What Is Product Lifecycle Management Software?

Product lifecycle management software (PLM) was first introduced by automotive and defense companies in the mid-1980s. The goal was to reduce development costs and speed up the product lifecycle.

Integrating different processes into a single system could seemingly solve all challenges from design, through manufacturing. For many industries that had well-established methodologies, this has proved true.

But for semiconductor organizations, having a one-size-fits-all approach causes unnecessary bloat to the design process that can compromise productivity. Further, it complicates design process, creating gaps and diminishing reuse.

PLM Software

Product Lifecycle Software Adoption Challenges

Static Design Environment

In the world of semiconductor design, change is the only constant. With the doubling of component counts every two years, PLM software cannot keep up with the velocity and volume of changes.

Forced & Inflexible Workflows

PLM software is complex and large, meaning any new processes and tools can be too disruptive to try. Teams need to adapt to PLM, not the other way around.

Increased Cost of Ownership & Maintenance

PLM tools need to be customized for semiconductor organizations, which ramps up costs and requires in-house integrations to be built (and maintained). Often the cost of customizing a generic PLM tool can outweigh the original cost.

Project-Centric Approach Limits Reuse

Today’s SoC environment requires reuse to expedite time-to-market. When you attempt to expand outside a project with a PLM tool, you run into design silos that prohibit cross-team collaboration. This limits how IP is shared and reused.

Product Lifecycle Management Framework — What’s Missing?

PLM software has filled some of the needs for large-scale product development, especially in automotive and aerospace.

But semiconductor design teams struggle trying fit into rigid workflows and manage the velocity of change. Learn how to manage scale and identify gaps in your PLM process.

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PLM in Semiconductor Mockup

Optimize Your PLM Ecosystem

By putting IP in the center of your design process, you can close the gaps in traditional PLM software. With the right tools, you can gather information from all areas of your PLM solution and deliver them in centralized solution.

PLM Ecosystem

Perforce Methodics IPLM + Your PLM Strategy

Having an IP-centric workflow re-centers your design workflow, allowing teams to track and manage designs while improving overall quality. Methodics IPLM by Perforce integrates into your existing PLM tool with a flexible API. Designers can easily create a workspace and browse through an IP catalog that spans across teams and projects. For organizations, this drives down costs while still providing full traceability across the product lifecycle.

PLM Strategy

Why Methodics IPLM by Perforce?

Dynamic and Integrated Environment

IPs will evolve according to their own lifecycle. Methodics IPLM builds a searchable IP catalog that includes internal and 3rd party IPs, information about bugs, tests, and more. Plus, it integrates with the tools your teams already use for a frictionless adoption.

Scale With Flexible Workflows

You can use Helix Core, Git, and Methodics IPLM together as a seamless data management solution. This provides a single source of truth that scales to support complex products and remote team members.

Workspace & Release Management

Advanced tracking of the IP release flow and global workspace management in Methodics IPLM increases visibility, helping developers and designs fully understand the context of an IP for inclusion into their project.

IP-Centric Approach Promotes Reuse

Methodics IPLM is low maintenance with relatively few insertion points into the user workflow. It enhances your existing design environment without disrupting your PLM tool. You can get all the benefits of PLM, plus enhance reuse and streamline design processes. 

Join Industry Leaders Using Perforce

9 of the top 10 semiconductor companies depend on Perforce to get work done, fast. That’s because we help conquer challenges to streamline design and development. Learn how Perforce semiconductor solutions can help you…

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Talk to a Product Lifecycle Management Expert

Discover how to optimize your PLM solution with Perforce. Our experts are industry veterans and are ready to help you get to 100% IP reusability.

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