Jos Voskuil's Weblog

Why 70 % of PLM implementations fail – or not?

For decades, we have heard horror stories about failed PLM implementations, each supposedly explained by one simple cause. Depending on who tells the story, the culprit is the software, the company culture, poor user involvement, or unrealistic ambitions without a budget or understanding. But the truth is more nuanced: many of these implementations did not actually fail completely.

What does it mean for Product Lifecycle Management?

Purposefully, I wrote Product Lifecycle Management to focus on the strategy, and not an all-around capable PLM system, as PLM systems have never quite delivered on their original promise.

What should we – companies and individuals – actually do?

As an approach, the research from Wharton suggests that using rewards (incentives) and providing feedback can help people stay mentally engaged and avoid disengaging or losing motivation. In other words, these strategies can combat the tendency to mentally “check out” or stop trying. When participants were rewarded for accuracy and received immediate feedback, their override rates on faulty AI roughly doubled.

A low response or apathy?

The survey results are interesting on their own — but when you combine them with the low response rate, they say something more: even in communities that care, mobilizing action is hard.

1. What motivates people to join the PGGA LinkedIn group?

So far, only a small number of the recent new members have completed a survey that was especially sent to them to explore changing priorities. Due to the low response, we extended the invitation to all members. We are curious about your expectations — and quietly hopeful about your involvement. If you haven’t filled in the survey yet, please click here and share your feedback.