PLM and ALM remain two major application areas, both of which are needed when a company develops and manufactures hardware products and associated software. Even if both corresponding systems belong to the same provider, as is the case at PTC with Windchill (PLM) and Codebeamer (ALM). PTC has already been using the OSLC standard to enable, for example, the tracking of requirements from software development with Codebeamer to parts in product development with Windchill. Now this coupling has been extended and deepened with the new version of Codebeamer. PTC speaks of seamless integration.
“With the integration, we have reached another milestone for engineers in the industry,” said Christoph Bräuchle, senior vice president and general manager of ALM at PTC. “With these two leading solutions now working seamlessly together, we are providing end-to-end support for the entire digital development process, for both hardware and software. This takes collaboration between different development teams to a new level and especially helps manufacturers of complex products to innovate faster and better.”
The new OSLC coupling allows users to have a single sign-on and feel as if they are working on the same database in both systems. At the same time, not only links to requirements but also to tests are now visible in both directions, and links after changes are automatically detected. Tracking is always done through the same Traces user interface from Windchill, even if tracking is done internally to Codebeamer.