METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES

1 . A method comprising:

identifying a process life-cycle management business topic based on input from a user;

creating a mind grid based on the business topic, wherein the mind grid comprises a plurality of process topics, wherein a first of the plurality is from a first group and a second of the plurality is from a second group; and

modifying the mind grid based on input from the user.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the business topic comprises a topic selected from the group consisting of: an engineering change; idea to concept; concept to product; hand-over to production; financial forecast; manufacturing conflict handling; cost estimation; sales activity coordination; service conception; complex go-life activities; strategic sourcing; and campaign planning.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and the second group are selected from the set consisting of: a first and a second entity, a first and a second department, a first and a second domain, a first and second layer of a system, and a first and a second location.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of process topics are associated with the business topic.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein modifying the mind grid comprises creating a dependency between the first and the second of the plurality based on input from the user.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein modifying the mind grid comprises removing the first of the plurality based on input from the user or adding a third process topic to the mind grid based on input from the user.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying the mind grid in a graphical user interface using a map layout or a matrix layout of the plurality of process topics.

8 . Software comprising instructions embodied in a computer-readable medium, that are operable when executed by a processor to:

present to a user one or more templates based on a triggering event, wherein each template represents a process approach;

receive from the user a selection of a particular template of the one or more templates; and

create a case from the particular template, wherein the case comprises a plurality of process topics associated with the particular template.

9 . The software of claim 8 , wherein the triggering event comprises one of the set consisting of: an engineering change, a new concept, and an evaluation.

10 . The software of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of process topics comprises:

a first topic associated with a first business entity; and

a second topic associated with a second business entity.

11 . The software of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of process topics comprises:

a first topic associated with a first layer of a system; and

a second topic associated with a second layer of the system.

12 . The software of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of process topics comprises:

a first topic associated with a first organizational unit; and

a second topic associated with a second organizational unit.

13 . The software of claim 8 , further causing the processor to:

present to the user a graphical representation of the case;

receive a modification from the user to the graphical representation of the case; and

update the case to correspond to the modification to the graphical representation.

14 . The software of claim 13 , wherein the modification to the graphical representation is selected from the set consisting of: an addition of a process topic, a relating of a first process topic with a second process topic, and a removal of a process topic.

15 . The software of claim 13 , wherein the graphical representation comprises:

an accordion comprising one or more pre-defined building blocks that correspond to process topics, wherein the process topics are related to a plurality of business entities, a plurality of organizational units, or a plurality of layers of a system; and

a container comprising at least one graphical representation of a process topic.

16 . The software of claim 15 , wherein the one or more pre-defined building blocks is determined based on a user, a team, or a process.

17 . The software of claim 15 , wherein a selected one of the one or more pre-defined building blocks may be dragged and dropped from the accordion to the container to create a graphical representation of the process topic and a corresponding process topic in the mind grid.

18 . The software of claim 15 , wherein the container is operable to display a graphical representation of a process topic that corresponds to a process topic in the mind grid, wherein the graphical representation comprises a graphical representation of a status of the process topic in the mind grid.

19 . The software of claim 15 , wherein the container is operable to display a plurality of graphical representations that correspond to process topics in the mind grid.

20 . The software of claim 15 , wherein the container comprises a plurality of graphical representations of process topics that are arranged in a map format or a matrix format.

21 . The software of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving from the user data associated with the event; and

assigning data associated with the event to a first of the plurality of process topics.

22 . A system for managing a process, comprising:

memory storing one or more templates and one or more cases; and

one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory, operable to:

present one or more templates based on a triggering event, wherein each template represents a process approach; and

create a case from a selected one of the presented templates, wherein the case comprises a plurality of process topics associated with the selected one of the presented templates.

23 . The system of claim 22 , wherein the processor is further operable to:

present a graphical representation of the case in a graphical user interface;

receive a change to the graphical user interface from a user; and

update the case to correspond to the change made in the graphical user interface.