Take the Lead…Deliver With PLM

The conference takes place March 30 - April 2, 2003 at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. With nearly 200 technical and developmental sessions and access to more than 50 industry-leading vendors, the COE Spring 2003 Conference is a valuable steeping stone to the highest level of professional enrichment. Experience the core of the conference's technical sessions in exciting and in-depth presentations from top industry leaders, key Dassault Systemes and IBM-PLM executives and product developers, and change-makers from around the world. The COE conference also gives you the best place to meet and network with peers from around the U.S. and the world. Register before February 7th and save $300 or register by March 20th and save $200! Stay tuned to www.coe.org for the most to update information and complete event listing.

COE Everywhere, all the Time

Since The Beginning, that is when COE was formed in the early '80's, our number one big activity has been the COE Conference & Technifair, a great gathering of COE members, DS, IBM and other supporting vendors. Besides the technology that COE focuses upon, many things have changed. The Web was born and continues to evolve. While technology increasingly enables us to work from remote sites, business pressures and world events make it increasingly difficult to travel and spend time away from the office.

To accommodate these trends, COE is using its website www.coe.org to provide some of the "user-group experience" well beyond the time and geography coordinates of our conferences. And since most of the COE website is available to "not-yet" COE members, it supports our mission to reach out to all users of DS software worldwide.

Website features

The content of the website falls into two categories, one, the stuff related to the COE organization, and two, the stuff related to the CATIA-related technology. The first category includes announcements about COE and RUG (Regional User Group) events, COE guidelines and bylaws, and links to our committees, leaders and headquarters.

The second includes our Shareware Library, and Data Exchange Tips pages, and the most dynamic feature, our COE Discussion Forum.

COE Discussion Forum

This is a great message board, subdivided into General and 12 Special Interest areas, including V5 Migration, ENOVIA, TeamPDM, Manufacturing (NC), QA/Inspection and so on. Here you can post a technical question, and get answers from other users who've "been there, done that". Or you can get into a more philosophical thread, like "Should DS port CATIA to Macintosh?"

There are no time zones or geographical limitations here, and it's fascinating to see the diversity of the participants. And as you get into the threads, looking at the interactions between discussion participants, it greatly resembles the communication that happens at our Conference's round-table discussions and Birds-of-a-Feather lunches. No membership required here, although you will need to go through a simple process to get an ID.

Shareware Library

This is a members-only area. Here you can find contributions from fellow members that may improve the productivity of your implementation. This is a growing compilation of scripts, macros, IUA's and methodologies that range from importing xyz coordinates to ANSI thread definitions to utilities to manage your data. To promote growth of this resource, COE is currently rewarding new contributions with a neat sports watch!

Strategic Enhancements Requests

One of the great values of attending a Conference is the opportunity for members to speak with the software developers. Our DPC committees gather SER's (Strategic Enhancement Requests) and, with the strength of COE's shared voice, urge that these be incorporated into future release of DS software.

Our website offers an element of this. COE members can submit enhancement requests through the COE website, and follow up with the appropriate DPC chairperson to determine disposition of the submittal.

Got Links?

We have links to other web resources as well. We have links to our TechniFair Exhibitors' websites to help you find hardware, complementary software and services. You can find links to other information repositories such as IBM's IDSICC site. Look to our RUG page to see if there is Regional User Group activity in your area.

COE website's future?

The COE website will continue to become a bigger part of the membership offering. We are evaluating the production of live chats and educational sessions. We are evaluating potential replacements of our COE Forum software for better performance and features. We want to be a valuable, year-round resource for all who are involved with CATIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA and SMARTEAM.

Your feedback, please …

In the COE Forum, we've recently created a discussion area named "How is COE Doing?" We encourage you to start a thread here if you have suggestions or constructive criticism regarding any aspect of our organization, certainly including our website. A word of warning, if we feel that you really have some good ideas, we may try to recruit you to become a volunteer on a committee. We offer no pay, too many hours and great benefits!

Go to the main forum page, and then select Options to make this (and other discussion areas) appear.

New COE Member Benefit: Receive an Exclusive Discount on Dassault Systemes Certification Testing

COE Spring 2003 Conference Attendees to Receive Even Deeper Discounts

Dassault Systemes' CATIA Certification Program has released the Version 5 Release 9 Specialist exams for Part Design, Assembly Design, and Surface Design. The English exams are available at all worldwide-authorized VUE Testing Centers.

Dassault Systemes' CATIA Certification program gives companies, users, and business partners a common index to measure their CATIA knowledge and skills. The program targets CATIA user groups such as product designers and developers, Dassault Systemes business and service partners, and new professionals joining the 3D Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) market.

Starting January 14, as a COE member, you are eligible to receive an exclusive 10 percent discount on all exams when purchased with a voucher. Vouchers may be purchased until April 30 and are valid for one year from the date of purchase. Please visit the VUE web site (http://www.vue.com/vouchers/) for more information or purchase of vouchers. When registering for your certification exam with VUE, simply tell them the voucher number. COE membership numbers have been sent to all COE member company's voting representatives. The discount only applies to those COE members in good standing (annual dues paid) which VUE can verify.

As a COE conference attendee, you are eligible to receive an exclusive 15% discount on all exam vouchers purchased when registering for the COE Spring 2003 Conference & TechniFair. When registering for the COE Conference, there will be a new section on the registration form asking if you would like to purchase an exam voucher. Purchased vouchers will be distributed onsite at the registration desk and no refunds are available. Then you or your designee can use the voucher when registering and taking a certification exam within the next 12-month period.

Realizing the important role that industry expertise plays, Dassault Systémes created the CATIA Certification Program. As a CATIA Certified Professional, customers will be assured that individuals with this credential are equipped with the knowledge, tools, methodologies, and the technical skills necessary to help make their products successful. A Certification session is scheduled during the COE Spring 2003 Conference to provide an update on the CATIA Certification Program.

COE Membership questions can be directed to Lynn Potter at COE HQ at 800-COE-CALL/312-321-5153.

Complete program information is available at http://www.3dplm.com/certification.

To register for an exam as a non-COE member, visit the VUE website (http://www.vue.com/dassaultsystemes-catia) or call the VUE registration center (Americas (800) 734-2927), Asia-Pacific 1-800-356-022, or Europe, Middle East, Africa 0800-0235323).

Help COE to Meet Your Needs

We want your feedback. Every month we will be asking you a different question to help us improve COE member benefits. Next month we'll provide the results to our January question, and introduce a new question.

Results of the November/December online poll:

On what continent do you reside?

42.9% North America

3.6% South America

35.1% Europe

15.7% Asia

1.5% Africa

1.2% Australia

Take a moment to weigh in on our January question: What version of CATIA is your company currently using?