Program Lifecycle Management (The Unified PLM )
PLM is our core methodology for providing enterprise level integration and learning solutions. We developed this methodology based upon our experience working in and with Program Management Office’s (PMO’s). PMO’s represent the prototypical organization chartered to manage development and integration projects; whether these are referred to as PMO’s or not doesn't matter. The ownership designation and authority given to such groups represents the type of organizational framework that this methodology is intended to support.
PLM is the glue that binds it all together, the solution to complexity management
We intended this approach to be as flexible as possible so we studied carefully what we felt were some of the universal challenges that face typical IT projects and the organizations that manage them. The most common challenges we uncovered were:
- A lack of clarification and mutual agreement on detailed functional requirements
- A lack of traceability of detailed technical requirements back to the functional requirements
- Poorly defined roles and responsibilities
- Insufficient evaluation of support software & proliferation of such tools (for development, management, communication) without integration into the project before kick-off
- Insufficient coordination of support data (no central data model, no data integration)
- Inability for rapid response to both technical and organizational issues or crisis
- Lack of preparation in terms of gathering internal information (existing systems, customers, infrastructure)
- Lack of a clear transition roadmap within the project – i.e. correlation of systems development with system retirement, tracking of process evolution…
A System of Systems Requires A Lifecycle of Lifecycles
We immediately realized that these challenges tend to cut across what the industry currently classifies as separate and somewhat independent practice specializations within IT. We also noted that the majority of serious issues we had encountered in enterprise IT efforts seemed to be more often related to the organizational approach to the project rather than technical roadblocks. Now, that may sound somewhat suspect, but even many technical issues are not in fact technical issues but rather the result of misinterpreted expectations. For example, a decision to pursue a certain technical capability even though expert opinion has determined it may not be viable at the present time may obviously lead to technical difficulties in implementation and failure; however the true problem was not the technology but the inability of the organization to properly assimilate the pertinent knowledge about it.
So we examined several areas where there seemed to be a great deal of logical symmetry; Program Management, Project Management, Product Lifecycle Management and Portfolio Management. After a relatively short time it occurred to us that we were observing different levels of the same thing. It also seemed obvious that these pieces when fused together touched every aspect of IT. In a sense, each represents a Lifecycle of sorts and all of those lifecycles logically roll up into a single lifecycle which governs the entire enterprise. It can also be logically extended to any type of program that spans multiple enterprises. Thus, Program Lifecycle Management is the Lifecycle of Lifecycles or “Master Lifecycle” which governs all the parts of the puzzle. Moreover it provides a natural template or “master data” framework for all information exchange. This then allows for traceability across all levels and all stages of the component lifecycles.
A methodology is also more than sum of its parts; it represents a cultural framework and manifests itself through the atmosphere that surrounds a project. This atmosphere is often as important as any of the more technical details impacting the project and it is one of the most important factors considered in PLM. We address that by establishing a culture of communication and collaboration built on responsive, agile problem-solving.
