Compiled with input from QR_ PDM professionals Daniel Garraff, Evgenios Efthymiou, Dave Slawson, Andrew Houghton, and William Smith. This is the second in our three-part "QR_ essentials" series on BoM systems.
In the emerging world of quantum computing, the above question might soon become irrelevant. But until you run a quantum computer, you'll very likely be called upon to choose between speed and intelligence for your BoM system. Two main scenarios call for this choice: when choosing which BoM system to use, and when deciding when to implement a new feature in a BoM system under development.
Spoiler alert: in both scenarios, the answer is that you need a balance between speed and intelligence. The interesting question is how to strike it.
What does it mean to be fast — and how important is it?
A simple way of thinking about it in the world of BoMs is to ask: "how fast can you retrieve the information from where it is stored, manipulate it, and send it back?" From the everyday user's perspective, responsiveness also plays a role — how long will it take before something happens after I take an action?
In a study we carried out (covered in our article "What do automotive OEMs look for in a good BoM system?"), system speed wasn't the number-one priority. We found that a fast, responsive system was the third most important criterion — after having one master BoM, and robust, reliable performance.
What about intelligence?
Intelligence, for a BoM system, looks at all the capabilities that let the system operate efficiently and effectively. You can think of it as how well the system works in conjunction with your business processes — from guiding the user through the task at hand, to catching common mistakes before they land.
Is it possible for a system to be both fast and clever?
Like most things in life, cost is often the main factor that drives a wedge between speed and intelligence. Think back to the scenarios at the start. If you're choosing a new system, your speed is very likely to depend on hardware — and faster hardware is more expensive. In the other scenario, buying plug-ins or developing new complex features for your BoM system will cost money. Even when those features would potentially save you from costly errors down the line, simply running them requires some daily processing power. Suddenly, your BoM system is crawling and no-one wants to work in it.
One school of thought would argue that whatever the complexity, whatever the validations and workflows that need to run should be allowed to run — and we should work around the time it takes. After all, BoM work isn't the only thing employees need to worry about.
Here lies a trap we've seen time and time again. If your system doesn't deliver immediate access to its data, you can be sure your users will still get at it — often through an offline and probably outdated record. Based on our experience, the biggest impact a slow system has is the rise of "secret data factories." That directly inhibits the biggest criterion of a good BoM system: the elusive one master BoM.
There's also a cultural effect to overly complex, slow systems. One system we observed — where loading BoM data took more than 10 minutes due to the high complexity of validations and checks — led to a culture of users requesting BoM data and then going for a coffee break. In a study, engineers specifically labelled it the "worst system to work with," and directly linked it to driving down the efficiency of the business.
Striking the balance
Your data quality will be directly impacted by how well your system is balanced. Having understood the trade-off between speed and intelligence and considered your business needs, there are four main factors to consider when looking at your balance point:
- Rate of data change — Infrequent changes allow more leeway on the need for speed. High rates of change can call for a faster system.
- Size of BoM — Large volumes of data can be quickly fed through the business to achieve desired efficiency. On the other hand, intelligently embedding your business process could help better manage large data volumes — but can make the task of interacting with the BoM a slow, painful process.
- BoM complexity — High complexity increases the information a system needs to process, even with small BoMs. The trade-off between speed and intelligence is critical here because the user input needs to be efficient. Do you choose quick access, or complex checks to ensure more value-added information is provided?
- Business process complexity — A relatively simple process will generate less data, even in a complex system — allowing you to move faster and more efficiently. On the other hand, high business process complexity can mean having data stuck in the labyrinth of corporate bureaucracy. An intelligent system can help you safeguard against those modes of failure.
At QR_ we believe the system isn't the whole answer. Delivering successful programmes depends on progressive data maturity. To enable that, a system must be fast enough to encourage users to keep their BoM up to date — and avoid secret data factories — while being clever enough to enforce that data maturity. With the increasing complexity of data in a more connected and electrified world, achieving this becomes even harder. A balanced system contributes to success. But to deliver that success in a truly effective manner, PDM professionals who are both process and system experts are essential.
Originally published on Medium: medium.com/quick-release/fast-vs-clever-bom