Editing Product lifecycle (section)

===All phases: product lifecycle===
====Communicate, manage and collaborate====
None of the above phases should be considered as isolated. In reality, a project does not run sequentially or separated from other product development projects, with information flowing between different people and systems. A major part of PLM is the coordination and management of product definition data. This includes managing engineering changes and release status of components; configuration product variations; document management; planning project resources as well as timescale and risk assessment.

For these tasks data of a graphical, textual, and meta nature – such as product [[Bill of materials|bills of materials]] (BOMs) – needs to be managed. At the engineering departments level, this is the domain of [[Product data management|Product Data Management]] (PDM) software, or at the corporate level Enterprise Data Management (EDM) software; such rigid level distinctions may not be consistently used, however, it is typical to see two or more data management systems within an organization. These systems may also be linked to other corporate systems such as [[supply chain management|SCM]], [[customer relationship management|CRM]], and [[enterprise resource planning|ERP]]. Associated with these systems are [[project management]] systems for project/program planning.

This central role is covered by numerous [[collaborative product development]] tools that run throughout the whole lifecycle and across organizations. This requires many technology tools in the areas of conferencing, data sharing, and data translation. This specialized field is referred to as [[product visualization]] which includes technologies such as DMU ([[digital mockup|digital mock-up]]), immersive virtual digital prototyping ([[virtual reality]]), and [[Photorealistic rendering|photo-realistic imaging]].

====User skills====
The broad array of solutions that make up the tools used within a PLM solution-set (e.g., CAD, CAM, CAx...) were initially used by dedicated practitioners who invested time and effort to gain the required skills. Designers and engineers produced excellent results with CAD systems, manufacturing engineers became highly skilled CAM users, while analysts, administrators, and managers fully mastered their support technologies. However, achieving the full advantages of PLM requires the participation of many people of various skills from throughout an extended enterprise, each requiring the ability to access and operate on the inputs and output of other participants.

Despite the increased ease of use of PLM tools, cross-training all personnel on the entire PLM tool-set has not proven to be practical. Now, however, advances are being made to address ease of use for all participants within the PLM arena. One such advance is the availability of "role" specific user interfaces. Through tailorable user interfaces (UIs), the commands that are presented to users are appropriate to their function and expertise.

These techniques include:
* [[Concurrent engineering]] workflow
* [[Industrial design]]
* [[Top-down and bottom-up design|Bottom–up design]]
* [[Top-down and bottom-up design|Top–down design]]
* Both-ends-against-the-middle design
* Front-loading design workflow
* Design in context
* [[Modular design]]
* NPD [[new product development]]
* DFSS [[design for Six Sigma]]
* DFMA [[DFMA|design for manufacture / assembly]]
* Digital simulation engineering
* Requirement-driven design
* Specification-managed validation
* [[Configuration management]]