Getting Managers to Care About Configuration Management
We at CMstat often hear comments that too many managers and executives still do not care about Configuration Management until there is a product performance failure, or worse, a system-wide shut down disrupting operations around the world.
Some managers may think of Configuration Management (CM) as an engineering department specialty – instead of an enterprise quality imperative – best left alone as the domain of a few product data specialists working deep in the trenches of a product organization. They are not solely to blame as the PLM/PDM/CM profession over the years has been slow to promote both the technical and economic value of CM using language and metrics that executives already care about.
In response, we have often written about the importance of program, project and product managers fully understanding the role and risks of CM, especially as products, supply chains, service partners, and customer uses become more complex and unpredictable. An example is the 2018 post on “How is Configuration Management Different from Change Management” that suggested the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig accident was a failure in the configuration management of all items and content that should have been under configuration control. A blogography listing this and other references can be found HERE.
The Deepwater Horizon accident was a failure in Configuration Management
Numerous others across our profession are also discussing the need to better educate managers about CM, including Martijn Dullaart in his “Future of CM” newsletter, Larry Gurule at CMPIC in his recent LinkedIn articles, Jos Voskuil in his PLM weblog and Peter Billelo at CIMdata in his Engineering.com article “This Disaster Proves the Importance of Configuration Management.”
In this month’s CMsights we are pausing to ask our readers for insights as to what has been their experience in getting managers, directors, and executives to care about CM, even if only enough to understand what it is and is not. We also want to hear from managers what would make CM more relevant and important to their priorities.
We ask which of the following impediments (or excuses) have you witnessed or heard others speak about at industry conferences and training classes that get in the way of getting managers to care more about CM?
We do not have anyone on staff experienced with CM to lead us in making it more important.
There is never budget to hire a trained, certified configuration manager and establish their group.
We have a CM lead but they were not given the authority or title to make or influence big decisions.
We are not the OEM, just a supplier, so CM issues do not impact us or the products we deliver.
Our customers or contracts do not require CM or specify that CM software tools be used.
There is no perceived risk or cost to our organization for not performing CM.
We don’t manufacture physical products or hardware so why would we ever need CM.
Our products are so simple or reliable that we don’t need CM beyond simple change control.
Managers think CM is a product engineering or systems engineering function and they like it that way.
Our managers think we are already performing CM when we are not.
We have implemented PDM as part a PLM strategy, so we must already be performing CM.
Managers believe having Change Control processes and a Change Control Board is sufficient for CM.
Our spreadsheets and document version control provide what is needed to manage change.
Performance and quality metrics are within acceptable parameters so what more could CM do for us.
There is no data to indicate we are any worse off than our peers or competitors.
No executive is willing to champion, sponsor or fund a CM initiative.
Managers don’t see a better ROI from investing further in developing CM competencies and capabilities, especially when compared to existing investment priorities.
Some other topic that managers wish would be better covered?
Let us know what you think in this one-question multiple-choice survey hosted on Survey Monkey HERE. As always, individual responses are anonymous.
We’ll report back the overall results with our analysis in a future post. Later this year we will also be examining the financial returns and risks of CM that rarely get adequate attention when educating managers about CM.
Until then be sure to receive by email our monthly CMsights news and then follow CMstat on LinkedIn.
Learn more about CMstat’s consulting services in Configuration Management Assessments, Planning, and Implementation HERE.
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