Configuration Management Plan

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What makes an effective Configuration Management Plan?

A Configuration Management Plan should address a number of elements important in the development, implementation, usage, maintenance and evolution of an organization’s configuration management strategy, data handling processes, and supporting software tools. The Configuration Management Plan provides the roadmap for all the information to capture, how to acquire or migrate data, then how to manage that data throughout the entire lifecycle of a product or program.

Elements addressed in a Configuration Management Plan should include: the project plan and milestones, organizational authority, role responsibilities, key definitions, requirements specification, configuration identification, configuration items and baselines, change control, configuration reporting, configuration status accounting, process automation and improvement, performance metrics, standards support, training, subcontractor and vendor support, system integrations and interfaces, and data management integrity, retention, and security.

While once an option, generic industry agnostic CM Plans created from fill-in-the-blank templates are simply no longer sufficient due to the increasing variations and complexity in products, processes, customer markets, supply chains, regulatory compliance, business goals, and company operating cultures.

Learn what goes into a customized right-sized CM Plan in this CMsights article What is a Configuration Management Plan and understand why planning for the use of CM software is most definitely not the same as having a CM plan!

To understand what are the unique requirements of CM Plans for the A&D supply chain, read this post on developing CM Plans for Aerospace & Defense Suppliers and Contractors.

Certified Configuration and Data Management professionals from CMstat have the expertise and experience to create, review, update and improve upon a plan for your organization that will ensure you are getting all product information under control in the most efficient way possible.

We bring our years of on-the-job experience and deep knowledge of industry best practices when developing CM and DM Plans for CMstat customers. Yet, instead of operating as the experts from afar, we collaborate with our customer’s team as an embedded partner where your employees participate and learn in the process.

CMstat offers four services to help our customers with reviewing, developing, updating, and auditing their Configuration Management Plans:

Configuration Management Plan Review (CMPR) – An independent review of an existing configuration management plan using a multi-faceted analysis to assess its thoroughness in addressing the five core functions of CM which are configuration planning, identification, status accounting, change control, and verification and audits.
Configuration Management Plan Develop (CMPD) – CMstat undertakes the discovery process to develop a custom configuration management plan from start to finish that addresses the specific unique needs of an organization along with its products, processes, customers, and suppliers.
Configuration Management Plan Update (CMPU) – Here we update or “rescue” an older CM Plan to accommodate changes in requirements, products, processes, workforce, customers, suppliers, and risks (technical, financial, and regulatory) that have occurred since the original plan was prepared that risk making it obsolete.
Configuration Management Plan Audit (CMPA) – A formal audit of configuration management procedures and processes to determine how well the CM Plan is actually being followed and supported across the organization and supply chain.

Read this post on Configuration Management Plan Review to see what elements CMstat examines in a review of an existing Configuration Management plan. Then Contact CMstat today to see how we can help your organization to develop a right-sized configuration management plan.