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Configuration Management is Visibility

Configuration Management is… Visibility

Configuration Management is… Visibility! Imagine driving through dense fog without headlights or a GPS. That’s what managing a complex product lifecycle feels like without Configuration Management (CM). CM provides visibility—ensuring that teams, stakeholders, and decision-makers have a clear line of sight into product configurations, changes, and impacts. It prevents costly surprises, reduces risk, and enhances collaboration across engineering, manufacturing, and service teams. Visibility enables:Informed Decision Making – Clear, concise and… Read More »Configuration Management is… Visibility

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!

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!

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!

Configuration Management is Business Agility.

Configuration Management is… Business Agility!

#ConfigurationManagement is… #BusinessAgility! In the #Future of #CM newsletter we (Florian Böhme, Jean-Hervé POISSON, Lucas Heckmann, Badia Dandana, Chris Seiler, and myself) have written multiple articles about CM+Agile. One thing is clear in all these articles, doing CM well is foundational for being #agile. CM is the #thread that ties everything together. If your thread is weak, it will break and instead of being agile as a speedboat, your organization… Read More »Configuration Management is… Business Agility!

CM is Process Integration

Configuration Management is… Process Integration

#ConfigurationManagement is… #ProcessIntegration! This one was suggested by Zoran Marinkovic. He nailed that one! Configuration Management is a supporting function in an organization. It will impact almost all other functions. This means that #CM must be integrated into processes across an organization. Whether it is an engineer that issues a new part and applies naming conventions properly to a field engineer that accurately updates the configuration as maintained baselines. CM… Read More »Configuration Management is… Process Integration

Configuration Management is... Planning

Configuration Management is… Planning

#ConfigurationManagement is… #Planning! Planning is an essential part of #CM. Not only planning the implementation of changes, but also the planning of the evolution of your #ConfigurationItems. Planning provides an outlook of what is to come and supports in the alignment and #collaboration between different teams. It also allows you to be proactive in identifying #dependencies and mitigating #risks. What do you think? Join the conversation on LinkedIn.

Configuration Management is... Communication

Configuration Management is… Communication

#ConfigurationManagement is… #Communication! After talking about CM is… #ChangeControl, it is time to address a very important aspect of CM, which is Communication. #Changes are almost never isolated to a single function. This means that communication is key to ensure a change is successfully implemented. Not only is Communication critical to the success of Configuration Management and the implementation of changes, Configuration Management also streamlines communication & #collaboration across functions… Read More »Configuration Management is… Communication