Every manufacturer has an incentive to make good, high-quality, competitive products. That incentive is especially powerful in aerospace and defense, where the quality of production could literally mean life or death.
That’s not the only high bar that aerospace and defense manufacturers must clear. Stringent regulations also demand full compliance, and the sheer complexity of aerospace and defense products requires many teams and departments to work together in close harmony.
One way manufacturers can address these challenges is by investing in the right technological tools, including product roadmap management (PRM) software.
PRM Explained
When we talk about PRM, exactly what are we talking about?
PRM software allows manufacturing teams to visualize the entire product development cycle, synchronizing different timelines related to product iteration, testing, launch, and back-end support. Finance and marketing timelines can even be included.
A product roadmap management platform ensures that all stakeholders have a clear sense of timelines and deadlines, progress toward key milestones, overall business goals, and more. Additionally, PRM tools ensure that stakeholders all work with up-to-date, real-time technical information about the products they are working on. This “single course of truth” is essential for keeping everyone on the same page, working as efficiently and as precisely as possible.
How Do Aerospace and Defense Manufacturers Benefit from PRM?
While product roadmapping tools can be advantageous in any manufacturing vertical, they may be especially helpful for addressing the challenges innate to aerospace and defense. Consider just a few of the reasons why.
1) Strategic alignment.
It’s easy for individual teams to become so mired in their technical work that they forget the big picture. That’s less of a concern for manufacturers who work with PRM tools. A good product roadmap ensures that everyone involved in the process remains fully aligned with broader strategic goals, be they business goals or major regulatory compliance considerations.
2) Resource Allocation
A product roadmap can also provide a structured view of upcoming projects, which can help manufacturers anticipate their resource needs. In other words, manufacturers can make smarter, more efficient use of their R&D investments, materials, personnel hours, facilities, and more. Roadmaps can prevent overuse and excess, helping projects be relatively lean and under budget.
3) Risk Mediation
Risk is inherent to any big manufacturing project, and that’s very much the case in the complex world of aerospace and defense. Manufacturers can better predict potential obstacles by providing a fuller forecast of upcoming projects, creating plans to either overcome those obstacles or maneuver around them altogether. This can significantly reduce exposure to risk.
4) Improved Communication
It’s all too common for different engineering and product development teams to become siloed, but having alignment around a single source of truth can make communication far smoother and more natural. And that’s true not just internally but externally as well. Good PRM tools allow manufacturers to share critical data and reports with outside stakeholders, whether investors or regulators.
5) Regulatory Compliance
Speaking of which: Aerospace and defense manufacturing is heavily regulated, as we’ve noted already. Product roadmaps ensure that all necessary compliance requirements and safety standards are incorporated into the development process, which can reduce the risk of infractions later in the product’s lifecycle.
6) Performance Tracking
PRN tools include key performance indicators (KPIs) and milestones that help aerospace and defense manufacturers track progress and evaluate success. This enables timely adjustments, meaning teams can revise their product as needed to ensure they complete all objectives.
PRM is a Game Changer in Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing
Communication and collaboration tools can benefit manufacturers in every sector, and none are more comprehensive than PRM. For aerospace and defense manufacturers, PRM can result in higher compliance standards, better resource allocation, clearer communication, and more.
When searching for the right product roadmap tools, consider solutions designed with manufacturing in mind. Gocious is a leader in this space, developing advanced PRM solutions tailored to the acute needs of manufacturing companies. Make it the starting point for your PRM research.