An Introduction to Engineering Change Management
Engineering change management refers to the change in the functionality of a product by means of careful request, evaluation, implementation and control when production of the product has already started. The change can be either total or partial and related to an item (component, assembly or material) whose content has already been validated at various stages of its design, corresponding to milestones process or program, by the actors to whom this responsibility has been assigned.
Changes form part of most products nowadays especially the ones that consist of rapidly evolving technologies. Changes also provide an opportunity for an organization to get more benefits and also to foster some innovation across the whole organization.
Usually the engineering change management process is made up of 6 processes.
Advances in Conceptual Modeling: ER’99 workshop Evolution and data management, information system reverse engineering change, and the world … France, 15 to 18 November, 1999 will
This book constitutes the 18th International Conference in Paris, France in November 1999 Conceptual Modeling, ER ’99, held three workshops reviewed the joint proceedings. 30 proposed amendments to full paper were carefully reviewed and selected from about 70 submissions. The book is divided into chapters on the evolution of object-oriented database; constraints change; conceptual modeling of the change; for reverse engineering, system migration, modeling, navigation and interaction, in the direction of Web modeling; modeling Web information; and modeling Web applications .
Engineering change request
A formal request which is known as an engineering change request is made and will help define clearly the changes that are needed.
Evaluation of the alternatives
Other alternatives to the ECM are tried out and an evaluation of the alternatives is made and usually a single one is chosen.
Cost benefits analysis of the alternatives
The alternatives should be evaluated in terms of risk and benefits on other department that will be affected by the change.
Solution approval
The top management needs to give approval to the favored solution.
Implementing the change
Once approval has been granted the change request becomes a change order and needs to be propagated across the whole organization. Either the changes are done straight away or in some cases the change is made over small phases.
The review stage
The change process is reviewed carefully to make sure that everything went out as planned and everything is documented for use in the future.
The steps are the most generic ones but can vary in some situations.
Written by Robert Bellarmine for www.visitask.com
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