CMsights News & Views on CM and DM


Read CMsights for the latest news, blog posts, articles, whitepapers, and thought leadership views from CMstat on Product Data and Asset Configuration Management using EPOCH CM and PDMPlus CM, and on Contract Deliverables CDRL Data Management using EPOCH DM.

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Configuration Management, CMsights Tom Tesmer Configuration Management, CMsights Tom Tesmer

PLM or PDM or CM?

We are often asked by Aerospace & Defense Project Managers why they can’t use engineering Product Data Management (PDM) software or enterprise Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems to satisfy all of their program's requirements for full-lifecycle Configuration Management. We originally addressed this topic in a 3-part series of CMsights articles…

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Configuration Management, CM News Tom Tesmer Configuration Management, CM News Tom Tesmer

Ten Configuration Management Truths

Learn more about these “Ten Configuration Management Truths for Aerospace Project Managers”... Configuration Management is the foundation for Quality Management at the product, project and program levels. CM is everyone’s responsibility, not just relegated to the engineering group or the CM expert. CM is not about the product history, or…

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CMviews, Configuration Management, PDMPlus Tom Tesmer CMviews, Configuration Management, PDMPlus Tom Tesmer

Determining if Configuration Management and Change Control are Under Management Control – Part 1

The surest way for A&D managers to become interested in CM is when production halts because of a missed change order, a supplier ships to an old rev level, logistics can’t source replacement parts, field service starts submitting warranty claims, and a customer calls to report a product performance anomaly. Or worse yet, when executives first hear about a product failure in social media or on the news because it bore catastrophic consequences.

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What Do CM Rules Do For You?

In our most recent series of CMsights Posts we addressed the question of why not use PDM software for all Configuration Management requirements, including those applications downstream of NPD engineering in aftermarket service, repair, maintenance, and overhaul. A question CMstat received afterwards was about the differences between design-centric PDM software…

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Why not use PDM for all CM requirements? Part 3

(Part 3 of 3) In our third and final post on “why not use PDM for all CM requirements” we will discuss the three most common strategies over the years for providing configuration management capabilities to users across the OEM enterprise, as well as throughout the supply and service chain. The approaches summarized below…

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Why not use PDM for all CM requirements? Part 2

(Part 2 of 3) In our last CMsights post we began to unpack a question we hear frequently: why can’t we just use existing PDM software for all of our hardware configuration management software requirements, including those uses downstream of product engineering in the supply or aftermarket service chains? Managing the…

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Why not use PDM for all CM requirements?

(Part 1 of 3) A common question we hear from industry attendees at conferences and workshops is “why can’t I just use our Product Data Management PDM software to satisfy all of our Configuration Management CM needs." The answer we at CMstat typically respond with is an honest “yes you…

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Dissecting the Functional Requirements for Configuration Management Solutions: The Use of Configuration Items

In our last CMsights post we listed the “Top Ten Requirements” of configuration management software (CM) solutions that CMstat has heard most often from CM practitioners over our many years in business. They were presented in no particular order because their relative importance varies greatly across different industries, product lines…

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Configuration Management: The Top 10 Requirements of CM for the Supply Chain

In CMstat’s recent whitepaper on “Nimble Configuration Management for the Contract Supply & Service Chain” we shared the top CM requirements for hardware configuration management heard most often over our twenty-plus years of supporting customers in the A&D industry. They are: Intuitive and easily mastered in everyday use by the...

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New Whitepaper Available on Configuration Management

CMstat has published a new whitepaper on Nimble Hardware Configuration Management for the A&D Contract Supply and Service Chain. This paper examines how the needs of hardware configuration management professionals working in the supply and aftermarket service chains of industries like A&D are different from those CM needs of product...

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