Product Lifecycle Management: Development to Retirement

March 5, 2025

Jon

BusinessInnovation, configuration management, LifecycleOptimization, manufacturing, PLM, PLMSoftware, product management, ProductDevelopment, ProductLifecycleManagement, ProductManagement, test management, verification

Agile and Lean, APQP, Business, Configuration Management, Cost Improvement, Cost Management, Learning Organization, Line Management, Management, Manufacturing, Organization Development, Process Improvement, Product Development, Project Management, Prototype, Quality, Requirements Management, Root Cause Analysis, Testing, Validation, Verification

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Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) streamlines product development, configuration management, verification, and testing. Discover tools for efficient PLM and overcoming lifecycle challenges.  This is not an article on the tool selection process, or those that provide these tools.

The genesis of this post is from a LinkedIn post that was subsequently taken down – for some reason.

Introduction

In today’s competitive market, businesses must efficiently manage products from inception to retirement. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) integrates processes, tools, and people to enhance product success. This article explores PLM processes, essential management aspects, tool selection, and challenges.  Before determining what tools we need, we must understand a product lifecycle.  We write a column for MPUG, and this article, MPUG Transformation Corner: The Intersection of Product and Project Managers, that might help.

What is Product Lifecycle Management?

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is a strategic approach to managing a product from initial concept through design, manufacturing, service, and disposal. It improves collaboration, enhances efficiency, and ensures regulatory compliance.

Common Product Development Failure Types

I am a fan of continuous learning. However, we need not learn all our knowledge from failures; from my experience, those lessons tend to stick. I am also a fan of learning from others’ mistakes; that has helped me greatly. Below is a list of failures we have seen or heard; this is not exhaustive.

Poor Market Research & Misaligned Requirements

  • Failing to identify specific customer needs leads to products that don’t fit market demand.
  • Lack of competitive analysis results in weak positioning.
  • Poorly articulated customer needs in actionable terms.

Ineffective Configuration Management

  • Undocumented and uncontrolled systems models.
  • Uncontrolled product design changes cause inconsistencies in production.
  • Uncontrolled process (and equipment) design changes cause inconsistencies in production.
  • Lack of version control leads to outdated or incorrect product specifications.

Quality and Compliance Failures

  • Inadequate verification and testing result in defective products.
  • Lack of release notes for product iterations sent to testing, resulting in testing inefficiencies.
  • Lack of test support processes
    • Connection of test cases to requirements (traceability)
    • Test execution tracking
    • Limited access to test results
  • Non-compliance with industry regulations causes legal and financial risks.

Market Adaptations

  • Lack of understanding of the impact of changes to the product on the system in which the product fits
    • Human system
    • Technical system
  • Inventory management and control for these adaptations and termination of older versions

Supply Chain and Manufacturing Issues

  • Poor communication with suppliers results in material shortages or delays.
  • Inefficient manufacturing processes increase costs and time-to-market.

Poor Collaboration Across Teams

  • Siloed departments lead to miscommunication and delays in decision-making.
  • Lack of a centralized system creates redundant work and inefficiencies.
  • Discrete systems rather than a flow, resulting in team rework, access, and availability issues

Ineffective Change Management

  • Untracked design modifications introduce unexpected failures.
  • Inconsistent updates confuse stakeholders.
  • Lack of connection of product changes to requisite test equipment and test case updates

Lack of End-of-Life Planning

  • No strategy for product retirement leads to unsustainable inventory costs.
  • Failure to capture lessons learned prevents future improvements.

Key Processes in Product Lifecycle Management

Successful PLM follows structured phases, ensuring seamless product evolution. These include:

1. Concept and Design

  • Market research, idea generation, feasibility studies
  • Computer-aided design (CAD) and digital prototyping
  • System model iterations
  • Collaboration among engineering, marketing, and design teams

2. Product Development and Testing

  • Configuration management for version control
  • Verification, validation, and quality assurance
  • Prototyping and product testing for performance reliability

3. Production and Deployment

  • Manufacturing process optimization
  • Supply chain coordination and logistics
  • Regulatory compliance and safety standards

4. Service and Maintenance

  • Monitoring product performance in real-world scenarios
  • Predictive maintenance and updates
  • Customer support and continuous improvement

5. Retirement and Disposal

  • End-of-life product management
  • Recycling and sustainability initiatives
  • Knowledge transfer for future product innovation

Essential Aspects of Product Management in PLM

Configuration Management

  • Tracks product changes and maintains version history
  • Ensures proper documentation and compliance

Verification and Testing

  • Identifies defects early, reducing costs
  • Ensures performance meets specifications
  • Provides visibility of test and verification results by all team members and key decision makers

Compliance and Quality Control

  • Adheres to industry regulations and standards
  • Increases product reliability and customer trust
  • Traces product delivery to specific manufacturing process

Operations

  • Enables inventory definition and control
  • Aftermarket and product documentation support accuracy

 

How PLM Tools Address These Challenges

  • Improved Collaboration: Centralized data storage for real-time updates
  • Automated Compliance: Ensures adherence to legal standards
  • Cost Reduction: Early defect detection minimizes rework expenses
  • Efficient Change Management: Tracks modifications with audit trails

Conclusion

Implementing Product Lifecycle Management optimizes product success by improving efficiency, reducing costs, and ensuring compliance. Selecting the right PLM tools helps businesses overcome challenges and maintain a competitive edge.

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Post by Jon Quigley