Oxford, England. August 2023. -- The PLM Interest Group announces that the White Paper on PLM Professionalism is now complete. The Position Statement provides a clear definition of where the PLM industry should be heading, and the rationale for a profession is set out in 16 pages of logic.

The White Paper has always been intended as the starting point for the Initiative to move forward, and there are two immediate next steps.

Step One is to bring together organisations that agree with the aims of the White Paper, to form a Working Group. The Working Group will review the current scenario and decide which of the various possibilities are the most practical and useful. The White Paper is an excellent starting point because it is deliberately comprehensive. It explains the thinking behind professionalism in terms of a Vision, structure, benefits to industry, benefits to practitioners, benefits to education and academia, the body of knowledge and the deliverables.

Step Two is the launch of the Professional PLM Associate programme that enables individual practitioners to benefit from the progress of the Initiative now, rather than in two or three year's time. The participant learns from the neutral Body of Knowledge to expand his or her understanding of the principles and techniques of PLM. A key feature of the programme is that it is interactive. Participants can submit questions based on theory or relating to actual work scenarios; and can meet with each other in an on-line community to share issues and work-rounds.

Both steps are currently being mobilised. Interested practitioners are invited to download and review the  White Paper and see the latest progress of the Working Group and the Associate Programme on the  Professional PLM web site. Other information can be requested via  Email Contact.