Social Technologies Archive

  • It seemed like it wasn’t that long ago when Vuuch, something hardly anyone understood, was launched. More than a year later, Vuuch is up to version 4.5 and has new...

    Vuuch 4.5: Growing Up Before Our Eyes

    Posted on July 12, 2011 | 1 Comment
    It seemed like it wasn’t that long ago when Vuuch, something hardly anyone understood, was launched. More than a year later, Vuuch is up to version 4.5 and has new...

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  • A couple weeks ago, I asked a question that has been on my mind for a while: do engineers have the broadest reach within the enterprise? I've always thought there's been a little bit of a misconception that an engineer's sole focus is on new product development and more specifically, design work. Instead, just about every day for an engineer is a firedrill where they're scrambling all over the company to resolve issues across a number of product's lifecycles. So after coming to that conclusion, I started thinking about another question: what technology would best enable engineers to do their job?

    What is the Killer App for the Modern Engineer?

    Posted on January 4, 2011 | 21 Comments
    A couple weeks ago, I asked a question that has been on my mind for a while: do engineers have the broadest reach within the enterprise? I've always thought there's been a little bit of a misconception that an engineer's sole focus is on new product development and more specifically, design work. Instead, just about every day for an engineer is a firedrill where they're scrambling all over the company to resolve issues across a number of product's lifecycles. So after coming to that conclusion, I started thinking about another question: what technology would best enable engineers to do their job?

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  • It is a fast-paced and complicated world, isn't it? While we've gotten instant access to information around the world, I think it's gotten harder for each of us individually to really understand what's going on in the world. There's simply too much to register. I think that's why, in general, we like concise perspectives that distill the gist of a situation so we can come to a conclusion and move on quickly.

    Does SharePoint Add Complexity to PLM?

    Posted on December 21, 2010 | 27 Comments
    It is a fast-paced and complicated world, isn't it? While we've gotten instant access to information around the world, I think it's gotten harder for each of us individually to really understand what's going on in the world. There's simply too much to register. I think that's why, in general, we like concise perspectives that distill the gist of a situation so we can come to a conclusion and move on quickly.

    Continue Reading...

  • Back at the beginning of December, I published a post titled The Very Real Skillset Challenges of Simulation Drive Design. It identified four main areas of knowledge or skills needed to really make a simulation driven design initiative successful including. It also looked at some typical engineer roles and their ability to gain and keep these four types of skills or knowledge.

    Is Teamwork the Key to Simulation Driven Design?

    Posted on December 17, 2010 | 16 Comments
    Back at the beginning of December, I published a post titled The Very Real Skillset Challenges of Simulation Drive Design. It identified four main areas of knowledge or skills needed to really make a simulation driven design initiative successful including. It also looked at some typical engineer roles and their ability to gain and keep these four types of skills or knowledge.

    Continue Reading...

  • In the last post on collaboration, we covered a lot of issues surrounding collaboration. It's been overused. It's been used without specificity. As a result, we all cringe a little bit whenever we hear it being trotted out to describe another process or set of engineering software.

    More Reclamation Work for Collaboration: Providing a Product Development Context

    Posted on November 22, 2010 | No Comments
    In the last post on collaboration, we covered a lot of issues surrounding collaboration. It's been overused. It's been used without specificity. As a result, we all cringe a little bit whenever we hear it being trotted out to describe another process or set of engineering software.

    Continue Reading...

  • Do you remember when you first got email? Mine was through work and I remember something clicking in my head when I realized what it meant. It's changed the way we work. We no longer had to get on the phone to communicate remotely. It enabled faster and more accurate decisions.

    Email is Not Enough: Why Product Development Needs More for Collaboration

    Posted on November 19, 2010 | 2 Comments
    Do you remember when you first got email? Mine was through work and I remember something clicking in my head when I realized what it meant. It's changed the way we work. We no longer had to get on the phone to communicate remotely. It enabled faster and more accurate decisions.

    Continue Reading...

  • How do you feel about the term collaboration? I know. I know. The 'sigh and roll your eyes' reaction is a pretty common one. And in fact I react that way myself more often than not. Over the past ten years, collaboration has been used left, right and center to describe just about anything and everything in the product development realm. And as a result, no one really knows what it means anymore. Ask ten people for a definition of collaboration and you'll get twenty back.

    A Framework to Reclaim a Tarnished Yet Worthy Term: Collaboration

    Posted on November 17, 2010 | 4 Comments
    How do you feel about the term collaboration? I know. I know. The 'sigh and roll your eyes' reaction is a pretty common one. And in fact I react that way myself more often than not. Over the past ten years, collaboration has been used left, right and center to describe just about anything and everything in the product development realm. And as a result, no one really knows what it means anymore. Ask ten people for a definition of collaboration and you'll get twenty back.

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  • Overall, the objective behind Vuuch is the same as it has been for any other collaboration solution provided in the last ten years. If you resolve issues faster, then you can go through more iterations resulting in a better product or you can reach design release faster (or maybe just on time) to keep pace in the schedule. That being said, this solution goes about it in a markedly different way. Here's what's advantageous and concerning from my perspective.

    Vuuch: A Unique Approach to Social Computing in Product Development

    Posted on November 10, 2010 | 4 Comments
    Overall, the objective behind Vuuch is the same as it has been for any other collaboration solution provided in the last ten years. If you resolve issues faster, then you can go through more iterations resulting in a better product or you can reach design release faster (or maybe just on time) to keep pace in the schedule. That being said, this solution goes about it in a markedly different way. Here's what's advantageous and concerning from my perspective.

    Continue Reading...

  • When I attended the PTC/User conference and heard this announcement earlier this year, I thought it was an interesting concept. I knew it brought more social computing capabilities into product development. I heard a lot about the vision of what it would eventually become. But at that point, I had no idea exactly what capabilities it would offer. Since I was in Boston last week, I made it a point to drop by PTC and talk it over with Christian Barr, a product marketing manager for Windchill SocialLink.

    Some Answers to the Question: What exactly is PTC’s Windchilll SocialLink?

    Posted on October 1, 2010 | No Comments
    When I attended the PTC/User conference and heard this announcement earlier this year, I thought it was an interesting concept. I knew it brought more social computing capabilities into product development. I heard a lot about the vision of what it would eventually become. But at that point, I had no idea exactly what capabilities it would offer. Since I was in Boston last week, I made it a point to drop by PTC and talk it over with Christian Barr, a product marketing manager for Windchill SocialLink.

    Continue Reading...

  • Do you want a Spike Award? Before you raise your hand, let me clarify. I'm not talking about the Spike Guy's Choice awards. No, I'm talking about the Spike Awards that recognize the best use of social media and social computing to improve product innovation, development and product management. You can find a lot more information about it at the Spike Awards official site.

    My Role on the Spike Awards Judging Panel: Spotlighting Social Computing in Product Development

    Posted on September 13, 2010 | No Comments
    Do you want a Spike Award? Before you raise your hand, let me clarify. I'm not talking about the Spike Guy's Choice awards. No, I'm talking about the Spike Awards that recognize the best use of social media and social computing to improve product innovation, development and product management. You can find a lot more information about it at the Spike Awards official site.

    Continue Reading...