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The agile strategy in designing software for modern business has become one of the most important operating models. It’s what allows you to operate more efficiently and perform various tasks better, including improving each of the product’s life stages. This is how Agile PLM came into existence.

What is an agile strategy when it comes to product lifecycle management? What is worth knowing about this approach to managing work in a company? We will write about this below.

From this article you will learn:

• What is agile design.
• What are its benefits for companies.
• What solution in the context of agile design we propose.

The agile philosophy has taken its roots mainly from the IT industry. It has gained tremendous popularity as an alternative to the classic Cascade (Waterfall) methodology. In the old model, all programming work was at once precisely planned and divided into stages with a strict budget. This means that all the key assumptions were created at the very beginning of the project. In practice, this significantly increased the time it took to get a working application to the customer.

Everything has changed with the Agile strategy, which does not set an overall plan in action, and divides work into short sprints, executed in distributed teams. This gives a lot of flexibility and allows you to quickly deliver working pieces of the program or hand over a part of the project under development, and then work on improving them, according to the guidance you receive. This therefore supports development and the constant quest to improve systems.

Such a philosophy works in many areas. It also fits perfectly with the tenets of PLM, which requires efficient organization and rapid response to changes in dynamic markets.

Agile PLM is therefore a way to make an effective and rapid transformation in a business to streamline its operations, increase process efficiency and better adapt to an intensely changing reality. This comes in handy not only in large entities, but also in small and medium-sized companies, which, thanks to IT tools, can streamline operations at every stage of work – in their own enterprise and when working with other participants in supply chains.

Agile PLM is based on a comprehensive database and digital information flow, which increases accessibility to the necessary knowledge for all parties involved in a project or its specific stage. What are the benefits of using Agile PLM?

• Faster product launch: Agile PLM enables organizations to reduce the time it takes to bring a product to market through iterative and incremental development. Agile PLM enables organizations to reduce the time it takes to bring a product to market through iterative and incremental development. This allows organizations to respond quickly to changing market requirements and implement valuable features at earlier stages.
• Greater flexibility: The agile approach enables companies to more easily adapt to change. Project teams have the ability to quickly redefine goals, priorities and requirements during iterations.
• Increased team collaboration: Agile PLM is based on collaboration between project team members. Regular meetings, transparency of work and open communication are key in agile methodologies. This allows teams to coordinate better, exchange ideas and experience, and solve problems quickly. Cooperation between different departments of the organization (e.g., marketing, production, sales) is also facilitated, which contributes to better integration and coordination of activities.
• Better control over risks and costs: Agile allows organizations to better manage project risks and costs. With short iterations and regular delivery of working pieces of the product, organizations can identify and resolve problems early.

The basic tools supporting the agile philosophy are appropriate software. Solutions developed in a cloud model, such as SILK PLM, are particularly well suited.

PLM systems give more convenient and easier access to project-critical data. Dzięki temu każdy pracownik uzyskuje dostęp do danych zdalnie, z dowolnego miejsca, w czasie rzeczywistym. This allows even very dispersed teams to work comfortably, dealing with a particular stage of activity or a fragment of a project. Efficiency is increased, the time required to complete tasks and make decisions is reduced, and the risk of making dangerous and costly mistakes is minimized.

In addition, the PLM system helps to communicate more efficiently. All thanks to features such as notifications or integrations with communication tools that make it easier to exchange information and synchronize activities. On top of that, they also allow for real-time tracking of changes, which makes it possible to quickly eliminate errors.

Solutions from SILK PLM therefore effectively support the development of modern companies wishing to agilely and efficiently manage work at every stage, not only in their own plant, but also in all other sections of supply chains in local or global groups. Modern cloud software in an agile model facilitates work and gives the opportunity for continuous development based on current needs and changes in the market.