We will be transitioning from PDM Workgroup to Enterprise Professional in a few months when we can fit it into our schedule.

I would like to ask how you handle CAD data for ideas and concepts that engineering team members need to work on together but never leave engineering.  Many times these files have poorly structured filenames and possible poor modeling and assembly practices.

We have been using PDM Workgroup for 12 yeas and my preference is that every CAD file in the vault would have a proper engineering part number or it doesn't belong in the vault.  However there are times that small teams of engineers need to work together before proper part numbering and part/assembly structure is generated.  We have created working areas in the vault the becomes a catch all for working documents but many times real parts with real numbers never make it out of the working area because of poor file management practices.  some believe if it's in the vault it done.  It doesn't matter where it is.

I can see the point of a working area because I don't think it's a good idea to have several engineers sharing in a working folder on a network mapped drive.  But I hate the mess of junk files left behind when a project is finished.  Few people ever go back in a clean out the trash.

We have 20 SW users in our office using the SW and the vault daily.  We will add another 30 when we integrate other offices and replication throughout next year.  I would like to develop unstructured work ares for groups between offices which is something we don't currently do.

I would happy if any of you can toss out some ideas of how you handle unstructured design ideas with Enterprise Pro.