Diagnosing Engineering Information Interoperability: Recognizing the Value of Standards-Based PLM — Part 1

The notion of an open standards-based product lifecycle management (PLM) framework is gaining momentum. In this paper, we describe the idea of a standards-based collective product model (CPM) and its interaction with domain models native to typical engineering tools. A critical hurdle in the development of the CPM from domain models is assessing the compatibility of information in these native models to its corresponding standards-based representation. To address this, we use the concept of “degree-of-openness” of engineering information. This concept comprises three metrics, namely compatibility, coverage and completeness that are used to evaluate the interoperability of information in tool-specific models with its corresponding standards-based representation. We also demonstrate GT-Diagnostics, a prototype tool that evaluates these metrics. Using electrical and mechanical CAD examples, we illustrate the value of these metrics in understanding the relative interoperability of information for engineering and business decision making. Results indicate that the metrics help to identify the sources of incompatibility of information and the areas of possible improvement in the compared schemas.