Register now for Mathcad Engage Virtual User Conference, the first online conference for the Mathcad community to be held on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010, from 1pm-5pm EST time and learn the latest news and future about Mathcad, the unique engineering calculations software.

Here are few highlights about the agenda:

Mathcad Vision and Product Roadmap - Add this Webcast to my Calendar
Mark A. Walker, Director Product Management, Mathcad, PTC
This session will focus on the vision of the Mathcad product. You’ll get to hear about the trends we’re seeing in the marketplace and how they are translated into the overall product strategy and roadmap for Mathcad.

Mathcad 15.0 and Prime 1.0 Preview Overview and Demo - Add this Webcast to my Calendar
Jakov Kucan, Director Software Development, Mathcad, PTC
This session will focus on two upcoming releases of Mathcad, and will include an in-depth look at the functionalities and capabilities of these specific new versions, as we move Mathcad into the next decade.

During this half day event you’ll be able to attend webcasts, chat with Mathcad product experts, network with your peers, download Mathcad resources and more. Make sure also to step by the exhibition hall and visit PTC and partner booths to win great prizes!

For more details, visit http://events.unisfair.com/rt/ptc2010~mathcad.

As of the next major release of Arbortext Publishing Engine, the 6.0 release, PTC is planning to support the Windows platform only.

Description

Having reviewed customer product downloads and technical support submissions over the past four years, PTC has seen low adoption of Arbortext Publishing Engine running on non-Windows platforms. As a result, PTC is planning to support Windows only with the 6.0 release of Arbortext Publishing Engine. In addition, PTC has no plans to introduce support for Solaris on x86 platforms.

Arbortext Publishing Engine 5.4, including all of its maintenance releases, will continue to be supported on Windows, Solaris, and Linux platforms per the Arbortext 5.4 Software Compatibility Matrix.

Resolution

We recognize that discontinuing support for Arbortext Publishing Engine on the Linux and Solaris platforms may be disruptive to some of our customers who plan to upgrade to future releases. Therefore, PTC is committed to providing an acceptable migration path to all Arbortext Publishing Engine customers currently running on the Linux or Solaris platform.

Additional Information

This event is scheduled for Wednesday 2/24. Even if you can’t attend, register so you can get the recording!

Synchronize your team

It’s all about managing content. Learn how synchronizing your product information with your product development can enable you to:

• Minimize risks by reducing errors and implementing fail safe controls
• Maintain control of valuable IP
• Create a fully audit-able records trail that meets the tightest of compliance requirements
• Reduce customer service costs
• Quickly adapt to market changes or enter new markets quickly
• Take advantage of global development centers through a single-source
• Drive revenue

Join Single-Sourcing Solutions and Sequoia Etc for a FREE 1 hour web session where we will show you how using the Arbortext Content Manager can help you resolve business needs.

By the end of this session, you will have the information you need to take the next step;

• minimize the risks that could impact your company’s profitability, and
• recognize potential new revenue opportunities for your company.

Establish the best in class business practice of managing, controlling, and distributing the information used every day by your company and clients. Understand the difference between content management and document management.

Details

Date:  Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Time:  10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PST

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/757328706

About Sequoia Etc

Sequoia Etc (www.sequoiaetc.com) is a technology solution provider who represents best in class integrated and integral solutions for the Product Development Community.  We specialize in architecting, and implementing, Product Lifecycle Management including document content management and supporting company users in the solution’s adoption.

About Single-Sourcing Solutions

Single-Sourcing Solutions is an elite PTC partner specializing in Arbortext and Mathcad products. With over a decade’s experience with the Arbortext toolset and in the practical development and deployment of mission-critical, custom XML development, Single-Sourcing Solutions has the expertise required for successful dynamic information delivery. We are very active in the global Arbortext community and related information development communities. For more information, please visit http://www.single-sourcing.com.

This is the fourth post in a 4-post series reporting on an interview I did with Greg Johnson from Medtronic. Over the years, Medtronic has increased their investment in their dynamic information delivery system. They have continued to develop it and they have seen their ROI returned again and again.

The Cost Savings Factor

Even after proving to management that he would increase quality, address the audit issue, and reduce cycle time, management said, ‘yeah, but how much money can you save me in this project.’

So he told them about the benefits of reuse, automating composition, and source control.

Greg and one of the MBAs at Medtronic did formal business case model together to show how much money would be saved. The results they predicted were unbelievable. They were too stellar.  So they put in two lines:

1. the numbers they believed in were labeled “optimistic” and
2. numbers they made up and labeled “conservative”

The 2nd line were numbers they thought that management would believe. For example, although they believed the could get 90% reuse, they scaled it down to 50%.

And, for the record, they did reach 90% reuse. They reached every single one of the “optimistic” goals. In 2005, they had exceeded optimistic line and met or exceeded all other commitments. Greg’s team received the Star of Excellence for their business unit as well as the Medtronic Star of Excellence. A executive told Greg that they got a higher ROI than if they had put the money into another product and that his project was the “most successful project ever seen at Medtronic”.

All thanks to a dynamic information delivery system that solved the audit problem, the cycle time problem, and saved money.

And it all started when Arbortext took them to see what Caterpillar had done (starting 10 years earlier still). Greg said when they came away, he didn’t know whether they were more exhilarated or exausted at the proposition and how far they had to go.

Now they’re the inspiration for others.

Greg says, “You don’t want to do how/what we did. It’s 10 yrs later. But I want to encourage you. There are vast savings and vast reductions in cycle time and vast improvements to do in this field, if you do it smart, build your vision, and go be passionate about it.”

Previous: The Time to Market Driver and The Quality Driver

First in the series: Benefits of dynamic information delivery for life sciences

The latest PubWright Podcast has been posted to here and on iTunes here.

This week’s podcast features Chris Makler from Aplia. Aplia is part of Thompson Learning which is part of Cengage.  Chris works on a team that has built an interesting application on top of Arbortext Editor. They’re using a lot of different technology to create an educational application for teaching economics.

Customization is a tricky subject. Aplia is one of those cases where they’re doing it well and in pursuit of an industry application where it works.

posted by Janice

Recently I have been having several conversations with people about the importance of training and with the Winter Olympics going on right now, this seemed like the perfect time for this post.

Remember the first time you rode a bike?

The first time you rode a bike without training wheels

The first time you get on a bike, you’re not sure what to do and there seems to be so many things to manage. First there the ability to balance on the bike without falling off, then there are petals to pump and handlebars to use to steer the bike, and the breaks, and the gears that need shifting. It is a lot to take in for someone who has never been on a bike. There is a long way to go between where you are at that moment and being Lance Armstrong. With work and determination you can get there.

There are a couple of ways you could go about learning how to ride your new bike. One is to just jump on and figure it out as you go. Sure you will crash a lot, might not learn how to really shift the gears or when you are supposed to shift then at all, but eventually you will get some forward movement. You’ll have a lot of scraps and scratches though and your fair share of bruises.

There is another way. It’s probably the way most of us learned how to ride a bike. We started out with a teacher and possibly some training wheels. As we learn how to master balance and coordination, we eventually remove the training wheels and we listen to the coaching from our teacher on how to safely steer and break and shift. Having someone there to help guide you on your journey to bicycle helps you master the tool without nearly as many bumps and scrapes.

Take off the training wheels when you're ready

Learning the Arbortext tool set is like riding a bike. At first it’s a bit shaky, you’re not sure of where you are going or how to properly navigate the tool commands to maximize productivity. You make mistakes along the way, but then you get right back on the bike and go again. The more you do the more proficient you become and the faster you can hit your objectives.

Just like riding a bike, there is more than one way to learn how to use Arbortext. You could go it alone and learn through trial and error. Fortunately there is also a large and very active user community out there that is willing to help give you pointers along the way. It may take time, but you will eventually get to a level of proficiency. Problem is, in business we don’t often have the luxury of time for this type of learning.

There is a better way. Most people quickly learn that in order to maximize their use of the tools and to drastically shorten the learning time, they seek out a more formalized training from someone with the expertise to guide them. Good training requires that the instructor guides you through the tool and helps you discover balance and speed through your efforts. They adjust the training based on the needs of the learner offering just the right amount of support just when you need it. That is how Single-Sourcing Solutions designed our Jump Start training program, to offer just the right amount of support you need when you need it while getting you to the highest level of productivity in the shortest possible amount for time.

Join Single-Sourcing Solutions and Sequoia Etc for a FREE 1 hour web session where we will show you how using the Arbortext Content Manager can help you resolve business needs.

Synchronize your team

It’s all about managing content. Learn how synchronizing your product information with your product development can enable you to:

• Minimize risks by reducing errors and implementing fail safe controls
• Maintain control of valuable IP
• Create a fully audit-able records trail that meets the tightest of compliance requirements
• Reduce customer service costs
• Quickly adapt to market changes or enter new markets quickly
• Take advantage of global development centers through a single-source
• Drive revenue

See the full announcement here.

This is the third post in a 4-post series reporting on an interview I did with Greg Johnson from Medtronic. Over the years, Medtronic has increased their investment in their dynamic information delivery system. They have continued to develop it and they have seen their ROI returned again and again.

The Time to Market Driver

Cycle time is critical unless you want to miss market ship dates.

Greg told me a story about a time when there was $300 M in new product on shipping doc waiting on the FDA approval of the documentation. They took a chance and preprinted the documentation — at risk — and they were standing by, ready to stuff the boxes and move the product across the line, so they could take the inventory in the quarter. Everything was waiting on the call from FDA.

He tells me that docs are always the last thing approved and that The FDA can require any change — the moving of a comma, for example — before giving the approval required to ship. Documentation can make or break a quarter.

When you add translation to the mix, it’s not uncommon for a translation center to tell you that they need the content before the specs are written in order to make the target market release dates they’ve been given.  These are frantic publishing schedules with $100s of millions of dollars at stake.

At Medtronic, because they’ve validated the content and can trace every change ever made, they’ve achieved 90% content reuse. They can assemble existing content — in english and other languages — reducing the risk factor to new content and changed content. They’ve drastically reduced cycle time in order to pull document release time in closer to product release time in their home market and in the international ones.

Next: The Cost Savings Factor

Previous: The Quality Driver

Available for immediate downloading from PTC’s support site is the Arbortext 5.4 M030 release.

In addition to bug fixes, this release adds Windows 7 support for the following products:

• Arbortext Editor
• Arbortext Architect
• Arbortext Styler
• Dynamic Link Manager
• PTC Server connection for Arbortext Content Manager
• Arbortext Adapter to Oracle CM SDK

If you want to know all of the details about this release, please check out the release notes.  If you have any questions about the release schedule, please reference the PTC Product Calendar at: http://www.ptc.com/cs/product_calendar/PTC_Product_Calendar.htm (requires login)

Make sure you upgrade to the latest versions to ensure full compatibility with Windows 7!