Should I use Aras Innovator for Source Code Control?

I am frequently asked whether PLM or specifically Aras Innovator, can be or should be used for software development. Here's an answer I emailed in response to this morning's inquiry.

Aras Corp uses Innovator internally for nearly everything except the basic accounting functions of payroll, accounts payable and accounts receivables, and we do not use Innovator for the daily check-in, check-out and build of the software development process. At Aras Corp, we use CVS as our software repository. Not because PLM is un-able to model the configuration rules of software source code, but rather because of the value-add functions that are built on top of CVS that make the software developer more efficient.

This is much the same thought process as CAD vs PLM. It is possible to construct the complete 3-D mechanical part data model inside a PLM database, but even if you did, you wouldn’t use the PLM UI to design 3-D parts. There are too many value-add functions in the CAD user interface. The same is true with software. The commercial software tools (ie. CVS) include tools that facilitate better software development.

But just like with mechanical CAD, PLM also plays a supporting role in software development. Most PLM consultants recommend that the result of the software build be archived in the corporate PLM for good release and version control with the electronic and mechanical aspects of the product. Software development, like mechanical design, is a process, needing workflow, approvals, project planning, resource management, and yes, sometimes also corrective actions. There is significant value in terms of standardization, collaboration, communication to bring all these processes from electronic, mechanical and software development together into a single database, along with the processes and data of packaging, marketing, tooling, manufacturing, logistics, field engineering and supply chain management… i.e. an enterprise PLM system.

Aras uses CVS for the work-in-process software development of Aras Innovator, but uses Innovator itself as the software management application. Our instance of Innovator includes: Issue tracking (bugs and enhancements), release planning, developer resource planning and tracking, product roadmaps, documentation management including product specifications through marketing materials, and all of our internal workflows. But we didn’t stop with just the software development processes; the training centers world-wide are also managed inside Innovator (class schedules and attendance records), most of the Aras web site is driven directly from content stored and version controlled in Innovator, and the system has grown to become a truly innovative CRM and Sales Force Automation application.

Of course, I’ve heard from many of our end-users that ‘anything is possible with Aras Innovator’. So maybe there is a CVS clone in the works somewhere…