the capabilities of commercially available digital twin/digital thread solution offerings by PLM solution providers and PLM...

AD PAG Digital Twin/Digital Thread Benchmark - a presentation made at PLM Road Map NA 2025 The PLM AG Digital Twin and Digital Thread benchmark study is a broad assessment of the capabilities of commercially available digital twin/digital thread solution offerings by PLM solution providers and PLM solution integrators. The key objectives of the study were to mutually educate and align thought leaders from industry and leading solution providers on digital twin/digital thread use cases and solution strategies to advance the industry’s awareness and understanding of the current practical value potential of digital twin/digital thread investments. Several major industry organizations, including the AD PAG, AIAA, Object Management Group Digital Twin Consortium, ProStep IVIP, and SAE International, developed a set of use cases and engaged with seven digital thread and digital twin solution providers to test and evaluate their implementation and performance. This presentation originally made at PLM Road Map NA 2025, summarizes the early findings from the benchmark study.

Position Paper

November 2, 2023

The Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG) collectively sponsored a team of industry experts from AD PAG member companies to define objectives, requirements, and roadmaps for digital twin/thread solutions. In Phase 1 the team conducted research that identified a plethora of digital twin/thr...

The Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG) collectively sponsored a team of industry experts from AD PAG member companies to define objectives, requirements, and roadmaps for digital twin/thread solutions. In Phase 1 the team conducted research that identified a plethora of digital twin/thread concepts and definitions. A method of describing this phenomenon was prepared to organize and understand the definitions. In support of preparing the A&D industry’s digital twin/thread definitions, the team prepared constructs to describe the intended functionality and utility of the digital twin/thread. The resulting A&D industry definitions are the collaborative work of representatives from several leading A&D companies. In Phase 2 the team published the Digital Twin/Digital Thread Solution Definition for Aerospace and Defense: Phase 2 - Problem, Objectives, Proposed Definitions, Go Forward position paper for the A&D industry. The purpose of this document was to facilitate an industry baseline definition and understanding of the current capabilities of the digital twin/thread in the A&D industry. In Phase 3 the team published the Digital Twin/Digital Thread Solution Definition for Aerospace and Defense: Phase 3 - Business Architecture Frameworks/Methodologies, an evaluation of business architecture frameworks and methodologies to determine applicability to the digital twin/thread. The purpose of the document was to provide an understanding of the current state of architecture frameworks and the architecture methods relative to the digital twin/thread, as well as to identify the specific architecture constructs needed to support the digital twin/thread constructs. In this Phase 4 the team reviewed popular business architecture frameworks and associated methodologies of digital twin/thread standards to determine their utility as related to the digital twin/thread definition in Phase 2.

Research Report

August 1, 2023

CIMdata, on behalf of the Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG), has conducted a collaborative research effort with multiple PLM solution providers to gain an understanding of needs and opportunities within the industry on the topic of digital thread. The shared objective of the particip...

CIMdata, on behalf of the Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG), has conducted a collaborative research effort with multiple PLM solution providers to gain an understanding of needs and opportunities within the industry on the topic of digital thread. The shared objective of the participants was to align perspectives on the topic and have a meaningful impact on the providers’ solution strategies and roadmaps. CIMdata was responsible for project management and creation of project artifacts. The project used two methods to gather information: subject matter expert (a.k.a. domain expert) interviews and an online survey. The primary information source for analysis and reporting was the set of responses to the web-based survey. These responses represent a broad community and, as answers to a set of closed-ended questions, lend themselves to statistical analysis. The responses to each question are summarized in charts or graphs. The range of survey responses to each question are compared to the interview responses to that question and any significant differences are noted. At the end of the report, CIMdata offers summary observations for consideration by the AD PAG members and the PLM solution provider sponsors.

Position Paper

February 6, 2023

The Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG) collectively sponsored a team of industry experts from AD PAG member companies to define objectives, requirements, and roadmaps for digital twin/thread solutions. In Phase 1, the team conducted research that identified a plethora of digital tw...

The Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG) collectively sponsored a team of industry experts from AD PAG member companies to define objectives, requirements, and roadmaps for digital twin/thread solutions. In Phase 1, the team conducted research that identified a plethora of digital twin/thread concepts and definitions. A method of describing this phenomenon was prepared to organize and understand the definitions. In support of preparing the A&D industry’s digital twin/thread definitions, the team prepared constructs to describe the intended functionality and utility of the digital twin/thread. These resulting A&D industry definitions are the collaborative work of representatives from several leading A&D companies. In Phase 2, the team published the Digital Twin/Digital Thread Solution Definition for Aerospace and Defense position paper for the A&D industry. The purpose of this document was to facilitate an industry baseline definition and understanding of the current capabilities of the digital twin/thread in the A&D industry. In this Phase 3, the team reviewed popular business architecture frameworks and associated methodologies to determine the utility related to digital twin/thread as defined in Phase 2.

Position Paper

July 31, 2022

The Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG) collectively sponsored a team of domain experts from AD PAG member companies to define objectives, requirements, and roadmaps for digital twin/thread solutions. In Phase 1, the team conducted research that identified a plethora of digital twin/...

The Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG) collectively sponsored a team of domain experts from AD PAG member companies to define objectives, requirements, and roadmaps for digital twin/thread solutions. In Phase 1, the team conducted research that identified a plethora of digital twin/thread concepts and definitions. A method of describing this phenomenon was prepared to organize and understand the definitions. In support of preparing the A&D industry’s digital twin/thread definitions, the team prepared constructs to describe the intended functionality and utility of the digital twin/thread. The resulting A&D industry definitions are the collaborative work of representatives from several leading A&D companies. This Phase 2 project deliverable is a digital twin/thread position paper for the A&D industry. The purpose is to facilitate an industry baseline definition and understanding of the current capabilities of the digital twin/thread in the A&D industry. NOTE: Contributions were provided by industry domain experts, each representing their company’s perspective. Therefore, differing perspectives exist within this document. Retaining these perspectives substantiates the objectives of this paper, which are to define a framework to rationalize the differing perspectives and, more importantly, to reach a consolidated objective and definition of the digital twin/thread concept.