Mastering change management with Windchill has its complications, but the secret is out. There’s an easier way to do change management with PTC Windchill Product Lifecycle Management software, and this new Windchill “cheat” may be what changes the game completely.
It’s true, PTC Windchill really is the best PLM software on the market, but along with its seemingly uncapped capabilities comes divine complexity.
And with complexity, well, often comes…frustration.
In a world where we can virtually have anything instantly at our fingertips, why should anyone be forced to learn and memorize an ever-changing, complex PLM system?!
Yet, it seems that in order to successfully capitalize on a PLM system and utilize all the features a company invested in – it’s almost unavoidable.
Time after time, we hear of instances involving Windchill users’ wasted time, energy, and clicks.
So, our company, EAC Product Development Solutions, thought to ourselves – how could we make PLM easier?
How could we simplify the user interface of PLM systems, such as PTC Windchill, to make a faster, easier and better user experience?
How could we do the same for change management within Windchill easier, better, and faster?
Not only did we figure out a very simple solution, but we also figured out how to make data access simple.
It’s easy to plugin, install, and most importantly – it changes the entire user experience of PTC Windchill.
It makes Windchill PLM easy to use, understand, and it provides an easier way to capitalize on all the features the complex system has.
We call our solution EAC Productivity Apps.
Essentially, we created and designed an easy PLM system plugin that transforms the complex user interface of Windchill and makes tasks such as creating change reports, requests and adding new variances easy!
Applications that make PLM faster
Although our PLM applications might not speed up a Windchill system directly, they will definitely decrease the time any users take to search for information.
With our Productivity Apps, infrequent PLM users no longer need to remember how many clicks they need to make or where they need to go to find information in Windchill.
In fact, anyone with access to the simple desktop applications can easily access any PTC Windchill Product Lifecycle Management information directly through their own simple personalized desktop screen.
This eliminates any and all time needed to train and learn a complex PLM system.
Our PLM system applications were designed to relieve and entirely combat Windchill user complications.
We built them to initially enhance enterprise-wide Windchill system adoption and usage.
So let’s talk about how our Apps really work.
Our applications plug directly into your PTC Windchill system and display a simplified desktop user experience.
They push and pull data to and from your system, helping to streamline your PLM system usage and functionality.
The accessibility for users that might only need access to information housed in Windchill, perhaps only once or twice a week, will greatly benefit from the implementation of our Apps.
By opening a simple desktop application, without any training, any user can easily navigate the interface, find any product information they need, and do so all while eliminating time and lengthened processes that the basic Windchill interface requires to complete a task.
Our PLM applications give any user the Product Lifecycle Management information they need as quickly as possible. This is exactly how PLM Apps can speed up the time it takes to accomplish a simple task!
Forget the need for PTC Windchill training
The truth is, PTC Windchill systems can be complicated, especially in instances where users are not fully trained to use the software.
This is where infrequent PLM system users oftentimes research how to do this or that within their system. If this is you, you know all too well of the valuable productivity you’ve lost when searching for answers in the system help center.
You may even run into instances where you’re skipping tasks altogether (such as creating a change report), and in fact, you may even risk doing it wrong because you’ve forgotten a few steps.
To make matters worse, you might even need to disrupt others for help.
It’s because of all these reasons and more, our Productivity Apps really can change the game.
With the simple click of a button, our Apps have the ability to alleviate several daunting steps.
Over the years, our organization has worked with hundreds of Windchill users’, allowing us to continually expand our app framework and functionality based on what our customers have told us.
After all, the technology you purchase should be working for you, not the other way around.
We have had customers say, “I want a view. I want to be able to have a guy on the shop floor and a partner both be able to see everything related to a part number. I want them to see a document, a drawing, a part, or a bill of material. etc.”
Over time, what we found our customers were looking for was really any relevant data that was associated together. They wanted their data to be completely available and, in some cases, even to download.
They were unable to easily display all the information they were looking for just by doing one, simple, quick search.
That’s when our Quick Search App was born, and it was really developed just to do that.
Quick Search provides a single easily accessible view where any user can get all the relevant product data and information they need on a simple screen. It’s even downloadable and all.
Connect disparate data from unconnected systems
Our PLM Apps even have the ability to tie together data you need from siloed, unconnected systems.
Not only do these Apps help users easily find Windchill data, pull data, and make that data easier and more accessible without great changes, but they were designed to truly tie and pull data together from other siloed enterprise systems.
They have the ability to pull data from Legacy ERP or MRP systems.
For example, you could connect to your ERP system to pull quantity, along with any other relevant information, and have all your information right at your fingertips.
Forget difficulties with change management
The truth is, many organizations face difficulties with change management, and we wanted to ‘change’ that.
How? Let’s start with how our Apps alter change management in a way that makes a difference, and more importantly, how that difference makes the process easier.
Change management becomes effortless with the ability to easily customize or configure the user interface that is built on top of the ThingWorx Navigate app.
What does that mean?
Essentially, our Apps still utilize the powerful change management workflow built within Windchill to point at all of the complex, rich data in Windchill.
The difference is, they change how data is visually displayed and how your teams work together.
Hence where the ‘productivity’ name comes in.
They provide one view into all relevant data, so your users are easily able to fill out all of their relevant change information. This is a huge benefit in comparison to having to jump back and forth between multiple screens to retrieve data or complete things inside Windchill.
By tying all necessary data into one view, not only is the user experience enhanced, but the number of clicks and picks required by a user is drastically reduced as well.
Ultimately, this is what grants your users the ability to quickly submit change requests (while it even presents the information that is needed as users fill out a simple form).
This means your team no longer has to go through the GUI or work step by step to fill out the information they need to kick-start a change request.
This is something most Windchill users don’t understand.
There are easier ways.
The best part? These ‘ways’ don’t change your system configuration, they simply sit on top of your system and re-invent the user interface to enhance the system’s abilities and most importantly, productivity.
Our applications alleviate the need for siloed departments to interrupt other disjointed departments by providing accessible data in real-time, everywhere.
Easy task management
Not only can you easily submit a change request or problem report, but you also have the ability to easily manage tasks.
Users are able to pull up a dashboard displaying the entire task force. For instance, once a change request is submitted, you have the ability to see if that change request is being analyzed.
They provide visibility and status on task completion. This helps users easily know what they need to do, and what state that task is in.
You might be thinking, “But what about the people using change management to review and approve, and complete tasks?”
No need to worry, our Apps are equipped with that functionality too.
Managers can utilize these Applications to easily see what is going on and help them understand what they might need to review.
Users can even view open tasks, complete them and even assign tasks to other users.
The functions are endless. You can do anything that involves change management, all directly within our EAC Productivity Apps. It really is a one-stop shop.
This means anyone involved in your organization’s change management process now actually has the ability to do everything they need to do, within one single app.
So yes, I guess the truth is out – there really is an app for that.
Digital transformation has become a buzzword in recent years, and for good reason. Companies that embrace digital technologies are more likely to stay ahead of the curve, differentiate themselves in the marketplace, and meet the evolving needs of their customers.
The benefits of digital transformation can be far-reaching, from improved customer experience to cost savings and increased efficiency.
In this blog, we will explore the various benefits of digital transformation, and why it is essential for companies to embrace this trend in order to remain competitive in the digital age.
What is Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation is a term used to describe the process of transforming an organization’s business model and operations through the use of digital technologies. It’s important because it can help you stay ahead of your competition, improve customer experience and attract new customers.
The benefits of digital transformation include:
- Improved customer experience: Digital transformation can help you better understand and meet the needs of your customers. With the use of data analytics and other digital tools, you can gather insights into customer behavior and preferences, and tailor your products and services accordingly.
- Increased efficiency and productivity: Digital transformation can automate many processes, reducing manual labor and freeing up staff to focus on higher-value tasks. This can lead to increased efficiency and productivity across your organization.
- Competitive advantage: By embracing digital technologies, you can stay ahead of your competitors and differentiate yourself in the marketplace. This can help you attract new customers and retain existing ones.
- Cost savings: Digital transformation can help you reduce costs by streamlining processes and eliminating unnecessary steps. This can lead to significant savings over time.
- Innovation: Digital transformation can open up new opportunities for innovation and growth. By embracing new technologies and ways of working, you can develop new products and services that better meet the needs of your customers.
See how JR Automation saved seven figures with embarking on their digital transformation journey:
Creating a Digital Transformation Roadmap
The first step to creating a digital transformation roadmap is to identify the scope of your transformation. What are you trying to achieve? What are the goals and objectives of your business? How will you measure success?
Once this has been determined, it’s time to set up a timeline for achieving those goals.
Once these steps have been completed, it’s time for action! You should now have a clear idea of what needs changing within your organization and how long it will take before those changes become visible.
Building a Digital Transformation Team
When you’re building your digital transformation team, it’s important to define roles and responsibilities. You’ll want to make sure that everyone understands their role in the process and what they are expected to do. For example, if someone is responsible for monitoring the performance of shop floor machines, they should know what the ideal OEE is of each machine, how they are going to collect that data, and how they are going to distribute it to enterprise decision makers.
It’s also important that you select team members who have complementary skillsets and experience levels. If one person has extensive knowledge of augmented reality while another knows nothing about it at all, this could lead to problems down the line when it comes time for them both to collaborate on projects together – and no one wants that!
Finally, creating a culture where collaboration happens naturally between team members will help ensure successful outcomes throughout your digital transformation project(s).
Adopting the Right Technology
The first step in digital transformation is choosing the right technology. You’ll want to consider:
Software: What are your current needs and how will they change over time? Will you need additional features or functionality?
Hardware: Do you have enough computing power and storage space for all of your data, or does it need to be scaled up or down depending on usage patterns at different times of day/year/etc.? Do you have sensors to track data that you need for production insight?
Tools: What tools do developers use to build applications on top of this platform (e.g., Creo vs. Solidworks)? How easy is it for them to integrate their code with existing systems like databases and messaging queues? Are there any security issues with using these tools – and if so, how can they be mitigated by using another tool instead (e.g., switching from MySQL database server software to Microsoft Azure).
Developing a Digital Transformation Strategy
The first step to developing a digital transformation strategy is to define the scope of the project. What are you trying to accomplish? What are your objectives, and how will you measure success?
These questions can help guide your organization through its transformation journey by setting realistic goals for both short-term wins and long-term gains.
Once you’ve defined what needs changing, it’s time for step two: defining how those changes will happen. This involves creating an action plan that includes timelines for each phase of implementation as well as resources required for each stage (e.g., time from IT staff).
Some companies may choose to tackle multiple projects simultaneously; others might choose only one area at a time depending on their resources available in terms of money/manpower/etcetera).
EAC Assessments help companies answer all those questions and how to get where they want to be.
Implementing the Digital Transformation Plan
Develop a timeline. The first step in implementing your digital transformation plan is to develop a timeline with milestones that will help you track progress.
Set goals and objectives for each milestone. Once you’ve established your milestones, it’s time to set goals and objectives for each one of them so that everyone involved knows exactly what needs to be done at any given time during the project.
Track progress regularly by reviewing dashboards or reports generated from data collected during testing phases of development projects (if applicable). It’s important not only for managers but also employees on lower levels within organizations who may not have access
Monitoring and Evaluating Performance
Monitoring and measuring performance is an important part of the digital transformation process. It allows you to identify areas where you are successful, and areas that need improvement.
Monitoring can be done using a variety of tools, including:
Data Analytics Dashboards (e.g., Thingworx Analytics)
Real-time Data Share (e.g., Windchill, EAC Productivity Apps)
Digital Twin Performance (e.g., Augmented Reality)
Adapting and Adjusting the Plan
As you progress through your digital transformation, there will be changes in the market that you need to respond to.
If a competitor introduces a new product or service, or if something happens in the industry at large, it may change how you approach your own strategy.
You might also find that your goals and objectives have changed since they were first set out; perhaps there’s been an increase in customer demand for something specific that wasn’t previously considered important enough for inclusion on the list.
The best way to handle these situations is by reviewing them regularly with other members of your team – and making sure everyone has input into decisions about how best to adjust course as needed.
Communicating the Benefits of Digital Transformation
In order to communicate the benefits of digital transformation, it’s important to understand who your stakeholders are and what they want.
If you’re working in an organization with a large number of stakeholders (such as a government agency), then there may be multiple groups that need convincing. For example:
The board wants to see results from their investment in IT infrastructure. They’ll likely be interested in metrics such as ROI and cost savings.
Executives want quick wins that will help them achieve their goals, but they also need proof that this new approach will work before they can commit time and resources to implementing it throughout the organization.
Employees want something tangible they can hold onto when explaining why this change is important for them personally (and why it matters).
Conclusion
Digital transformation is a powerful tool that can help you achieve your business goals. It’s important to remember that digital transformation is not just about implementing new technologies, but also about changing how you work and think as an organization.
Digital transformation requires commitment from everyone involved in the process – from the C-suite down through every level of your organization.
To be successful, it must be an ongoing effort rather than a one-time project or initiative. You will need to continuously innovate and improve what you’re doing if you want to stay ahead of competitors who are also pursuing digital transformation strategies.
In conclusion, digital transformation is becoming increasingly essential for companies to stay competitive and meet the needs of their customers in the digital age. However, the process of digital transformation can be complex and challenging, which is why EAC assessments can be extremely helpful.
By conducting an assessment of your organization’s current digital capabilities and identifying areas for improvement, you can develop a roadmap for digital transformation that is tailored to your specific needs and goals.
EAC assessments can help you identify gaps in your digital capabilities, streamline your processes, and develop new products and services that better meet the needs of your customers. By embracing digital transformation and leveraging the expertise of EAC assessors, you can position your company for success in the digital age.
Smart devices and connected products, like the Apple Watch, raise an interesting question, what are the implications of transforming traditional products into smart connected products?
Now that we have sensors, connectivity, big data, and analytics, customers and businesses are leveraging this value to create new opportunities – here’s how.
Remote Operations
Connected products can share their data with their users, and likewise with the manufacturer, unlocking new service opportunities.
For example, I have the Nest thermostat in my house. I can adjust the temperature on my way home from work just but using a simple app control.
For a Minnesotan like me, this is pretty awesome when you experience winters like we have.
Remote Services
From a company perspective, remote access services are very valuable as well.
For example, just like a smart thermostat, manufacturers can automatically send updates to assets. Or if maintenance is required, technicians can often save time and money by remotely connecting to devices to ensure software and hardware are performing effectively. This can avoid unnecessary service calls.
Innovative Product Designs
Another great use case is how companies can change their product design strategies.
For example, IoT enables a new design strategy known as evergreen design. The premise is that when products are operating in the field, new software features can be built and delivered to a device to extend functionality and the usable life of a product. The Tesla car illustrates this concept well. Tesla actually used an evergreen design strategy to avoid a major recall.
A few years back, there were several instances in which the battery cell of the car actually rubbed against street curbs as the car turned corners, causing fires. Instead of sending all the Tesla cars back to the dealer, or a mechanic shop, the company sent a software update that automatically raised the clearance of the car chassis where the battery was located.
Tesla’s evergreen design saved the company money, as well as customer time, and money associated with a traditional recall.
Big Data Analytics
Another big game-changer in business is the value to be had from big data. Now that products can share information throughout their product development cycle and useful life, there is, in essence, a stream of data that we can collect, analyze, and use to inform all sorts of business decisions.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know when the average daily usage of your products or product segments is in decline or incline? It could drive new product innovation timelines, customer success strategies, and new revenue from cross-sell and up-sell.
Data Collection & Analysis of Consumer behavior
The practice of using big data is not new. For example, in the retail market, companies are using purchasing behavior data to inform their business decisions.
A great example comes from 2004 when Walmart conducted a big data study on customer purchasing behaviors prior to hurricanes.
What they found was surprising. A few days prior to the forecasted hurricane, people bought a significant amount of pop-tarts. In particular, strawberry pop-tarts. On the day of the hurricane, they bought more beer. Based on this data, Walmart adjusted their stock supply in anticipation of the new demand. This use case is unique in that data was originating from people’s shopping behaviors. What is different now is that we can collect and analyze data from products as well.
Remote Monitoring
Take the case of smart sports equipment. A friend I play golf with had a sensor attachment that told her about her swing, ball placement, and field location. So, as we were playing throughout the day, she was pulling out her golf app, observing her golf swing, and adjusting performance based on that data. This is great for the user, and there are also added benefits for the manufacturing company!
For example, the tennis racket company Babolat has sensors attached to their play pure drive product, which collects data about a player’s swing, the speed of their ball, and impact location.
Product to service transformation
Babolat also provides a training service, where based on the player’s performance, Babolat will provide consulting, hitting tips, and other development programs. In this use case, big data is transforming a traditionally hardware-oriented company into a service company as well.
This brings me to my last example, which illustrates a radical change in how businesses perceive product value.
Product-as-a-Service (PaaS)
Namely, products are now carriers for potentially limitless services based on how you creatively leverage their smart and connected elements. This concept is not new.
Products-as-a-Service have been pioneered in the aerospace industry.
For example, Rolls Royce licenses out their engines to airline customers, and they charge airlines for the millage of the planes as well as services associated with repair, and maintenance.
This is generally known as power by the hour. This product as a service concept is gaining a lot of attention in the IoT market.
For example, there is a big software battle for ownership of the car segment. Google, Apple, Microsoft, and the original car makers are attempting to get a slice of the services associated with cars, such as navigation, entertainment, and safety systems. This new service focus is really interesting for product development and associated business operations.
Bottomline – products are carriers of tremendous value. Now that we have sensors, connectivity, big data, and analytics, customers and businesses can leverage this value, and create new opportunities.
IoT Intro Class
At EAC, we want to make sure you don’t miss out on any revolution with respect to potential capabilities that you can add to your products- while we also realize the importance of basing your IoT initiatives around your mission statement. That’s why we created what we call our IoT Development Workshop.
We have made it our mission to help guide organizations like yours to explore and embrace the uncertainty of the emerging IoT market.
Data Visualization and system integration tools are shaping the future of business and I am going to explain exactly why.
First, it is essential that you understand the impacts of technology and data today.
The impacts of big data
Humans collectively produce approximately 2.5 quintillion bytes of data each day and this number is only increasing with the acceleration of the Internet of Things (IoT). These already astonishing statistics are growing at an ever-increasing rate as our world becomes even more digitized and data-centric.
Due to this overwhelming growth, businesses have begun facing challenges with data capture, analysis, distribution, storage, and visualization. In fact, big data has started to become so large and so complex that businesses are even finding traditional data processing techniques to be inadequate. This is exactly why system integration and business intelligence software have become essential components for successful business data management strategies.
System integration and system integration tools
Enterprise application integration software combine components of sub-systems together into one centralized system. Essentially, system integration applications ensure all business systems function together as one.
For instance, integration applications (such as EAC Productivity Apps) connect existing systems and enable seamless data to flow from various systems into role-based dashboards or “mashups.”
By using applications that integrate all of your business systems, your organization opens up a clear, efficient path, for information to travel from one application or system to another. The process of linking together different computing systems and software applications opens up an organization’s ability to easily collect, aggregate, and share data.
Business intelligence
The trend towards business intelligence (BI) has driven many companies to evaluate technology-driven processes for analyzing data and presenting actionable information.
Common functions of business intelligence technologies include reporting, analytics, data mining, process mining, business performance management, benchmarking, predictive analytics and prescriptive analytics.
BI technologies can handle large amounts of structured and sometimes unstructured data to help
System integration, Bi, and data visualization
Tools and applications that integrate business systems incorporate oftentimes incorporate data visualizations, also known as data dashboards.
Data visualizations deliver graphical representations of data or information, often in the form of a chart, diagram, picture, or any other visual illustration. Visual representations of data and information help humans understand the significance of data by transforming it into information placing it in a visual context.
Human visual processing is efficient in detecting changes and making comparisons between quantities, sizes, shapes, and variations in lightness. When properties of symbolic data are mapped to visual properties, humans can browse through large amounts of data efficiently.
If considering the way the human brain processes information, using charts or graphs to visualize large amounts of complex data is much easier than attempting to analyze multiple different spreadsheets or reports. By using visual elements like charts, graphs, and maps, data visualization tools provide an accessible way to see and understand trends, outliers, and patterns in data.
The impacts of data visualization
Data visualization enables executives, managers, and other corporate end users, to easily digest huge amounts of data by displaying visuals.
These data visuals encourage decision makers to compare sizeable amounts of information while data is being revealed beneath several levels of detail. This encourages the natural eye to compare and contrast different pieces of data, that may have otherwise been lost within reports.
System integration tools that collect data from internal and external systems and aggregate it into data dashboards, enable organizations to reason quantitative information. This helps executives, managers, and other corporate end users to better understand trends, patterns, and possible correlations. Data visualizations can also allow decision makers to make better business decisions.
Visual data representations of information assist decision makers in the absorption of information in new and more constructive ways. They encourage a user to think about the substance of the data rather than the methodology.
With the ability to manipulate and interact directly with data, organizations visualize relationships and pattern between operational and business activities. This allows them to identify and act on emerging trends faster, as well as, identify areas that need attention or improvement.
By using system integration business intelligence tools and applications, organizations can collect data from internal and external systems, prepare it for analysis, develop and run queries against that data, and create reports, dashboards and data visualizations to make the analytical results available to corporate decision-makers, as well as operational workers.
Think data visualization and system integration could be what your organization needs?
We offer EAC Productivity Apps as
