Yammer Will Not Work In PLM!

Call it what you want SMS, IM, Twitter, Yammer, Text or email, they are all the same. They are all used to create micro messages between individuals or groups. What is interesting to me is why people gravitated to the use of these tools and why we have become captivated to check them when the ping, ding or chirp? 

We have all looked at our kids, at least those of us that are old enough to be known as CAD guys (the newbies in the market think of themselves as PLMers), and said, “hey wouldn’t it be more productive to pickup the phone just speak to them?”…

The fact is, it is not more productive! Maybe we don’t consciously understand, but micro messaging is effective because the sender is forcing a context on the receive. If I message you, “what movie do we see or what time do we meet”, then all I get is the information I want. If I pickup the phone and ask the same question, I will most likely get the information, but after you tell me about something else going on in your life, like the jerk that just cut you off, or the design review meeting you just got out of. Micro messages have become a key element of both our personal life and our work life. 

Social networks and forums are micro messages that engage a large “to:” list or a “to:” list that is defined by someone other than the sender.  Imagine if you could apply this same concept to design.  First to get information you need, but second to understand how the design progressed. Oleg just posted about using micro blogs in PLM. Al Dean of www.Develop3D.comcommented that he feels this will not work due to user buy-in. Al is right, but the answer is incomplete. It is important to explore why the user will not buy-in. My feeling is users do things that provide personal productivity and fight what is just about the group or future value. The reason Yammer will fail in PLM is that Yammer is totally out of context for the user and provides value to the receiver, not the sender!