In case you missed them, you can find the following How do YOU CM2? posts in the 52nd edition of the Future of CM newsletter:
❌ A Configuration Manager is not…
👫 Creativity & Discipline are Best Friends
🎄 A CM2 Christmas Carol: The Ghosts of Configuration Management
In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is visited by three spirits who show him the consequences of his choices and the benefits of change. I often think about how this idea applies to Configuration Management (CM) as well.
Many people think creativity and discipline sit on opposite ends of the spectrum. Do you think discipline kills creativity?
Think again. The most innovative organizations know that structure isn’t the enemy. It’s the enabler. So, you could say Discipline and Creativity are best friends.
In this month’s feature article, I explored “The Real Job Description of a Configuration Manager.” But let’s flip the lens and talk about what a Configuration Manager is not.
Have you ever read a Configuration Manager job description and thought, “That sounds so calm and structured. What must it be like to work in a place like that?”
If you’re smiling already, you know.
In this article, part of the How Do YOU CM2? series with the IpX – Institute for Process Excellence, I will explore what a real-world Configuration Manager’s job actually involves, including all the roles we play.
In case you missed them, you can find the following How do YOU CM2? posts in the 50th edition🥳 of the Future of CM newsletter:
🧑🚒 When ‘Saving the Day’ Becomes the Problem.
🐺 Why does Configuration Management have such a bad reputation?
😵💫 Are you planning on hallucinating your next product?
What is the quality level of the product data in your organization?
🤥100%? — You’re lying to yourself.
✅99%? — Hard to believe.
🆗95%? — Impressive, but not enough.
❌Less than 95%? — That’s the reality for most organizations.
Let’s be honest, when many people hear “Configuration Management”, their first reaction isn’t excitement. It’s usually something like:
“That’s bureaucracy.”
“That slows us down.”
“That’s for documentation people.”
Let’s talk about a pattern I’ve seen in too many organizations, one that quietly kills morale and reinforces the wrong behaviors.
The post recounts a presentation from the LightX conference, illustrating the importance of Configuration Management (CM) through a personal story involving a school assignment. It highlights how CM, specifically CM2, can prevent miscommunication and inefficiencies in organizations by aligning products, processes, and people, ultimately improving trust and workflow.