2014 三月 10

Overview: 7 key steps to justify new PLM software.

Learn more about best-practices for managing your design team.

On March 5 Centric hosted the second installment of a 3-part PLM Lunch & Learn webinar series. The first segment focused on the 5 signs your PDM/PLM isn’t doing the job. The March 5 segment included a primer on the 7 key steps for preparing the financial justification that will convince the CEO/CFO to move forward.

Here’s a summary for those who missed it.

1. Review the strategic objectives of the CEO/CFO. You can find this information in the annual report (if you work for a publicly traded company) or by interviewing the CEO’s direct staff.

2. Connect C-suite goals with a bottom-up analysis. Doing this will help connect company goals to the reality of the organization. This type of analysis might also uncover areas for improvement that can increase revenue, speed time to market, decrease costs, and/or lower risks.

3. Avoid the “inefficiency” discussion. Instead of focusing on inefficiency, which is intangible, identify specific opportunities to improve revenue or lower costs.

4. Break it down. Rather than presenting one large item, align the numbers with challenges and opportunities the business faces. This will make defending the analysis easier.

5. Talk. Discuss the numbers and analysis with the affected product teams to ensure everyone agrees with the basic assumptions and logic of the analysis.

6. Socialize. Share the details and findings of the analysis to allow everyone to come to a basic agreement on the findings. This helps build a foundation to validate the spirit of the analysis, either formally or informally.

7. Tighten the figures. Ensure your analysis is conservative and free of errors and logic faults.

In the third and final session of this series we will discuss the 5 steps  that will help you make a compelling pitch to your CEO/CFO. It’s on April 9 at noon EST/5 p.m. GMT. Register now. As an added bonus attendees will receive exclusive access to Centric’s latest white paper, “Is It Time to Replace Your Existing PDM/PLM Software? How to Know, and How to Prepare Your CEO/CFO.”