Desiqns on test

摘要

PLM, product lifecycle management, has been one of the big-noise industrial systems ideas of the past 10 years or so, but it hasn't necessarily up to now had a lot of impact on the product testing side of the business. But that may be about to change. PTC is one of a handful of big-name companies in this area, and it has just announced its intention to bring the management of test operations, plus several other product-related issues, inside the PLM tent. Except, of course, that being the manufacturing and product development software business, you can't call it PLM any more: there's a new three-letter acronym on the block. Welcome to ALM. ALM is sometimes asset lifecycle management or sometimes application lifecycle management, and the changes in the first word may be to a degree semantic, in that it's all still to do with product. But PTC is making a big thing of the new functions and operations that are being brought in to sit as a balance to its standard PLM software in the new system. The kicker for PTC has been the acquisition of the MKS company - in this area, even the companies are three-letter acronyms - and the Integrity application management system it brings with it. MKS technology chief Andrew Wertkin is now chief technology officer for PTC's Integrity division, and his job is to align Integrity with the existing Windchill PLM system.