This request is reviewed by the project manager and then forwarded to the concerned higher authority for their review and approval. An agreement from the client may be required because they have to pay for any additional features. This is a request to change the product scope as the configuration control boards client has altered the product configuration. In the configuration management system, you manage the changes related to the product specification and the process. After that standalone task or story from a ticket is completed, that portion of code is proposed as a pull request.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. The demand for a configuration or engineering change can be generated either from within the company or externally from the customer or a supplier. The Telecommunications Industry Item Interchangeability Guideline (TCIF ) defines when manufacturers/suppliers should change part numbers.
Quality and Systems Assurance Managers
Managing the CMDB, however, can be daunting, particularly regarding configuration control. In this article, I will explain the CMDB Configuration Control Board, its benefits, and how to implement it effectively in your organisation. As organisations grow, their IT infrastructures become increasingly complex. Configuration Management Database (CMDB) ServiceNow comes to the rescue, providing a centralised repository of information about all IT assets.
This leads to the infamous Class 1.5 change, a Class I change that affects fit, form or function, etc., and is treated as a Class II change by rolling the revision level rather than changing the part number. This type of change is done to shortcut the engineering change process and should be avoided. In performance based acquisition, the definition of both class
I and class II changes have been modified to reflect application
only to changes that impact Government approved (baselined) configuration
documentation.
Benefits of Using a CMDB Configuration Control Board
The Change Control Board and Change Advisory Board share a similar focus of reviewing and making decisions for change requests, though their scopes vary widely. Regardless of differences, the structure for both change bodies must be clear, effective, and efficient. Without these components, companies will fall behind competitors who make changes quickly and safely. At every meeting, the Change Advisory Board reviews requested changes using a standard evaluation framework.
It shows the configuration control process divided into three segments,
which are detailed in Figures 6-2, 6-3 and 6-4, respectively. Within a software development project there are formal and informal configuration management practices that affect the manner in which change requests and proposals are processed. To simplify the concept of change control, a change proposal should be considered for proposed changes that require additional project resources (costs and schedule) to be incorporated into project and technical plans. Change requests are design changes that affect the software architecture or implementation and are considered necessary to achieve specified software requirements. Configuration change controls for organizational information systems involve the systematic proposal, justification, implementation, testing, review, and disposition of changes to the systems, including system upgrades and modifications. Typical processes for managing configuration changes to information systems include, for example, Configuration Control Boards that approve proposed changes to systems.
Evaluate and improve the CCB performance
There may be multiple configuration control authorities for a
product with more than one user; each being a configuration control
authority for a given contract. They cannot
authorize change to either, but they may participate in the change
control process if asked for input by either the configuration control
authority that is the CDCA, or by the Government lead application
activity. Implementing a CMDB Configuration Control Board is vital for organisations wishing to maximise the value of their CMDB. By enforcing authorisation, testing, documentation, and controlled implementation of changes, the CCB significantly reduces potential issues. Establishing clear goals, objectives, guiding principles, defined roles and responsibilities, and providing appropriate training is key to successfully implementing a CCB.
Each Architectural Description effort must establish a CM process and document it in a CM Plan. This plan is submitted when each version or update to the Architectural Description is submitted to DARS for registration and discovery. In developing CM processes for Architectural Descriptions it is recommended that best practices be adopted such as those outlined in Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) Standard EA-649. This a flexible, but well-defined standard employed most often at the enterprise level. Its flexibility lies in the ability to provide CM practices that can be selectively applied to the degree necessary for each of the areas to be covered under this plan.
Configuration Control
Use this template to create your board charter for your configuration control board (CCB). In a situation with a large number of changes, a complex product structure, and low rate production, the result could be a unique configuration for each end item serial number unless block changes are utilized. In this situation, the Master Production Schedule with unique end-item part numbers controls effectivity. Serial effectivity works in a similar way, but the change is tied typically to the end-item serial number. Serial effectivity is sometimes the preferred effectivity technique because the planned configuration of each end-item serial number is pre-defined and not subject to shifting schedules. Table 6-1 provides an activity guide for the evaluation of a
configuration control process.
When these re-structuring activities are performed on an engineering bill of material, the result is a manufacturing bill of material or as-planned configuration. Complex products such as automobiles, aircraft, and major capital equipment and systems sometimes consist of thousands to hundreds of thousands of parts. In addition, there are related tooling, fixtures, gauges, templates, test equipment and software. One estimate was that a part may undergo ten engineering changes or more over its life. This suggests that a company may evaluate and process many thousands of engineering changes for a complex product. Configuration control is perhaps the most visible element of
configuration management.
Change Management Vs Configuration Management
To achieve these goals, we needed to understand the needs of various users and break up the big picture into small manageable pieces of work. Each piece added value to the product and each iteration produces working software. As an example of an early roadmap from the civilrights.justice.gov site, 18F worked with the Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division to improve the way the Civil Rights Division engages with the public. The previous website made people navigate through a maze of options to report civil rights violations. Build consensus about the problem you are solving, then break down that problem into smaller problems.
- There are many kinds of testing that you can add to your automated deployments—application functionality, security, and accessibility are good places to start.
- This includes the design, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of your CMDB.
- When interchangeability is re-established at a higher assembly level for a Class I change, the revision letter for that part number is rolled to the next level to reflect a change in documentation, i.e., a change to the assembly’s parts list.
- A more comprehensive description of the overall CM Process is found online in the DoDAF Journal.
For new development information systems or systems undergoing major upgrades, organizations consider including representatives from development organizations on the Configuration Control Boards. Auditing of changes includes activities before and after changes are made to organizational information systems and the auditing activities required to implement such changes. Through the configuration control process, the full impact of proposed
engineering changes and deviations is identified and accounted for
in their implementation. Another key to successful CCB meetings and reviews is to prepare the change requests and supporting documents in advance.
European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering-12
In addition, the part number of each higher level assembly where that part is used also changes until an assembly level is reached where interchangeability is re-established with the old version of the assembly. The organization employs automated mechanisms to implement changes to the current information system baseline and deploys the updated baseline across the installed base. This responsibility is further complicated when multiple versions of the target hardware exist, which require different versions of the FPGA design. For example, if a board update to a hardware design requires swapping an input and output between two FPGA pins, the FPGA versions for the modified board will have to be different than those loaded onto the unmodified board. Loading the wrong FPGA version to a board could result in unpredictable behavior or component damage. By careful FPGA design configuration management and part programming and tracking, serious problems can be avoided.
