Case Studies

Transforming Product Development with
IBM ELM in the Automotive Industry

  • Client : Automotive Supplier

  • Client's Industry : Automotive
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Client's Challenges

Issues, Challenges, or Pain Points Faced by the Client

  • A disconnect in the product development process was impeding innovation.
  • Delays in time to market were affecting competitiveness.
  • Quality issues needed to be addressed.
  • Collaboration across teams and locations needed improvement.

Client's Expected Outcomes:

  • Improved productivity.
  • Faster time to market.
  • Enhanced product quality.
  • Streamlined collaboration across business units and locations.

How MicroGenesis Was Uniquely Positioned to Address the Challenge

  • MicroGenesis is a trusted expert in implementing IBM Engineering Lifecycle
    Management (ELM) solutions.
  • A proven track record of addressing similar challenges in various industries.

Solutions/Strategy:

Approach/Strategy to Solve the Client’s Stated Problem:

Conducted in-depth interviews with key stakeholders to assess usage and traffic to the IBM ELM platform

Collaborated closely with the client's IT team to design a customized deployment architecture.

Focused on seamless installation and configuration of IBM ELM.

Proposed Solutions:

  • Implementation of IBM ELM for all business units and geographical locations.
  • Migration of project requirements from DOORS to ERM-DOORS Next with minimal downtime and zero data loss.
  • Training and enablement of 200+ users and administrators.
  • Integration with 3rd party applications.
  • Implementation of Global Configuration (GC) for variant management.
  • Process improvement recommendations.

Timeline

The project was executed in multiple phases over a 12-month period.

Implementation Steps:

1. Installation and Configuration:

  • Installation of IBM ELM on two production and two staging systems.
  • Establishment of LDAP and SMTP servers for SSO and email notifications.
  • Deployment of SSL certificates on all ELM platforms

2. Migration:

  • Staged migration approach for minimal downtime.
  • Prioritization of projects based on customer inputs.
  • Project team granted access to review migrated requirements.

3. Reporting and Configuration:

  • Creation of reports using the Jazz reporting service (JRS) to familiarize end users with reporting capabilities in ELM.
  • Implementation of Global Configuration (GC) to facilitate variant management.
  • Suggestion of process improvement options to efficiently adhere to industry- specific standards.

Impact:

Immediate Benefits:

  • Improved visibility into product development processes.
  • Enhanced communication and collaboration.
  • Initial cost savings through optimized operations.

Long-term Benefits:

  • Significant reduction in operational costs.
  • Streamlined product development leading to faster time to market.
  • Increased product quality and customer satisfaction.
  • Improved inventory management.

Ongoing Support:

MicroGenesis continues to provide support to the client in the automotive industry, ensuring the continued adaptation and optimal usage of IBM ELM.

Conclusion:

By partnering with MicroGenesis and implementing IBM ELM, this automotive industry leader successfully addressed challenges in its product development process, resulting in enhanced innovation, accelerated time to market, improved quality, and strengthened collaboration.