Manufacturers today operate in increasingly complex environments. Product development involves more tools, more data, more teams, and more customer expectations than ever before. As organizations push to innovate faster while keeping quality high and costs contained, even small inefficiencies in the product development ecosystem can create major bottlenecks.
Many teams know something isn’t working, but they can’t see exactly where the misalignment lives.
That’s where a Product Development System Assessment (PDSA) becomes invaluable. A PDSA is a structured, high-impact evaluation of how your people, processes, systems, and data work together across the entire product lifecycle. It provides clarity about hidden inefficiencies, identifies opportunities for improvement, and delivers a prioritized roadmap aligned with your business strategy.
In this article, we break down what a PDSA includes, why companies need it, and the business value it creates for engineering and manufacturing organizations.
What Is a Product Development System Assessment (PDSA)?
A Product Development System Assessment is a comprehensive analysis of your entire product development ecosystem, from concept to engineering to manufacturing and service. Unlike narrow audits focused on tools or isolated workflows, a PDSA evaluates the full system that supports product development.
This includes:
- How teams collaborate
- How processes flow across departments
- How well systems like CAD, PLM, ERP, and IoT integrate
- How product data moves through its lifecycle
- How aligned your operations are with your organizational goals
A PDSA delivers a clear current-state diagnosis and a future-state vision, helping your organization understand not just what is happening, but why, and what steps will unlock measurable improvement.
Why Do Companies Perform a Product Development System Assessment?
Most organizations pursue a PDSA when they’re experiencing friction across their processes but don’t have a reliable way to pinpoint root causes. Common symptoms include:
- Slow product releases
- Rework due to inconsistent data
- Disconnected systems requiring manual workarounds
- Bottlenecks between design and manufacturing
- Confusion around roles, responsibilities, and ownership
- Low adoption of critical tools like PLM, CAD, or ALM
- Lack of visibility across teams or across the digital thread
A PDSA turns scattered issues into a connected story. It creates a fact-based foundation that leaders can use to make smarter decisions about technology investments, process improvements, organizational changes, and digital transformation initiatives.
In short: a PDSA gives you the clarity you need to move from reactive problem-solving to proactive strategic improvement.
When Is the Right Time to Conduct a Product Development System Assessment?
Organizations typically conduct a PDSA when:
- They’re preparing for a major PLM, CAD, ERP, or ALM upgrade or deployment
- They are merging teams or integrating new business units
- Product complexity has grown faster than their systems can support
- Digital transformation initiatives are planned or underway
- Repeated issues are slowing down engineering or manufacturing
- Teams are struggling with inconsistent or manual processes
A PDSA is an ideal starting point when leadership knows improvement is needed but lacks an objective, end-to-end view of where to begin.
What Business Challenges Does a Product Development System Assessment Address?
A PDSA tackles the systemic challenges that impact product development performance. Key issues it uncovers include:
Disconnected or poorly integrated systems: When CAD, PLM, ERP, and other tools don’t work together, teams resort to manual workarounds that slow everything down.
Version control and data consistency problems: Different versions of product data across departments lead to errors, rework, and delays.
Inefficient or unclear processes: Non-standardized workflows or unclear ownership create bottlenecks and confusion.
Limited cross-functional visibility: Teams struggle to understand how upstream or downstream processes affect their work.
Underutilized technology investments: Organizations often own advanced tools but haven’t configured, integrated, or adopted them fully.
By revealing these issues, a PDSA provides the insight needed to streamline workflows, reduce risk, and improve product development outcomes.
What Does a Product Development System Assessment Cover?
A PDSA evaluates four core dimensions of your product development ecosystem:
1. Processes: How work flows from concept to design to production, including: approvals, handoffs, and change management.
2. People: How cross-functional teams collaborate, communicate, and use the tools available to them.
3. Systems: How technologies (PLM, CAD, ALM, ERP, IoT) interact and support your product lifecycle.
4. Data: How information is created, stored, shared, and maintained across teams and systems.
This holistic approach reveals the true health of your product development environment and identifies where improvements will have the highest impact.
Can the Assessment Focus on Specific Areas?
Yes. While a full PDSA is end-to-end, it can also target individual functional areas or processes if needed.
Common focus areas include:
- Change management
- Design-to-manufacturing handoff
- CAD/PLM integration
- Data governance and version control
- Configuration management
- Requirements and ALM processes
- Engineering workflows
- Supplier collaboration
This flexibility allows organizations to use a PDSA where it will deliver the most immediate value.
What Is the Process for Conducting a Product Development System Assessment?
A typical PDSA follows a structured, collaborative process:
1. Discovery & Alignment: Define objectives, scope, and success metrics with leadership and stakeholders.
2. Data Collection & Interviews: Evaluate workflows, tools, organizational structures, and performance insights through documentation, system review, and stakeholder interviews.
3. Analysis: Identify gaps, redundancies, bottlenecks, and maturity levels across processes, teams, and systems.
4. Future-State Visioning: Develop a clear picture of what an optimized, connected product development ecosystem should look like for your organization.
5. Prioritized Roadmap: Deliver a step-by-step action plan with recommended initiatives, ROI-focused priorities, and realistic timelines.
This process creates clarity without disrupting daily operations.
What Deliverables Will You Receive?
At the conclusion of a PDSA, organizations receive a clear, actionable set of deliverables, including:
- Current-State Assessment: Strengths, weaknesses, bottlenecks, and gaps.
- Future-State Vision: What optimized product development looks like.
- Prioritized Roadmap: Specific steps to improve processes, integrations, data flow, and team alignment.
- Executive Summary: High-level insights for leadership decision-making.
These deliverables become the blueprint for technology selection, system upgrades, workflow redesign, and digital transformation initiatives.
Is a Product Development System Assessment a Standalone Service?
Yes. A PDSA delivers immediate, standalone value and does not require additional services. You can use the findings internally or choose to work with EAC Product Development Solutions to implement the roadmap.
Many organizations begin with a PDSA to de-risk future transformation investments and ensure they are prioritizing the right initiatives.
Why a PDSA Matters
A Product Development System Assessment gives manufacturers the deep visibility they need to make better decisions. It transforms scattered frustrations into a cohesive story about how your organization works, and where it can work better.
In a world where innovation speed and product quality define competitive advantage, understanding the health of your product development ecosystem is essential. A PDSA helps you reduce friction, increase clarity, and build a connected digital thread across engineering, manufacturing, and service.
Ready to discover how efficient your product development system could be? Learn more about EAC’s Product Development System Assessments today.
Manufacturers and engineering organizations know inefficiency hides in plain sight. Data silos, manual workflows, disconnected systems, and inconsistent handoffs often create friction across the product development lifecycle, but identifying exactly where those breakdowns occur can be difficult without a holistic, end-to-end view.
A Product Development System Assessment (PDSA) provides that clarity. Unlike narrow, department-level diagnostics, a PDSA evaluates your complete product development ecosystem (people, processes, systems, and data) to uncover root causes of inefficiency and define a clear roadmap for improvement.
But not all assessments, or providers, deliver the same level of insight, objectivity, or actionable recommendations. Choosing the right partner is essential to ensure your organization gets the strategic foundation it needs to elevate performance, strengthen cross-functional alignment, and accelerate digital transformation.
In this guide, we explore the value a full Product Development System Assessment provides, what to look for in a PDSA provider, and how to ensure you select a partner who can deliver meaningful, measurable results.
Business Value Questions
What value and benefits can companies expect from a Product Development System Assessment?
A PDSA offers deep visibility into how your entire product development ecosystem functions today, and where it’s falling short. Organizations gain a comprehensive, objective understanding of how engineering, manufacturing, quality, service, IT, and leadership interact (or fail to).
Key benefits include:
- Clear understanding of system and process inefficiencies
- Insight into data flow and handoff breakdowns
- Improved alignment between teams and business objectives
- Identification of technology underutilization or misconfiguration
- A prioritized roadmap for process improvement and system optimization
The greatest value lies in the assessment’s holistic nature. Instead of focusing on a single area, a PDSA connects all the pieces. This helps leaders see the “big picture” and make smarter, more strategic decisions that drive enterprise-wide results.
How does a PDSA help companies prioritize initiatives and accelerate improvement?
By capturing an end-to-end view of your product development system, the PDSA helps organizations identify high-impact opportunities and sequence them for maximum ROI. The output is not just a list of issues, it’s a structured improvement strategy.
A strong PDSA provider uses proven frameworks, industry benchmarks, and domain expertise to help organizations:
- Rank initiatives by impact and feasibility
- Reduce friction in engineering and downstream processes
- Identify quick wins, foundational improvements, and long-term investments
- Accelerate digital transformation with a clear path forward
This ensures leadership is not guessing about where to start or what to prioritize. Instead, decisions are grounded in data, risk impact, and enterprise value.
What risks can be avoided by performing a PDSA before major projects?
Launching optimization efforts without an accurate baseline often leads to:
- Scope creep
- Misaligned priorities
- Investment in the wrong tools or initiatives
- Rework and wasted resources
- Resistance from stakeholders
- Implementation failures
A PDSA mitigates these risks by ensuring every improvement effort is grounded in reality. It helps organizations avoid “band-aid fixes” and instead build a strong foundation for long-term scalability and performance.
How do PDSA results support leadership decision-making and investment planning?
The assessment creates a fact-based, data-backed understanding of current performance, including:
- Gaps and bottlenecks
- Cross-functional dependencies
- Technology maturity
- Process alignment
- People and role clarity
This detailed view equips leadership with:
- Justification for investment requests
- Clarity for budgeting and resource allocation
- A strategic roadmap for transformation
- A shared vision to align stakeholders
Executives can move forward confidently knowing decisions are grounded in objective analysis, not assumptions or incomplete information.
Fit, Readiness, and Consideration Questions
Is my company ready for a Product Development System Assessment?
Most organizations struggling with collaboration, system performance, or process inefficiencies are ready for a PDSA. Strong candidates typically:
- Use systems like PLM, CAD, ALM, or ERP
- Experience bottlenecks in product development
- Want to align engineering, manufacturing, and service
- Need clarity before upgrading or implementing new technology
The main requirement is willingness to participate in transparent discovery sessions. A skilled provider ensures this process is efficient and minimally disruptive.
If we already completed an assessment in the past, is a PDSA still valuable?
Absolutely. Product development systems evolve quickly. New software, organizational changes, or shifting priorities often create new inefficiencies.
A PDSA acts as a recalibration, validating past progress while uncovering new opportunities. Many organizations use periodic assessments to drive continuous improvement and stay aligned with digital transformation goals.
What are the limitations of a PDSA compared to a more targeted functional assessment?
A PDSA is broad by design. While it evaluates the entire ecosystem, it is not intended to be a deep-dive audit of every individual workflow or system configuration.
However, a holistic PDSA is often the necessary starting point. It reveals where deeper functional analysis is warranted, whether in CAD operations, PLM configuration, manufacturing workflows, or data governance.
How do you choose between a full PDSA and a smaller functional assessment?
Choosing between a full Product Development System Assessment (PDSA) and a functional assessment depends on how clearly you understand the challenges within your organization. If issues span multiple teams (engineering delays, manufacturing rework, inconsistent data, system integration gaps) a full PDSA is the better fit. It provides a holistic view of your product development ecosystem and helps uncover root causes that may not be visible when looking at a single department or system.
A functional assessment is ideal when the pain point is clearly isolated, such as CAD standards, PLM configuration, change management workflows, or manufacturing processes. These assessments go deeper into a specific area to provide tactical, targeted recommendations.
Many organizations start with a PDSA to identify enterprise-wide priorities, then follow up with functional assessments to address the highest-impact opportunities in greater detail.
Industry Use Cases and Scale Questions
Which organizations benefit most from a PDSA?
Organizations that develop complex products, operate in regulated environments, or manage multi-disciplinary engineering teams benefit the most from a PDSA. This includes industries such as aerospace, medical devices, industrial equipment, automotive, electronics, defense, and energy. These are industries where engineering decisions directly impact compliance, cost, quality, and time-to-market.
However, the value isn’t limited to large enterprises. Mid-market manufacturers often see some of the fastest ROI because they typically operate with lean teams who juggle multiple roles across engineering, operations, and IT. When processes are informal or legacy tools haven’t scaled with business growth, even small inefficiencies create significant delays or rework.
Ultimately, any organization seeking clearer visibility, stronger collaboration, and a more connected digital thread is an ideal candidate for a PDSA.
Can the assessment be applied at the product-line or business-unit level?
Yes. A PDSA is fully scalable and can target a single product line, a dedicated engineering group, a manufacturing cell, or a full enterprise deployment.
Starting with a narrower scope is often strategic, especially for organizations early in digital transformation or those with limited bandwidth. Assessing a pilot group or high-impact product portfolio allows you to validate improvements, quantify value, and build momentum before expanding the assessment enterprise-wide.
This modular approach helps teams focus on the areas that will deliver the biggest and fastest wins, while still aligning with long-term transformation goals.
How does the approach scale across digital maturity levels?
A PDSA adapts to organizations across all maturity levels, from companies with manual, paper-based workflows to highly digital organizations already using advanced PLM, CAD, ALM, or manufacturing systems.
- Early-stage maturity:
The assessment identifies baseline issues like inconsistent workflows, lack of version control, manual handoffs, or disconnected systems. Recommendations focus on standardization, foundational governance, and building an initial digital thread. - Mid-stage maturity:
Most organizations here have tools in place but lack adoption, integrations, or optimization. A PDSA highlights where processes are misaligned with system capabilities, where automation can reduce manual work, and how to streamline cross-functional collaboration. - High maturity:
Even sophisticated teams benefit from a PDSA. At this level, the focus shifts toward advanced enablement—model-based enterprise, analytics, connected product data, ALM/PLM/ERP integration, and scaling digital transformation across the enterprise.
Because the PDSA framework is maturity-agnostic, it meets organizations where they are and helps them grow systematically.
Implementation Process and Logistics Questions
What is involved in coordinating and executing a PDSA?
A Product Development System Assessment is designed to be thorough, structured, and minimally disruptive. The provider handles the heavy lifting while your team participates through targeted interviews and information-sharing sessions.
A typical implementation includes:
- Kickoff & Alignment:
Define scope, business objectives, and key concerns. Establish the leadership sponsor and core stakeholders. - Stakeholder Mapping:
Identify and schedule conversations with engineering, manufacturing, operations, quality, IT, product management, and any other functional groups involved in the product lifecycle. - Process & Workflow Evaluation:
Gather documentation, workflow descriptions, screenshots, and system insights to understand how work is performed today. - System & Data Review:
Assess PLM, CAD, ALM, ERP, and related systems, how they integrate, how data flows between them, and where bottlenecks occur. - Cross-Functional Interviews:
Conduct structured sessions to capture user experiences, process challenges, pain points, and improvement opportunities. - Analysis & Maturity Scoring:
Evaluate findings against best practices and industry benchmarks to determine current maturity levels. - Synthesis & Roadmap Development:
Translate observations into actionable recommendations, sequencing, and an improvement roadmap.
The process is designed so leadership stays informed, stakeholders feel heard, and insights emerge organically, not through guesswork.
How long does a PDSA take?
Most assessments take 6–10 weeks, depending on organizational complexity, system landscape, and scope. Shorter assessments (4–6 weeks) are possible for smaller organizations or limited product-line evaluations, while global enterprises or companies with highly regulated processes may require deeper discovery.
The timeline ensures a balance between speed and depth, fast enough to maintain momentum, but comprehensive enough to deliver high-confidence insights.
What internal commitment is required?
Internal time commitments are manageable and structured to minimize disruption:
- Interviews: Typically 60–90 minutes per stakeholder
- Workshops: 1–2 cross-functional sessions
- Information-sharing: Providing existing documentation, workflow diagrams, system access, or example artifacts
The provider leads the process, guides stakeholders through each step, and ensures the assessment produces accurate, actionable results without overburdening your teams.
What happens after the assessment?
After the assessment is completed, you receive a packaged set of deliverables—usually including a current-state summary, maturity model, future-state vision, and a prioritized roadmap.
Teams are then equipped to:
- Launch targeted improvement initiatives
- Plan system upgrades or reconfigurations
- Align process owners across engineering, manufacturing, and IT
- Build a long-term digital transformation strategy
- Prepare for PLM, ALM, CAD, or data governance projects
Some organizations execute improvements internally, while others choose to partner with EAC or bring in additional support.
Post-Assessment and Action Questions
How do organizations turn PDSA findings into real improvements?
Turning insights into outcomes requires structured execution.
Most organizations begin by identifying quick wins, high-value projects, and foundational initiatives. These often include:
- PLM configuration improvements
- CAD workflow standardization
- Enhanced change management processes
- Better integration between engineering and manufacturing
- Data governance and lifecycle documentation updates
- Cross-functional workflow redesign
The roadmap ensures each initiative is sequenced logically, with clear owners and measurable goals. Regular progress reviews and change management support keep the plan on track.
What ensures the roadmap is executed effectively?
Success depends on a combination of:
- Executive sponsorship: Leadership alignment ensures the roadmap is prioritized.
- Clear ownership: Each initiative needs a dedicated leader and accountable team.
- Structured governance: Standing meetings, KPIs, and milestone tracking ensure momentum.
- Change management planning: Training, communication, and stakeholder engagement reduce resistance.
- Technical and process expertise: Skilled partners help avoid missteps and accelerate implementation.
Organizations that combine leadership alignment, strong governance, and expert guidance achieve the fastest and most sustainable improvements.
How often should a PDSA be repeated?
Most organizations repeat a Product Development System Assessment every 18–36 months.
This cadence allows teams to:
- Measure progress against previous recommendations
- Update maturity scores
- Adjust priorities to match new business objectives
- Identify emerging issues created by system changes or organizational growth
- Reassess readiness for major initiatives (such as PLM upgrades or digital thread expansion)
A recurring PDSA becomes a cornerstone of continuous improvement—ensuring your systems, processes, and teams evolve with your business.
Choosing the Right Partner
Selecting the right provider for your Product Development System Assessment is about more than technical expertise. It’s about finding a strategic partner who understands the complexities of modern product development and can deliver insights that drive meaningful change.
EAC Product Development Solutions brings over 25 years of experience helping manufacturers align systems, processes, data, and teams to improve performance and accelerate digital transformation.
Whether your goal is to optimize your engineering workflows, modernize your PLM, or build a more connected digital thread, a PDSA provides the clarity and direction needed to move forward with confidence.
Learn more about EAC’s Product Development System Assessments today!
THE PEOPLE WHO POWER DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AT LIVEWORX 2023
Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A – 2023 EAC Product Development Solutions, an award-winning PTC Solutions Partner and Global Services Provider, returns to Boston May 15-18 for LiveWorx 2023 with seven presentations covering today’s most impactful solutions in the manufacturing space.
EAC partners with companies to help them navigate their digital transformation journey by providing extensive capabilities that span the entirety of the manufacturing process, including solutions such as Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Simulation, Additive Manufacturing, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Augmented Reality (AR) and more.
“We are excited to be a part of LiveWorx 2023 and to have the opportunity to showcase our latest technology solutions,” said EAC’s Chris Woerther, VP of Business Development. Our team of experts is looking forward to connecting with attendees and sharing how our solutions can help businesses succeed in the digital age.
LiveWorx 2023, the world’s premier digital transformation conference, brings together innovators, forward-thinkers, and experts to explore the latest technologies in digital transformation. EAC provides the essential services, support, and strategic expertise that manufacturing companies need to extract the maximum value from technology investments.
As such, EAC has been selected to present seven sessions at LiveWorx 2023:
[AR1088B] – Creo Illustrate for AR Developers
Monday, May 15 2:15 PM – 2:45 PM EDT | Breakout Session 102 B
Clay Helberg, EAC Solution Architect, will provide insights into Creo Illustrate, a powerful tool for creating engaging augmented reality (AR) content, and the key insights you should know to get the best use for authoring.
[PL1842B] – Minimum Windchill Implementation to Achieve Significant ROI
Monday, May 15 3:10 PM – 3:40 PM EDT | Breakout Session 105
During this session, Chris Woerther, EAC Vice President of Business Development, will present how to achieve strong ROI by expanding Windchill usage to other departments and the shop floor to share product data and create a closed-loop change process with minimum implementation.
[AR18431] – AR and Expert Capture – How Easy it Can Really Be to Get Strong ROI
Tuesday, May 16 8:15 AM – 8:30 AM EDT | IgniteTalX Stage 1
Todd Liebenow, EAC Senior Application Engineer, will discuss the significance of Augmented Reality in capturing, standardizing, and sharing workforce knowledge, including how it improves efficiency and speeds up onboarding and training for new employees.
[CA1179B] – Why Model-Based Definition?
Tuesday, May 16 2:50 PM – 3:20 PM EDT | Breakout Session 205 A
During this presentation, Stephen Pralle, EAC Application Engineer, will explain what model-based definition is, why it is beneficial, and how to implement this strategy into the product development process.
[PL18451] – Assessing Your Business Practices to Find Optimization Opportunities
Wednesday, May 17 8:15AM – 8:30AM EDT | IgniteTalX Stage 2
Scott Dufresne, EAC Business Development Manager, will discuss the significant business benefits assessments achieve and how they identify areas of improvement in design, management, operations, and service sectors.
[CA11801] – Rapids Prototyping Made Simple with Creo Additive Manufacturing
Wednesday, May 17 2:45 PM – 3:00 PM EDT | IgniteTalX Silent Stage
Stephen Pralle, EAC Applications Engineer, will present the power of Creo and Additive Manufacturing together for earlier design success that enables faster time-to-market.
[CA1181I] – Simulation-Driven Design with Creo Simulation Live
Thursday, May 18 10:15 AM – 10:30 AM EDT | IgniteTalX Silent Stage
Stephen Pralle, EAC Application Engineer, will showcase the powerful capabilities of PTC’s Creo Simulation Live (CSL) to easily leverage simulation earlier in the design process with real-time feedback to save time and boost innovation.
Attendees will have the chance to speak with EAC industry experts and leaders to explore the best-fit solutions to drive business growth and achieve their strategic goals.
Check out our Digital Transformation blog featured on the PTC LiveWorx page:
EAC will be available throughout the conference at Booth No. 700.
Liveworx is happening at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on May 15-18, 2023. To plan your agenda and attend EAC’s live sessions, visit www.liveworx.com.
For more information about EAC Product Development Solutions, visit www.eacpds.com.
Media Contacts
PTC Senior Director, Global Corporate Communications
Greg Payne – gpayne@ptc.com
Often times we can find ourselves knowing where we want to go but not knowing where to start. This is a common theme when it comes to digital transformation. Not surprisingly, we have seen many of our customers use EAC assessments as the first step to open up a world of opportunities for their company to grow and evolve its processes.
JR Automation has been an EAC customer for over a decade, and when we first started working with them, the first action was an EAC assessment. We were able to provide them a customized roadmap for success and prove how JR was going to achieve it. EAC has helped JR Automation find ways to save time, save money and increase efficiency – with savings over $1.4 million every year. JR took the first step with EAC helping them to find that starting point. Today JR continues to find new ways to innovate and evolve with growing customer demands in a highly competitive marketplace.
What to Expect from an EAC Assessment
Assessments can seem daunting at first. You may be asking yourself questions like, “Are they going to come in and tell us all the things we are doing wrong?”
In reality, our goal with assessments is to identify your current state and production and manufacturing processes, assess the maturity of your operational technologies, and work with your team to pinpoint an ideal future state. Making transformational changes to a company can be a sizable cultural shift and we help companies prepare to make that change. There are risks you take when you don’t assess your current situation, and we want to help you minimize those risks.
Functional Group Assessment (FGA)
The EAC Functional Group Assessment provides an objective format for your functional groups to truly understand their creation, consumption, and delivery of product data. These groups could consist of any cross-sectional team members from engineering, design, manufacturing, sales, marketing, or management.
During an FGA, our team of subject-matter experts will work to understand how your key team members work daily to complete the product development process. After the evaluation is complete and our experts have uncovered your current processes and technology usage, we will help you establish a roadmap that will lead your company to higher productivity and savings across the board.
After our findings have been documented and studied, we will lay out new possible methods and functions to improve overall productivity. These recommendations could include ways to improve capability gaps, business policy improvements, procedures that ensure efficiency and alignment, or strategies for training to maintain efficiency.
The benefits of an FGA could span from understanding your Functional Group alignment to business objectives and initiatives and their use of existing toolsets to examining processes and daily tasks that reflect your current state. We also uncover overall awareness of opportunities for improvement and bring alignment to Functional Vision for your desired future state.
Ultimately, we help you create a plan to achieve that desired state so you can spend less time wondering how to grow and more time-saving money through innovation. Companies like ITW Paslode and Nordco have taken advantage of the FGA and have seen the financial value in getting started on the transformational journey.
Digital Transformation Assessment (DTA)
Similar to the FGA, a Digital Transformation Assessment is an EAC-provided service that explores an organization’s product development system functionality. Our experts look at an organization’s operations and provide broad insight into improvement initiatives and establish a strategy for achieving operational improvement of a product development system.
When working through this assessment, our team has candid one-on-one discussions with your team members where we uncover what is working well, any occurred costs, and evaluate optimization opportunities.
The results that stem from an EAC Assessment are unmatched. Companies are discovering data they never knew were siloed, teams that were frustrated with processes, and many other disruptions in production. After uprooting and addressing these issues, companies like JR Automation, HyrdaForce, DRS, Merrick, and Systems Control are able quote more business and respond to customers faster – increasing their profit as well as employee and customer satisfaction.
Streamlined Digital Transformation Assessment (SDTA)
Similar to the functional DTA, the Streamlined Digital Transformation Assessment focuses on the interviews and direct inputs from your team members. However, it does not include an online survey and corresponding metric output. This assessment is offered as one variation of the Digital Transformation Assessment to fit your specific needs.
This assessment is a great fit for companies that have the desire to optimize their product development system, have the approval to move forward with the optimization, but are unsure where to start or what to focus on first.
While there are a few exclusions from the full DTA in this assessment, our team still coordinates select participants to plan and schedule the execution of individual interviews with participants involved in the assessment. This process will be a higher level approach than a full DTA, and may not include as many details or metrics. This assessment is still an excellent tool to explore your current business functions and define a roadmap to success.
Digital Manufacturing Assessment (DMA)
The Digital Manufacturing Assessment evaluates the overall state of your current product development systems regarding IoT initiatives, provides broad organizational visibility to improvement initiatives and identifies an IoT solution roadmap to help you determine the very first steps you should take on your digital transformational journey.
After evaluating your current manufacturing practices and operations, our experts will identify the best opportunities for growth that align with your corporate goals. When Kimray did a DMA with our team, they were able to recognize technology and solutions that would integrate with their current processes and also propel them to the next level in production. Together we developed a strategic roadmap that enhanced their processes.
The opportunities and pathways are endless to how your company can achieve digital transformation in the same way – a DMA is a great place to start.
Value Stream Mapping Assessment (VSMA)
A Value Stream Mapping Assessment consists of documenting the key action steps during production, gathering information from inputs and outputs, examining the systems used to manage that information, and pinpointing key optimization opportunities at each step. After, our experts work with your team to define an ideal future state of your product development process. The future process documentation outlines key improvements needed in business principles, policies, processes, and procedures utilizing the latest systems available to you to facilitate those improvements. Our EAC experts then defines a high-level roadmap and guidance on how to achieve those improvements.
During a VSMA, your team can expect to receive an important strategy that documents your current state including process documentation, pains, and what those pains are costing your business. With this information, together we will curate the vision of your future state – what your development could be – and create a roadmap on how to get there.
The company MEANS had EAC come in for a VSMA and was able to get a roadmap on system integrations that opened up the opportunities for better processes to connect their company. With an EAC roadmap, MEANS was able to realize a future state of streamlined processes to get their product to market faster and with less downtime.
When to Start
Now that we’ve answered the “what” and “why” of EAC assessments, the next question is “when.” Knowing you want to take your business to the next level, but feeling like you don’t how or where to start is the perfect time to invest in an assessment. Our ultimate goal is to understand your unique enterprise, your corporate strategic goals, and its current state, define your ideal future state, and plan an achievable way to get there together. EAC’s Assessment services can be the stepping stones for long-term company success and Digital Transformation.
Want to hear more testimonials or see which assessment would fit your company best and see how we could transform the way you do business? Connect with one of our experts!
