From: "Rich Thompson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Protel EDA Forum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 17:41:47 +0100 Subject: [PEDA] Off topic: Drawing revision control and PLM
Hi group
sorry about the kinda off topic post but this is a good place for opinions etc.
I need a new system to track drawing revisions, ECO, ECR,MCR etc. Maybe even a full blown product lifecycle management system. I don't want to (or rather can't ;-) ) spend 100 thousand on a full blown system like Agile. it doesn't need to be that in depth.
Firstly what does everyone else use? If any. and what can be recommended for a >smallish< company?
Its not specifically for pcb docs, but basically the whole product preferably. I manage pretty much everything on a product so something to track all of that would be cool.
I have just seen lots of products out there but they are >way< overpriced for what we need. I am seriously looking at maybe writing my own because of this.
help appreciated
Rich -
I'm not clear on what you mean when you say you want to "track drawing revisions, ECO, ECR,MCR etc.". Are you looking for a version control system (VCS) or an ECO management system?
(using the 12ga. shotgun approach, here's some brief blurbs on my experiences with both):
VCS
===
I've scanned the archives, but didn't see any mention of the VCS product I use, so...
I've been using TLIB for many years; it's a commercial product (www.BurtonSys.com). Being a one-man operation, my first criterion in adopting a revision control system was affordability. Beyond that, it had to be readily adaptable to handle various formats: software source code, documentation in any format, binary files, etc. (anything that might be released to a customer or developed in-house). TLIB has fit the bill for my requirements. There was a bit of a learning curve related to configuring the product to my needs and how to make it do what I wanted, but once that was done it has been smooth sailing. That learning curve will probably exist with most any product you choose.
Having worked under contract at several customer's facilities, I've also been exposed to Rational's products. I've found those to be robust and reliable, but they're priced beyond what I'd be willing to spend for my little office.
In addition, the general comments in the archives reflect my experience (which is with 99se): There is no good way to perform version control on individual documents. I check in/out the entire ddb. As others have stated: it eats up space, but there doesn't appear to be a more workable solution (for 99se).
ECO Tracking
============
I had used Track Record for years but had to stop in Jan 2000 due to a *bad* y2k bug, and it was no longer supported. My search for a replacement yielded what I believe is an excellent up-and-coming product: IssueView (www.IssueView.com). For small groups of users, its performance with an MS Access database is adequate. For larger groups, it supports MS SQL Server with better performance. The GUI front end and database structure are both widely configurable, within the provided loose templates of basic structures. They offer a free single-user version, allowing you to try it out before committing to multiple licenses. The company has been very responsive to my communications, and I've come to rely on IssueView as much as I had on Track Record. This appears to be a solid product (they're on version 2.4; I've been using since v1.1), and I hope this company sticks around. They'd be worth a look if you need to do ECO, Bug or Defect tracking.
I hope this helps.
- Jeff Bensen Bensen Engineering [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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