by Ken Black
CM Procedures
Procedures serve to define how the requirements are to be achieved. There can be more than one way to accomplish the same requirement There may be alternate procedures accordingly.
To what degree can procedures for achieving each CM requirement be standardized whereby everyone does it the same way, even if there are alternate methods? Same organization, we say ~100%; same industry ~90%; different industries ~80%.
Documents and forms vary in terms of size, format, content, media, etc. Retained records are derived from documents and completed forms.
To what degree can the sizes, formats and media nevertheless be standardized for use and reuse by everyone? We say ~100%, ~90% and ~80%.
Tools are part of the information management process and procedures describe how information shall be entered, stored, secured, retrieved, etc. etc.
To what degree can the information files, data bases and associated tools be standardized whereby they can be used and reused by everyone? Bill Gates would say 100%, 100% and 100%.
Although the world of CM is still in its infancy, interest is growing as organizations look for ways to improve their existing processes. There are two alternatives; (1) take advantage of the proven CMII model or (2) proceed to reinvent the wheel. Do not believe that you are so different that you have to reinvent up to 80% of the wheel. Contingency Theory?
A speaker from a CM research group told an audience in April about conducting a 3-year survey and proving that: "There is not, and cannot be, one best method or model of CM since themany contingencies in corporate environments ensure that each CM process is unique to each organization. The fact is that, across industry groups, only 20% or so of CM practice is common."
How Was The Survey Conducted?
No specifics were given. It was simply stated that any differences in the product, its maturity, the customer or technology force CM to be different.
What does "common" mean? What can and cannot be standardized? Let's start from the top and look at each level of the CM process hierarchy.
To what degree is it possible to establish a common definition of CM which will be suitable for every organization? We say 100%.
A CM plan states the requirements that a CM process must accomplish. CM rules guide the development of procedures to assure that the requirements are achieved in an efficient manner.
To what degree can the CM plan and the CM rules be standardized for all programs within an organization? Different organizations in the same industry? Different organizations across different industries? We say 100%, 100% and 100%.
Institute of Configuration Management Scottsdale, AZ 85261-5656 Tel: (480) 998-8600 Fax: (480) 998-8923 Email: info@icmhq.com