The Department of Defense has made it clear: digital engineering is no longer optional. With the release of DoDI 5000.97, the DoD is formalizing expectations for how acquisition programs plan, execute, and sustain complex systems using digital, model-based approaches.
For aerospace and defense contractors, the directive is both challenge and opportunity. Many organizations have invested in digital tools: MBSE platforms, CAD, simulation, and analytics. A much smaller number have established the data foundation required to scale digital engineering across programs and lifecycle phases. That foundation is Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).
In this blog we’ll walk through what DoDI 5000.97 is, why it matters to aerospace and defense contractors, and how PLM is a foundational to any initiative.
What Is DoDI 5000.97?
DoDI 5000.97 institutionalizes digital engineering as a core element of the DoD acquisition lifecycle. Its intent is to move programs away from document-centric processes toward data-driven, model-based decision making, from concept through sustainment.
At a high level, the directive emphasizes:
- Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)
- Intelligent product lifecycle concepts
- Lifecycle data continuity
- Improved traceability, transparency, and decision quality
In short, DoDI 5000.97 mandates that digital artifacts, not static documents, become the authoritative source for engineering and program execution.
The Reality for Many A&D Contractors
Despite years of discussion, many organizations still struggle to operationalize digital engineering. Common challenges include:
- Engineering data scattered across disconnected tools
- Manual handoffs between systems engineering, design, and manufacturing
- Limited traceability from requirements to verification
- Difficulty demonstrating compliance during audits and reviews
These challenges are not caused by a lack of engineering capability. They come from the absence of a central system of record that connects people, processes, and product data across the lifecycle.
Why PLM Is the Foundation of Digital Engineering
Deploying a single tool doesn’t mean a company has achieved digital engineering. It requires an enterprise backbone that manages product data, controls change, and enables traceability. PLM provides that backbone.
A Single Source of Truth
PLM establishes a controlled, authoritative environment for product data, including: requirements, configurations, designs, changes, and approvals. This ensures that all stakeholders are working from consistent, current information.
Enabling the Intelligent Product Lifecycle
A core objective of DoDI 5000.97 is lifecycle traceability. PLM enables the intelligent product lifecycle by linking requirements, system models, CAD, manufacturing plans, and verification artifacts. This creates end-to-end visibility across disciplines.
Connecting MBSE to the Enterprise
MBSE is a critical component of digital engineering, but it cannot operate in isolation. PLM integrates system models with downstream engineering and manufacturing data, ensuring system intent is carried through design, production, and sustainment.
Supporting Governance and Compliance
PLM provides built-in version control, configuration management, and auditability. These capabilities are essential for meeting DoD oversight, reporting, and certification expectations.
Mapping DoDI 5000.97 Objectives to PLM Capabilities
While DoDI 5000.97 defines what the DoD expects from digital engineering, it leaves the how up to contractors. Many organizations struggle with translating policy language into executable engineering and program processes. PLM provides the operational capabilities that allow companies to implement DoDI 5000.97 objectives consistently and at scale.
Digital Engineering Implementation
PLM acts as the enterprise system of record for digital artifacts, ensuring that models, requirements, configurations, and engineering decisions are managed as authoritative data, not disconnected files. This enables teams to operationalize digital engineering across programs rather than treating it as a pilot or standalone initiative.
Digital Thread Enablement
A core expectation of DoDI 5000.97 is end-to-end traceability. PLM enables the intelligent lifecycle by linking requirements to system models, designs, manufacturing plans, and verification results. This provides continuous visibility across the lifecycle and supporting faster, more informed decision-making.
Model-Based Systems Engineering Integration
PLM connects MBSE outputs to downstream engineering and manufacturing data, ensuring system intent is preserved throughout execution. This integration allows changes at the system level to propagate accurately, reducing rework and misalignment across disciplines.
Lifecycle Data Management & Governance
Defense programs often span decades. PLM provides long-term data governance, configuration control, and version management. These capabilities are essential for sustaining digital continuity across development, production, and sustainment phases.
What This Looks Like in Practice
When PLM is positioned as the foundation of digital engineering, the impact extends well beyond engineering efficiency. Programs gain greater confidence in data integrity, leadership gains clearer insight into program health, and compliance becomes an outcome of daily work rather than a last-minute exercise.
In practice, a PLM-enabled digital engineering environment enables:
- Requirements that are digitally linked to system models and product structures
- System architectures that drive downstream design and configuration decisions
- Engineering changes evaluated with full lifecycle impact visibility
- Manufacturing and quality teams accessing the same authoritative product definition
- Program managers able to demonstrate traceability during reviews and audits
Rather than chasing data across tools, teams work within a connected ecosystem where digital artifacts remain synchronized throughout the lifecycle.
Getting Started: Building a PLM-Centered Digital Engineering Strategy
Adopting digital engineering under DoDI 5000.97 does not require a wholesale transformation overnight. Successful organizations take a phased, pragmatic approach, grounded in business priorities and program realities. PLM provides the structure needed to scale these efforts deliberately and sustainably.
Key steps include:
- Establish Data Governance: Define ownership, standards, and lifecycle rules for product and engineering data to ensure consistency and trust.
- Integrate MBSE and Design Data into PLM: Connect system models, requirements, and CAD data to create a unified product definition.
- Align Digital Workflows to Acquisition Milestones: Map PLM workflows to DoD acquisition phases and program reviews.
- Enable Cross-Functional Collaboration: Extend PLM access beyond engineering to manufacturing, quality, and supply chain teams.
- Measure Progress: Track improvements in traceability, reuse, cycle time, and change impact analysis to demonstrate value.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Many digital engineering initiatives stall not because of technology limitations, but due to strategic missteps. Understanding these pitfalls can help organizations avoid costly rework and unrealized value.
Common challenges include:
- Treating Digital Engineering as a Tool Deployment: Digital engineering is a transformation of processes and behaviors, not just software implementation.
- Isolating MBSE from Enterprise Systems: MBSE tools must be connected to PLM to ensure system intent drives execution.
- Underestimating Data Quality and Governance: Poor data discipline undermines traceability and trust in digital artifacts.
- Ignoring Change Management: Without training, communication, and leadership alignment, adoption will lag.
Avoiding these pitfalls requires viewing PLM as a strategic capability, one that supports compliance, execution, and long-term program success under DoDI 5000.97.
PLM Is Non-Negotiable Under DoDI 5000.97
DoDI 5000.97 makes one thing clear: digital engineering is a strategic imperative for defense acquisition programs. For aerospace and defense contractors, success depends not just on adopting digital tools, but on establishing PLM as the foundation that connects them.
Organizations that treat PLM as an enterprise capability, not simply an engineering system, will be best positioned to meet DoD expectations, reduce risk, and deliver complex systems with greater speed and confidence.
Interested in learning more about the importance of PLM? Explore how foundational PLM is in our guide: Digital Transformation Starts with PLM.
