When I first started presenting seminars, I purposefully avoided providing a definition of CM until someone asked the question at some point during the course, which inevitably occurred. The reason for this delay was really quite simple. Up until I devised my own definition of CM, I knew of no easy way to adequately define this discipline in acceptable terminology. Most folks, when asked what they do for a living, can give a short, easily understood, description of their jobs. For example, if you ask a Mechanical Engineer what he or she does for a living, they can say: “I design mechanical objects”. It’s not quite that simple to describe your job as a CM practitioner.
So, rather than start my seminars with a lengthy, boring reading
of the classical definition(s) of CM as found in the MIL-STDs,
fearing that I might set the wrong tone and immediately cause
droopy eyelids, I waited until I was forced into it. I felt that the
rest of the topics and subject matter covered in my seminars were
interesting, exciting and challenging. I just didn’t want to get
off on the wrong foot.
As time passed, I realized that this was not the proper way to go about it. One does not spend three to five days talking about a subject without first having defined that subject. I realized that I had to bite the bullet and do my best to define this rather extraordinary profession up front.
I started by looking at two aspects of the question, i.e., the response to the casual acquaintance and the necessarily more detailed response to one’s peers and others who need to know exactly what comprises the tasks and duties of the CM practitioner. The following is what I now communicate to my seminar attendees: |
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Definition of CM for the casual observer:
CM is the process of managing change. Also:
CM is a management discipline used to capture and control product data.
I believe that these “short” definitions are accurate and a lot easier to use during casual conversations that the more detailed definitions, which I will present to you in the following paragraphs. You may find, however, that these ‘traditional’ definitions are more appropriate when communicating with your peers or with someone who really needs to know the specific details of your CM job.
Definitions of CM for the ‘need to know’ people:
MIL-STD-973 definition:
As applied to configuration items, a discipline applying technical and administrative direction and surveillance over the life cycle of items to:
* Identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of configuration items.
* Control changes to configuration items and their related documentation.
* Record and report information needed to manage configuration items effectively, including the
Status of proposed changes and implementation status of approved changes.
* Audit configuration items to verify conformance to specifications, drawings, interface control
documents, and other contract requirements.
As applied to digital data files, the application of selected configuration identification and configuration status accounting principles to:
* Uniquely identify the digital data files, including versions of the files and their status (e.g.,
working, released, submitted, approved).
* Record and report information needed to manage the data files effectively, including the status
of updated versions of the files.
How would you like to articulate that job definition to someone you just met at a party or ran into on the street?
EIA 649 made life a little easier by providing the following definition of CM:
A management process for establishing and maintaining consistency of a product’s performance, functional and physical attributes with respect to its requirements, design and operational information throughout its life.
That’s it for CM definitions. I’ll leave it up to you to choose the one you think most appropriate for any particular situation.
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