Windows 7 may become the test for Ballmer and crew as more users infer skipping an upgrade.  This maybe more of a rejection of Microsoft strategy than technology.  The recent survey quoted in eweek suggest 6 of 10 will not be upgrading.  This sounds similar to the numbers of those that have stayed on XP vs. Vista. It maybe the strategy to not have an upgrade path from XP to Windows 7 has created that doubt that Microsoft should continue to be in most computing futures.  Add the recent push to Cloud and Microsoft focus on Enterprise and Cloud, they may be creating their own prefect storm as IBM did in the 80s

Microsoft Windows 7 upgrade and migration strategy may kill off purchases as XP users have no real upgrade path to take.  Will engineering shops using XP go through the pain of migration or wait till they need a hardware refresh before making the leap? 

PLM has yet to mature much past PDM with a new interface.  A rethink of the purpose of PLM in context of a Enterprise Class Application that engages the total corporation rather than a subset of geometry creators is needed.  For PLM to reach its infered objective to manage the life cycle of a product it must bring other disciplines into the product dialog beyond discussing geometry.  PLM must declare itself as the manager of products not the administrator of data files. 

Over the years various segments of work have become standardized and now follow to some level a predicable experience curve. Various white-collar work segments are now doing the same as indicated by the employment of CRM, BPM, and to some extent PLM. The question from last year's COFES on Innovation is can creativity and innovation become standardized and follow an typical experience curve (i.e., become creative on-demand)?

As the Engineering and the Software industries have changed over time, the priorities of users and vendors have diverged. The old industry model of doing business selling products may be becoming obsolete as a new model of selling service takes on momentum in other software industries. Engineering SaaS maybe the next Killer App in Engineering Software as it will change the fundamental value proposition for businesses. Both Engineering firms and Engineering Software providers should seriously look into this new model of business.

Despite all the applied computational power applied to the problem of product design the process has only had incremental improvement during the past three decades or dare one say just automation of the tasks. What is needed is a fundamental reexamination of the problem and possibly a reengineering of the process to create a breakthrough in how products will be designed in the future.

Microsoft appears to be repeating IBM’s history as it goes through its lifecycle. From smart growth, having to learn new rules when you're the dominate player in the industry, appearance of arrogance from the same behavoirs when smaller, alienation of original market and new technology and market model challenges. It maybe Microsoft will continue to follow IBM's history into a major service provider instead of a technology providor role it is known for.

The saying goes “to really learn a subject teach it” and “if you help someone you’ll get back more in return than you give”. A recent event in helping a friend turned out to be a joyful reaffirmation of these sayings

Most of the time the term Devil's Advocate has a rather negative connotation inside the corporate walls, a phase used to demean someone that looks at alternative or contrary positions to the majority. However, sometimes having a Devil’s Advocate may be just the thing to prevent disasters in business and government. Centuries ago Roman conquerors would ride through the streets in triumph with a Slave whispering in their ear that fame and glory was fleeting --a message not to take their success to seriously—a Devil’s Advocate roll if you will. Corporations at times have recognized the value of such a roll at times. Below is one such example.

Office Accounting has arrived however, has a little more development before it could be called a solution for small businesses

Its that moment of "How Brilliant! How come nobody ever thought of that before" that seperates what I call Innovation verse Step-wise refinement --both having value in our engineering world the Dante N Bini demonstrates through his approaches of building systems.

Are mentorships and Internships all they're cracked up to be. Being a mentor is a great trust and can have lasting impacts upon your young protégé's career for life.

Is the engineering profession a victum of its own success, delivering on promises with great regularity were other professions don't?

I was going through my files the other day for a much needed annual clean-up and found some old materials during my "Skunk Work days" for others to enjoy.

During the past several months I’ve been hopping around different organizations looking at how they are operating in the product creation sense; large corporations, small businesses, and all sorts of companies in between.  It’s a sad story; we’ve become a corporate society run by spreadsheets and email.  I don’t want to slam Microsoft for this, they're in the same boat wandering around the ocean of innovation hoping to find a gem to latch onto.  Neither has IBM after downsizing again and webifying its processes been able to kick start serious innovation there either.  So what is it that makes innovation so hard in businesses? 

 

Are there no really new innovative ideas out there?  I doubt it. There are plenty of things going on if we care to notice.  Do we not have the right people on board?  Maybe. Maybe not.  Maybe the maverick you hired isn’t in the right role or hasn’t a supportive organization around him or her to truly be the catalyst for innovation you’d hoped for.  Is it a funding issue? ...

The signs that the engineering profession, like medicine, is in flux are all around.  As Engineering S/W becomes more "intelligent" design democratization become more possible and probable. Does this spell the end of engineering as a profession, a transition to a new model of work, or potentially a redefinition of engineering?

 

A long time ago Engineering was considered a highly qualified and respected profession. The profession and the disciplines under that profession (civil, mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Hydraulic, etc.) were, like medical professions, considered both a calling into a community of practice as well a requiring their own codes of honor.  A new engineering candidate was not simply tutored in the academic of the profession s/he was apprenticed and grown through experience into a master craftsman.

 

I use the work craftsman deliberately in that too many engineering projects now are no longer works of a craftsman engineer, they are becoming more spreadsheet optimizations...