Session numbers apply to both the live and virtual live class structures
Sessions for the live class will be distributed over 5-days
Sessions for the virtual-live class will be distributed over 8 4-hour sessions spread over two weeks.
Pre-work: PLM Basics (self-paced module to be taken before live and virtual-live sessions)
Session 1: PLM: Key Concepts & Learnings
Duration: ½ day
Intent: The scope of this session includes the presentation of today's view and vision of the global PLM market and technologies. The overall intent of the session is to provide a broad overview of the PLM market, including trends, system architectures, and critical elements of success. This session will include presentations, discussions, and a set of interactive exercises.
Session Outline:
- Introduction
- Elements of a PLM Enabling Platform
- The Expanding Reach of PLM
- Today's Trends & Challenges
- An Introduction to the PLM Commercial Landscape
- PLM Benefits
- PLM Best Practices
Session 2: PLM Benefits & Potential Value
Duration: ½ day
Intent: This session reviews industry metrics used to measure and monitor the benefits of PLM implementations. Areas of potential PLM benefits will be presented by discussing results achieved by various companies that have implemented PLM. These case studies are taken from published literature and CIMdata's researched case studies. The focus of the session will be to describe how metrics should be used to help define a company's PLM strategy, define the company's PLM roadmap, select the most appropriate PLM enabling solutions, and much more.
Session Outline
- Potential Benefits of PLM
- Defining & Measuring the Costs of PLM
- Measuring the Value of PLM
- Introduction to a Benefits Appraisal Methodology
- Using Metrics to Steer a PLM Program
- Selected PLM Benefits Case Studies
Session 3: PLM Strategy & Solution Definition
Duration: ½ day
Intent: This session provides a set of detailed guidelines for PLM strategy development and solution definition. When properly followed, these guidelines will help an organization reduce the time it takes to define and create a PLM solution strategy.
Session Outline:
- Introduction to PLM Strategy Development
- High-Level Planning
- Defining a Strategy & Tactics
- Defining Business Requirements
- Implementation Strategies
Session 4: PLM Solution Evaluation & Selection
Duration: ½ day
Intent: This session provides a set of detailed guidelines for evaluating available solutions and selecting appropriate solutions to support a company's PLM strategy. When properly followed, these guidelines will help an organization reduce the time it takes to select the right solution for their organization.
Session Outline:
- Evaluating & Selecting PLM Solutions
- Developing True Business Requirements
- Developing Technical Requirements
- Selecting the Most Appropriate Solutions
Session 5: PLM Implementation, Monitoring & Continuous Improvement
Duration: ½ day
Intent: This session provides a set of detailed guidelines for implementing and evolving a PLM environment. When properly followed, these best practices will help an organization reduce the time it takes to identify and quantify associated risks and better manage and control project costs from the project concept phase through implementation and organizational adoption.
Session Outline:
- Why projects fail?
- Gaining Leadership Commitment
- Harnessing Project Management Skills
- Implementation Planning & Execution
- Communicate, Communicate, Communicate...
- Managing Expectations
- Assessing the Implementation
- Sustaining Your Program
Session 6: PLM Process Development & Testing
Duration: ½ day
Intent: This session provides an understanding how to best define, implement, and continuously improve PLM-enabled processes. The session will also present best practices for testing the process enabling PLM solutions.
Session Outline:
- Developing Business Processes
- Documenting Business Processes
- Sample Business Process Definition
- System Testing & Validation
- Process Ownership & Continuous Improvement
Session 7: Integrating PLM within the Enterprise
Duration: ½ day
Intent: This session focuses on PLM's role within an enterprise's overall information technology architecture (both process and data) and how to best approach the integration of various PLM solutions (e.g., via the implementation of a service oriented architecture), especially PDM technologies, with other enterprise IT systems, e.g., ERP, CRM, etc.
Session Outline:
- Introduction
- The Typical Enterprise IT Landscape
- PLM's Role in an Enterprise IT Landscape
- Integration Approaches that Work
- Other Issues to Consider
Session 8: AI in PLM
Duration: ½ day
Intent: This session focuses on how AI is used in product development—what it is, how it supports PLM, and how to decide where to apply it. This is not a general AI course. It covers what the technology is, the ways it is used to support product development, and how to decide where it’s appropriate to use. It frames AI adoption as problem-led—starting from product development problems worth solving, as opposed to the technology —and helps you understand why AI is worth attention now. The session also builds a working vocabulary for AI—places AI, machine learning, neural networks, and LLMs in context, and explains its building blocks (LLMs, RAG, AI agent, agentic AI), including why ungrounded LLMs produce confident-sounding errors. The session identifies what must be true for AI to succeed—the people, organization, data, and governance prerequisites. Market views from CIMdata’s research are presented: where adoption stands, where AI delivers today, and the governance gap AI users will experience. A decision framework to prioritize AI activities is presented—screen for fit, rank by value and readiness, source across the buy-to-build spectrum, and identify failure modes that stall projects.
Session Outline:
Part One: Understanding AI for Product Development
- Setting the stage
- Building a working vocabulary for AI in product development
- Mechanisms where AI shows up in a solution
Part Two: Making AI Work in Product Development
- Organizational and technical prerequisites required for successful AI implementation
- Deeper dive into market results from a recent industry survey
- Strategic guidance on prioritizing and implementing AI initiatives