A Comparison of the Effects of a Digital Adoption Platform on Product Lifecycle Management Software

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) emerged from the growing need for companies to oversee their products throughout their entire lifecycle—from design and production to usage, and even disposal. This responsibility includes managing product data, regardless of whether the product remains within the company, is in use by customers, or has reached the end of its life in a landfill. PLM systems aim to centralize and allow editing of all product-related data across departments and stages. However, integrating such comprehensive tools into industrial environments is often challenging. The diversity of professional roles each with distinct cultures, expertise, and technical languages complicates seamless adoption and efficient use of PLM systems. To address this challenge, Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs) have emerged as complementary tools. DAPs are software layers that integrate with existing applications to guide users through processes via step-by-step tutorials, contextual tooltips, and input suggestions. While DAPs have proven effective in many enterprise software domains by easing onboarding and increasing productivity, their use within PLM systems remains limited and under-researched. Particularly, there is a lack of data on how DAPs affect the usability of complex PLM systems and whether they offer tangible improvements for novice users. This study aims to evaluate the usability of PLM systems enhanced by DAPs. By analyzing the user experience and measuring performance, the research seeks to determine whether DAP assistance leads to better adoption, reduced training time, and improved user satisfaction. The findings will also help identify the underlying reasons behind any observed benefits or limitations.