System and method for customizing product lifecycle management process to improve product effectiveness

1. A method for improving product effectiveness of a New Product Development (NPD) process by customizing a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) of an organization via a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory, the method comprising the steps of:

diagnosing, via the processor, current status of the organization with respect to one or more product effectiveness parameters, wherein the step of diagnosing the current status of the organization comprising:

facilitating one or more users to access a set of questionnaires, the set of questionnaires comprising questions on one or more product effectiveness parameters;

receiving responses to the set of questionnaires from one or more users;

allocating maturity scores to each product effectiveness parameter based on the responses to the set of questionnaires;

computing a Product Effectiveness Index(PEI) based on the maturity scores; and

mapping the maturity scores to step charts, the step charts providing a capability assessment of the organization with respect to the maturity scores;

generating, via the processor, a set of initiatives for the organization based on the diagnosis; and

customizing, via the processor, the PLM using one or more solution accelerators corresponding to one or more initiatives, wherein the step of customizing the PLM using one or more solution accelerators comprises:

capturing comprehensive product and customer requirements during a lifecycle stage of the product lifecycle stages;

evaluating current net product value (NPV) of the product during the lifecycle stage of the product lifecycle stages based on the captured product requirements;

determining deviation in the current NPV based on comparison of the current NPV with a previously stored NPV for the product during the lifecycle stage of the product lifecycle stages;

determining a product portfolio plan for the product based on the determined deviation of the product, the product portfolio plan comprising one or more initiatives of modifying the content of product during the lifecycle stage of the product lifecycle stages by:

linking the customer requirements to an engineering specification, wherein the engineering specification is linked to product design associated with the PLM, and further wherein the product design is linked to process design associated with the PLM; and

modifying the product design and the process design based on the customer requirements.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more product effectiveness parameters comprise customer needs management, NPD program management, portfolio planning, NPD innovation management, NPD knowledge management, or field performance management.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of initiatives comprise at least one of the following: process harmonization, system engineering robustness, integrated requirement tracking, set-based concurrent engineering, product portfolio planning, green compliance, NPD product knowledge management, NPD process knowledge management, portfolio and business knowledge management, and design automation.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a solution accelerator is a tool for providing additional features to the PLM.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the solution accelerator may be one of the following: a process harmonizer, an integrated requirements tracker, a product portfolio decision engine, a system engineering robustness builder, a set-based concurrent engineering enabler, or a green compliance enabler.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of customizing, via the processor, the PLM using one or more knowledge enablers corresponding to one or more initiatives.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein one or more knowledge enablers facilitate knowledge management in the organization.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein a knowledge enabler may be one of the following: product knowledge repository, process knowledge repository, portfolio and business knowledge repository, or Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) repository.

9. A system for improving product effectiveness of a New Product Development (NPD) process by customizing a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) of an organization, the system comprising:

an NPD diagnostic module configured to:

diagnose a current status of the organization with respect to one or more product effectiveness parameters; and generate a set of initiatives based on the diagnosis;

an Advanced Collaborative Product Management module configured to

customize the PLM using one or more solution accelerators corresponding to one or more initiatives, wherein the PLM is customized by:

capturing comprehensive product and customer requirements during a lifecycle stage of the product lifecycle stages;

evaluating current net product value (NPV) of the product during the lifecycle stage of the product lifecycle stages based on the captured product requirements;

determining deviation in the current NPV based on comparison of the current NPV with a previously stored NPV for the product during the lifecycle stage of the product lifecycle stages;

determining a product portfolio plan for the product based on the determined deviation of the product, the product portfolio plan comprising one or more initiatives of modifying the content of product during the lifecycle stage of the product lifecycle stages by:

linking the customer requirements to an engineering specification, wherein the engineering specification is linked to product design associated with the PLM, and further wherein the product design is linked to process design associated with the PLM; and

modifying the product design and the process design based on the customer requirements

an NPD Knowledge Management module configured to:

customize the PLM using one or more knowledge enablers corresponding to one or more initiatives.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the NPD diagnostic module comprises

a questionnaire module configured to

facilitate one or more users to access a set of questionnaires, the set of questionnaires comprising questions on one or more product effectiveness parameters; and

receive responses to the set of questionnaires from one or more users;

an assessment module configured to:

allocate maturity scores to each product effectiveness parameter based on responses to the set of questionnaires; compute a Product Effectiveness Index (PEI) based on the maturity scores; and

map the maturity scores to step charts, the step charts providing capability assessment of the organization with respect to the maturity scores; and

a reporting module configured to

generate reports, the reports comprising the set of initiatives, the PEI and the step charts.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein user may be one of the following: stakeholder, product manager, program manager, field support team, failure analysis group, portfolio manager, process engineering lead, design lead, or market research lead.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the Advanced collaborative product management module comprises:

a Process harmonizer configured to

develop templates and stage-gate criteria to build common product development approach across teams of at least two different business units of the organization;

a Product portfolio decision engine configured to enable dynamic product portfolio planning in the organization;

a Systems engineering robustness builder configured to build engineering foundation to develop reliable products through integrated team work across multi-disciplinary teams;

a Set-based concurrent engineering enabler configured to provide one or more design alternatives for optimal product configuration; and

a Green compliance enabler configured to

fulfill eco-compliance requirements of the NPD process.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the product portfolio decision engine performs at least one of the following functions: project prioritization, strategic segmentation, product mix allocation, risk assessment, sensitivity analytics, portfolio optimization, and Portfolio Net Present Value (NPV) evaluation.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the NPD knowledge management module comprises:

a product knowledge repository configured to

capture and organize product data in the organization;

a process knowledge repository configured to

capture and organize process data in the organization;

a portfolio and business knowledge repository configured to

capture and organize product portfolio and business knowledge in the organization; and

a Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) repository configured to

build design automation programs for ensuring design consistency in the organization.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of customizing the PLM further comprises modifying product definition associated with the PLM based on at least one of the customer requirements, field inputs and process changes.

16. The system of claim 9 , wherein the NPD Knowledge Management module is configured to customize the PLM by modifying product definition associated with the PLM based on at least one of the customer requirements, field inputs and process changes.