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Collaborative workspace

Managing Change Successfully in a Collaborative Workspace

This article is a response to the series of posts from Oleg Shilovitsky about Rethinking Change Management. It argues that a collaborative workspace is more effective than the classic file check-in/check-out mechanism for managing changes. Part 1: Orchestrating Complexity Across Systems & Disciplines – (Collaborative Workspace) Part 2: From Check-Out/In to Collaborative Processes, Single Source of Truth Part 3: Coexistence of New Architectures with Legacy PDM/PLM File-Based Revision Control Part… Read More »Managing Change Successfully in a Collaborative Workspace

Configuration Management is... Baselines

Configuration Management is… Baselines!

Configuration Management is… #Baselines! Let’s talk about Baselines. Imagine building a house without a blueprint. Each contractor works from their own notes, making changes as they see fit. The result? A structure riddled with inconsistencies, unexpected failures, and costly rework and delays. This is exactly what happens when organizations lack baselines in Configuration Management (CM). What is a Baseline?A baseline is a formally approved configuration snapshot at a specific point… Read More »Configuration Management is… Baselines!

Configuration Management is... Verification and Audit

Configuration Management is… Verification and Audit!

Configuration Management is… Verification and Audit! Imagine you’re managing a project – a new product introduction, a system upgrade, or just processing component end-of-life changes. Everything appears to be on track, but how can you be sure? That’s where #Verification and #Audit step in, bridging the gap between confidence and chaos. Ensuring every component of your system is exactly where it should be, and it is documented to prove it.… Read More »Configuration Management is… Verification and Audit!

Configuration Management is... Status Accounting!

Configuration Management is… Status Accounting!

Configuration Management is… Status Accounting! Have you ever tried to manage a project without knowing where things stand? It’s like driving a car with no dashboard—no speedometer, no fuel gauge, no idea if you’re speeding or about to run out of gas. That’s why StatusAccounting is such a critical part of ConfigurationManagement, as defined in the SAE-EIA-649 standard. So, what is it?Status Accounting is the process of tracking, recording, and reporting… Read More »Configuration Management is… Status Accounting!

Using the right Metrics in Configuration Management

This topic was triggered by Baris Kocabasoglu as he shared his experience on the use of metrics in configuration management during the December edition of the CM2 Congress. So for my first article of the new year, I’m going to explore the usage of metrics in Configuration Management.    Many configuration management professionals will recognize that senior leadership with the best intentions do not always choose the right metrics to measure the performance… Read More »Using the right Metrics in Configuration Management

The Future of CM – Achievements – 2024

We are nearing the end of 2024, so it is time to reflect on and recognize our achievements. On 10 January 2022, I started with a monthly newsletter, The Future of CM, which reached 2156 subscribers at the time of writing this post, which is an increase of 381 subscribers compared to last year.  This year the collaboration with Florian Böhme, Lucas Heckmann, Jean-Hervé Poisson,  Badia Dandana, & Chris Seiler continued, resulting in two excellent articles.  Next to the newsletter… Read More »The Future of CM – Achievements – 2024

Configuration Management is... Quality

Configuration Management is… Quality!

Configuration Management is Quality! Today let’s look at #Quality. Depending who you ask you will get a different definition of what quality is. Some would say it is whatever the customer says it is, but that makes it rather fuzzy. I prefer to state that Quality = Conformance to Requirements. Requirements are a good way to capture what the customer wants but also what your company wants to bring to… Read More »Configuration Management is… Quality!

Engineer struggles to embed software

Software in the Configuration Management Baselines

A couple of weeks ago Oleg Shilovitsky posted an article on LinkedIn about the Software Bill of Material (BoM) and in the comments Jos Voskuil asked for my opinion. So for my last article of 2024 I will give my perspective on the Software BoM or more accurately how to deal with Software in the Configuration Management Baselines of products that consist out of Hardware and Software.   When it comes to Software I distinguish between:… Read More »Software in the Configuration Management Baselines

Configuration Management is… Impact Analysis!

#ConfigurationManagement is… #ImpactAnalysis! It has been a while since a posted a CM is… post. Today I want to highlight Impact Analysis. A critical capability in the #ChangeProcess is Impact Analysis. It provides not only insight in the technical #impact but also in the business impact of the change. What is the #cost and what are the #benefits. Also it should help answer the question: What happens if you do… Read More »Configuration Management is… Impact Analysis!

No Such Thing As Precise Bill of Materials

Precise Bill of Materials Don’t Exist

There is no such thing as precise bill of materials, they do not exist! So there I said it… Well this does require a little bit of explanation and nuance. In one of my previous articles I wrote about Parts don’t have Revisions, where I explained the different data models in PLM, ERP and CM2. Here is a quick refresher of the different setups (for more details check the article): All above models… Read More »Precise Bill of Materials Don’t Exist