Data Migration: A summary of my posts!

Over the last 3+ months, I have outlined my thoughts on data migration. In order to be successful with large scale implementations of business systems like (ERP, PLM, CRM, BPM etc.), data migration is a key element.

Data migration is often ignored and not enough attention is paid to this portion of the overall project.

The methodology I have outlined in these posts can be applied to a number of projects including data consolidation, server consolidation, migration from one application to another and the list goes on.

The key is to pay attention to the business needs and to make them successful by taking care of the technology and project management issues!

Good Luck.


1. Data Migration: Challenges & Joy!
http://improveprocess.blogspot.com/2009/07/data-migration-challenges-joy.html

2. Data Migration: Challenges & Joy!
http://improveprocess.blogspot.com/2009/07/data-migration-challenges-joy-part-2.html

3. Rules For Successful Data Migration
http://improveprocess.blogspot.com/2009/07/rules-for-successful-data-migration.html

4. Phases of Data migration
http://improveprocess.blogspot.com/2009/07/phases-of-data-migration.html

5. Phases of Data migration
http://improveprocess.blogspot.com/2009/07/phases-of-data-migration.html

6. Phases of Data migration: Analysis
http://improveprocess.blogspot.com/2009/07/phases-of-data-migration-analysis.html

7. Phases of Data migration: Design
http://improveprocess.blogspot.com/2009/07/phases-of-data-migration-design.html

8. Phases of Data migration: Test
http://improveprocess.blogspot.com/2009/08/phases-of-data-migration-test.html

9. Phases of Data migration: Validation
http://improveprocess.blogspot.com/2009/09/phases-of-data-migration-validation.html

10. Data migration: Risks
http://improveprocess.blogspot.com/2009/09/data-migration-risks.html

11. Tips for Successful Data Migration.
http://improveprocess.blogspot.com/2009/10/tips-for-successful-dat-migration.html

"Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are my own only and in no way represent the views, positions or opinions - expressed or implied - of my employer (present and past) "
"Please post your comments - Swati Ranganathan"

Tips for Successful Data Migration.

1. Maintain your sense of humor.
2. Expect delays and/or road blocks.
3. Run the data migration using traditional project principles.
4. Secure alignment and approval from steering committee and stakeholders as changes occur.
5. Appreciate the inter-dependencies.
6. Understand your business process, data, system and application landscape. (Devil is in the details)
7. Get the right software tools.
8. Use the right resources.
9. Plan for down time.
10. Perform at least two dry runs (Wash Rinse Repeat)
11. Develop risk mitigation plan.
12. Communicate your plan early and socialize with all impacted users.

"Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are my own only and in no way represent the views, positions or opinions - expressed or implied - of my employer (present and past) "
"Please post your comments - Swati Ranganathan"

What is PLM?

Product lifecycle management systems (PLM) were developed to help organizations control documentation, product structure and manage engineering change order (ECO, ECN, ECR etc.).

Product data management systems (PDM) have existed for a while prior to the development of PLM systems. The key differentiator between the two being lifecycle management in addition to data management. In most organizations, the engineering change process was

(1) Manual (process) with inefficiencies in handoffs between departments,
(2) Inability or lack of capability to capture financial impact
(3) Lack of awareness of extent/impact of changes and
(4) Unable to meet cycle time expectations.

As organizations continued to mature in their business processes (New product introduction, phase gate product introduction, product portfolio management, design for excellence [DFX, DFM], Excess and Obsolete inventory management, Effectivity dates) and business system usage (ERP, MRP, CRM), a need for a more comprehensive solution became compelling.

Research into product costs over its lifecycle has indicated that a focus on getting the design right earlier in the alpha/beta stages provides the maximum benefit. In order to get the design right so early can be tricky…effective business processes with right enabling technology will be the key to success to improve time to market and reduced costs across the lifecycle.

Three different sets of companies started developing PLM software
(1) traditionally CAD centric software companies, enhanced their PDM systems with additional capabilities
(2) ERP companies enhanced their core capabilities with enhanced workflow and document management features
(3) Pure PLM software vendors, which built their engines on basic needs of their customer base with extensive integrations to CAD (upstream data) and ERP/MRP/CRM systems.

There has been some amount of consolidation and over the years, PLM as a technology has matured and has added more and more features for e.g.
(1) Supplier collaboration
(2) Design / manufacturing outsourcing
(3) MES integration
(4) Digital rights management
(5) Collaboration
(6) Project management
(7) Regulatory and Environmental compliance tracking and management (RoHS, WEE, RoHS, FDA CFR etc.)
(8) Customer needs management
(9) Data Classification and Knowledge management
(10) Configuration management

And this list goes on…

In later posts, I will get in to details around each of these enhanced capabilities and future direction of PLM to support the enterprise.

"Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are my own only and in no way represent the views, positions or opinions - expressed or implied - of my employer (present and past) "
"Please post your comments - Swati Ranganathan"

Has CAD delivered on its promise?

CAD (computer aided design) was a major boost to engineering productivity in the early 1980s. The capability of having drawings in digital forms, ability to overlay layouts to ensure form, fit and function were key enablers. As the usage of these software programs matured, the demand on additional features increased as well.

This led to the development of 3 D modeling capability; 3-D modeling was a huge step forward as it allowed for creating parts and assemblies and ability to
(1) Parametric modeling
(2) Capture design intent
(3) Associativity
(4) Finite element analysis capability
(5) Enhanced cam capability
(6) 3d rendering
(7) Interference / clearance checking

Over the last 10-15 years, the capability and maturity gaps between high-end and low-end CAD packages have reduced significantly. There has been some level of consolidation in the CAD space and software vendors have started creating more software packages to manage data (PDM, PLM) etc.

In my opinion, very few companies have mastered the art of the product data management specifically CAD data, which has resulted in lower re-use of existing components and wasted time and resources on recreating product data. Why is that?

Despite the promise of computer aided manufacturing (CAM) combined with the powers of comprehensive 3D modeling, very few companies have transitioned over to drawing less systems by utilizing CAM capabilities. Why is that?

Why is adoption of ASME 14.41 lagging? This standard supports the creation of 3D drawings with annotations and tolerance symbols. My $0.02, this could save $$$ in time and resources spent on creating product documentation via drawings.

I have long been a proponent of a single platform for product development using a single CAD tool. But this is an uphill battle in most large companies as companies go through acquisitions or relinquish control over product data management resulting in different groups using different platforms! This forms a major challenge to seamless collaboration. There have been a few promising software packages which allow for digital mockups by creating assemblies from different CAD packages. The major challenge here is that the mockups and changes done are not passed back on to the original CAD package. How can we enable cross platform collaboration?


Seamless integration with PLM/ERP
As the usage of PDM and PLM applications is increasing, there is an increased focus on the need product structure creation and maintenance. I would like to see complete integration between CAD and these applications so that editing of product structure (BoM) and attributes is seamlessly transferred in a bi-directional manner.

There has been some effort in analyzing part geometries to quickly identify if similar designs exist and promote re-use. This capability needs to be enhanced and promoted through out the user community.

In summary, we have come a long way but we can do more to improve how use the tools! We must innovate to try and identify more opportunities!

More postings on this topic to come...

"Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are my own only and in no way represent the views, positions or opinions - expressed or implied - of my employer (present and past) "
"Please post your comments - Swati Ranganathan"

What is Product Data Management? Part 1.

Product data management (PDM) is the use of software tools to track and control data related to a particular product. The data tracked usually involves the technical specifications of the product, specifications for manufacture and development, and the types of materials that will be required to produce the good.
History:
PDM was an offshoot of the engineering design activities that created product drawings, schematics and specification using CAD tools and paper drawings/documents.
Capabilities:
The need to control documentation evolved into key capabilities including the following core requirements.
(1) version control:
the ability to clearly distinguish changes as engineer’s progress through the design.
(2) Access control:
The ability to lock down components, assemblies, documents based on rights and rules defined by management. For example, component libraries should be maintained by the administrator or component librarian to ensure that standards are maintained.
(3) Collaboration:
The ability to have multiple users work on the same product structure. Most PDM systems have check-in / check-out capability which locks the objects to prevent loss of work and inadvertent over-writes.
(4) Product Structure
The product structure provides a hierarchical classification of the items which form a product. With the product structure, the understanding of the components which compose a product as well as their attributes, can be represented. The product structure shows the material, component parts subassemblies and other items in a hierarchical structure that represents the grouping of items on an assembly drawing or the grouping of items that come together at a stage in the manufacturing process.


Technorati Profile: e8krhy3qms

"Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are my own only and in no way represent the views, positions or opinions - expressed or implied - of my employer (present and past) "
"Please post your comments - Swati Ranganathan"