Elevating Configuration and Data Management Inside a Company

Jan 9

This month’s CMsights is from Dave Allen, CMstat’s Aerospace & Defense Industry Ambassador and CMDM Coach, who shares his experience with earning a seat at the decision-making table for CM/DM managers.

A frequent question I hear in conversations about Configuration Management (CM) and Data Management (DM) on LinkedIn, when teaching CMPIC courses, or speaking with CMstat customers is: “How do I gain the CM/DM team more respect and stature within my company so that we always have a seat at the table when important decisions are being made that affect us?”

When probing to better understand the question, I often uncover it is not just knowledge by others of CM and DM disciplines that is missing, but also respect for the CM/DM organization, whether that be one subject matter expert or a large group spread across multiple products or programs.

As a result, achieving respect can be more nuanced than it seems on the surface because the solution really depends on the current state of the CM/DM team, not just their processes and tools. Is it a high performing group that just isn’t getting the credit that they and CM/DM deserves? Or are there group performance issues that need to be addressed before that respect can be earned?

I recommend Step 1 in this journey is undertaking an honest and detailed assessment of where the level of maturity of the organization is today by asking a few questions. (Note this is a different assessment than that of CM and DM procedures which CMstat recently wrote about HERE.)

Are the processes and tools in place adequate to perform CM/DM at a high level?
Do you have the staffing (people and knowledge) to also perform at a high level?
Are your data deliveries fully understood, tracked, and monitored?
Is the engineering change process highly effective?
What is your first pass yield (approved the first submittal) for data deliveries?
Do you have detailed metrics and reporting on both the CM and DM side?
Are you performing verification that your processes are performing at a high level?
Are you always audit ready?

If the answer to all of the above is “yes” or if you have a plan to get to yes, then it’s on to Step 2. If not, you may have some work to do before pursuing an appropriate seat at the table.

I advise my clients to be careful when seeking greater recognition in the company if the CM/DM function is not yet ready for prime time as that can backfire. If the group is ready, there are various reasons why CM/DM may still not have the stature in the company that it should:

Is it simply an issue of colleagues not understanding the fundamental role and thus value of CM/DM?
Do you have an executive sponsor that makes it important to the organization?
If executives respond they don’t have time or budget, what is their real objection?
Does management understand the risk, cost, and liability of failing to fully support CM/DM?
Do managers raise issues like those in this post on Getting Managers to Care About CM?
Are there personal trust issues inside or outside of the group?
Is there continuous training and skills improvement to maintain core competencies?
Does the group work well together or does it need team building and/or leadership training?
Does your team have good emotional intelligence or is a lack of this hindering?
Are there office politics at play where some think CM/DM is a staffing or budgetary threat? (Hint, there are always competing internal politics at work.)

Whatever the reasons, one needs to understand all the interdependent contributing factors that may be holding you back. Once that honest examination has been completed, and you have a clear understanding of any other issues in the company that are hurting the reputation of CM/DM, it’s time for an actionable plan.

First up I recommend preparing a short narrative on the value of CM/DM tailored for the audience you want to approach and what you seek from them. Here’s an example of one I used some years ago:

“The mission of the CM and DM functions is to organize our data in a structured way so that it can be easily accessed and obtained by our employees. Changes to the data are reviewed and controlled in an efficient manner so that the current data is always available to the stakeholders that need it to do their work. These processes reduce inefficiencies and rework and are vital for company success.

We have performed an extensive internal assessment and have found that the current state of the CM and DM organizations do not allow these processes to be implemented properly because of X, Y, and Z. I recommend actions A, B, and C that will allow us to become a higher performing organizations.

I will need the following three items to elevate these important organizations and processes: 1, 2, and 3.

All actions will be complete by TBD. I will provide regular status reports on our progress and any barriers we need your support.

When this process is finished you and the company will benefit because we will have helped accomplish (this big existing priority).”

You will then be prepared to earn that appropriate seat at the table when decisions are being made; preferably by being asked to participate because others see the importance to them, and not just because you want to be included for your reasons!

For those who have successfully obtained an appropriate seat at the decision-making table, how did you do it? What obstacles did you encounter and how did you overcome them? Please share your success so others can learn, and as always ok to do so without the need to reveal specifics.

From those who have not yet gotten started, what questions or reservations do you have about elevating the role of CM DM within your own organization?

Let me know by leaving a comment below or with a private email to dallen@cmstat.com. I also invite you to follow me on LinkedIn as well as register to receive future editions of CMsights and my column The CMDM Coaches Corner.