Taking the Next Steps Toward Global Collaboration-An Early Report on PTC ProjectLink™

As a global company that works with many international clients at once, we at PDT are always looking for better ways to conduct our product development projects. In the past, we have used email, ftp sites and Excel spreadsheets to organize projects and communicate inside and outside PDT. When dealing with highly iterative design projects or with massive amounts of legacy data, however, these methods are often inadequate.

The need for a better communication solution gained new urgency when PDT became a PTC Global Services authorized vendor for data migration services in March 2002. The legacy data conversion projects we now take on may involve 5,000 or more drawings and several team members around the world. This massive amount of information has to be organized and communicated so that PDT and client team members around the globe can view it.

Introducing PTC ProjectLink

PTC ProjectLink is an advanced collaboration system offering a shared, web-based workspace for product development teams to use inside or outside the enterprise. To give us a quick start with ProjectLink, PTC provided a standard format project running on its server in the US. As a result, joining the project was simple and intuitive, and our system administrator did not have to provide assistance.

In the short time that we have had access to the new system, we have used it solely within the data conversion process in which a client’s legacy data—such as 2D CAD drawings—are translated into Pro/ENGINEER® models and drawings. One problem we have encountered, however, is that the system is not set up to function as a “depository” for files as we were initially attempting to use it, but is better used for communicating Pro/ENGINEER designs and assemblies.

We were beginning the conversion process with a PDT engineer accessing customer data by "checking it out” on ProjectLink. When the engineer completed the Pro/ENGINEER version of the part model and drawing, s/he would upload it to the ProjectLink server or “check it in.” The client could then download it, review it, and approve or reject it regardless of location. Since the system was not necessarily made for this type of application, it was time-consuming to upload and download files, making the system somewhat inefficient for this use.

Where we have found ProjectLink particularly helpful, though, is in improving project communications with clients. In some 2D-to-3D model conversions, for example, mistakes in the original data are found and have to be addressed. Clients can easily view a problem description and respond to it in a controlled forum. ProjectLink not only ensures all concerned have access to the information, but also avoids some of the drawbacks of email, which can get lost on many different users’ computers. The ProjectLink forum also provides a valuable repository for information about how a problem was resolved and by whom.

Another plus is that clients can view project status throughout the process and even request certain drawings be converted before others. Clients can therefore see the progress of their projects in a more interactive manner than in the past, which adds a little extra to our level of customer service.

What’s Ahead

Controlling the conversion of legacy data is only the beginning of our investigation into the potential uses of ProjectLink at PDT. We are planning to become familiar with the system's strengths and weaknesses and work with PTC in making ProjectLink as effective and efficient as possible in other areas of our business. Because our product development services range from the earliest stages of research and industrial design to mechanical engineering all the way through to production tooling and manufacturing, we have many opportunities to maximize the powers of an efficient collaborative system.

PTC ProjectLink is in its infancy, so it has some shortcomings. The wide spectrum of ways customers like PDT want to use the system may take time to solidify before ProjectLink can address them all. This is of course a hurdle not just for ProjectLink, but for any web-based collaboration software. Nonetheless, it is a problem that PTC developers will have to focus on fully so that this tool can fulfill on its true promise.

Once ProjectLink has matured a little, we hope to empower PDT talent all over the world to collaborate more closely throughout the product development process. For example, we would like to link our industrial design facility in downtown Chicago with engineering design talent in other facilities, as well as with client engineers and managers. In addition, we would like to use this tool to hold brainstorming sessions and meetings across the globe, sending documents and bills of materials, and viewing and revising schedules.

The development and use of web-based collaboration software promises to make the world seem smaller and smaller with each advance. PTC has taken a great step forward with the introduction of ProjectLink, and we hope to follow in its footsteps by utilizing such powerful collaborative tools. It won’t be easy. New approaches always have impediments. But the reward of more effective and efficient communication with our customers and within PDT is just around the corner. See you there.

Tanya Meyers-Sillitti is the marketing and public relations representative at PDT, a global, full-service product development firm specializing in market and design research, industrial design, engineering, CAV® (Computer Aided Verification), tooling and manufacturing. To learn more about PDT, please visit www.pdt.com or call 847.821.3048.

Visit the Collaboration Center at ptc.com