We recommend a modified version of the FMEA approach to assessing the risk. The approach is tailored to the needs of project and program managers. We will model the time line as a control plan with minimal controls other than the typical tollgate reviews and, perhaps, team meetings. We know from personal experience that treating […]

Experience suggests risk management happens after we have already encountered numerous and severe risks.  We can see engineers bringing “risks” to the project manager when we are already witnessing the symptoms and the impact to the project is inevitable. To be relevant, risk management has to occur when there is time to plan actions that […]

A qualitative analysis will generally involve a subjective level of assessment. The classic Kastle-Meyer test uses phenolphthalein to check for blood—it is quick and cheap and eliminating expensive and specious DNA testing save times and money. Quantitative analysis, as the name implies, uses measurements to assess the topic of concern. Both have their place in […]

Risk management is often considered a project management function, but that is not necessarily so. For any sort of endeavor we will be well served if we have some consideration of risk and the management. For example, our previous blog posts discussed configuration management. We saw how a wayward configuration management (or lack of configuration […]

Configuration control is generally, what first comes to mind when somebody brings up the topic of configuration management (CM). While it lies at the heart of the system, all the components of a CM system are critical. The purpose of this component is to: Maintain and control configuration baselines (known and defined states) Document and […]

MIL-STD-973 lists configuration identification as the first step in the configuration management (CM) process. We do not think this is some bureaucratic whim, but rather, one of the most important components of CM. Are speaking about systems, subsystems, components, parts, software revisions, and more? The simple answer is, yes! To avoid confusion when using bills […]

Once we are using a configuration management (CM) system, how do we ascertain the status of our engineering change? Configuration status accounting (CSA) is the method by which we accomplish this record tracking. We can get software support by using a dedicated tool or implementing a dedicated database that tracks what we want tracked: Approved/rejected […]

One of the principal roles of configuration management (CM) is to protect us from ourselves. In so doing, we also protect our suppliers and our customers. When high school or college students first encounter bills of materials, they experience shock and awe. An automotive wire harness with 368 leads must have a bill of materials […]

We have discussed some issues regarding configuration management already and we will continue to discuss this underlying topic in this blog—it is that important! Mass customization presents specific issues. Mass customization occurs when set up our systems such that customers have the ability to request substantial modifications. Mass customization works when we take some sensible […]

We take a time out from the configuration management discussion. We see in the news numerous companies with field quality problems and we cannot help but think of the discussions we have had with colleagues about how many organizations handle their product testing. Testing, done right, is a lead indicator of product quality. It is […]