Program Management: defines and schedules the tasks required to achieve the program objectives.
Configuration Management: accommodates change and assures that requirements remain clear, concise and valid.
Requirement: Any product or process-related information which can affect safety, quality, cost and/or schedule must be documented, validated and released. That information, once released, becomes a requirement to its user/(s).
Quality Assurance: assures that the results conform to the requirements - - - may also serve to assure that the customer likes the results.
To dislike a product is to dislike its requirements.
To improve a product begins with changing its requirements.
To make it better and better, change it again and again (and assure that the results conform).
Furthermore, get it close the first time by having the customer (or user) validate the requirements.
What must be first; good requirements or a good change process? Even if you get it right the first time, you cannot keep it right without a good change process - - - nor can you readily fix it if you only got it close.
A good change process must come first.
To improve performance, those registered to ISO 9000 will have to undo much of what they have implemented such as making people work to procedures and then control them through inspection. The perfect prescription cannot be written and we cannot expect people to follow a prescription.
by John Seddon
The smaller the variation about the target value, the better the quality. Meeting specifications is a poor measure of quality. by Genichi Taguchi
Emphasize satisfying the true requirements of customers. True quality characteristics must be expressed in a language customers can understand.
by Kaoru Ishikawa
There is static quality (rules and regulations) and dynamic quality (leading edge of change). An organization needs a proper balance of both. by Robert Persig
Institute of Configuration Management Scottsdale, AZ 85261-5656 Tel: (480) 998-8600 Fax: (480) 998-8923 Email: info@icmhq.com