Chapter 5: Analysis and general findings | Implementing and Integrating Product Data Management and Software Configuration Management (Artech House Computing Library)

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Overview

The only difference between a problem and a solution is that people understand the solution. - Charles F. Kettering

In Chapter 4, we saw that many functions appear in both PDM and SCM tools. In some cases, these functions are more advanced in PDM than in SCM; in others, the opposite is true. Important questions for companies are:

Is it possible to use either a PDM tool or an SCM tool irrespective of the type of product being developed? If this is possible, in which way can the tool functions be utilized, and in particular how can functions from one domain be applied in the other? For example, can version management from PDM be used to manage versions of software, in particular source code? Or, can the SCM change management function be used to work with changes of hardware products and product parts?
If a tool from either of the domains can be used in any development process, is it more efficient to use a PDM tool or is it preferable to use an SCM tool?
If SCM cannot replace PDM and PDM cannot replace SCM, a new type of question arises. When should a PDM tool be used and when an SCM tool? Is it necessary to use tools of both types?
If both PDM and SCM tools are to be used, do we need to integrate them? If so, what type of integration is needed?

To answer these questions about the use of PDM and SCM and their possible integration, it is first necessary to analyze the particular functions of these domains, as in Chapter 4. However this is not sufficient. We must also analyze the processes, and we must identify the data and the functions used in the processes. This is the main goal of this chapter. Beginning with the generic PLC described in Chapter 1, we shall analyze information generated and used in different phases of the process, in particular the development process. We shall analyze PLCs for pure hardware products, pure software products, and complex products that include both hardware and software components. This analysis will be exemplified by a concrete development process from industry.

The analysis will indicate the prerequisites for the use of these tools and the prerequisites for their use when integrated.

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