How do you balance the quality, cost, and time aspects of your CM metrics and activities?

1 Define your CM goals and scope

Before you can choose and apply the right CM metrics, you need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and what you need to manage. Your CM goals and scope should align with your project objectives, stakeholder expectations, and organizational standards. For example, you may want to improve your code quality, reduce your defect rate, increase your delivery speed, or enhance your customer satisfaction. You should also define the scope of your CM activities, such as configuration identification, control, audit, status accounting, and change management.

2 Choose relevant and meaningful CM metrics

Once you have your CM goals and scope, you can select the metrics that will help you monitor and evaluate your CM performance. You should choose metrics that are relevant to your CM goals, meaningful to your stakeholders, and actionable for your improvement. For example, if your goal is to improve your code quality, you may use metrics such as code coverage, complexity, maintainability, or security. If your goal is to reduce your defect rate, you may use metrics such as defect density, severity, resolution time, or rework. If your goal is to increase your delivery speed, you may use metrics such as cycle time, lead time, throughput, or deployment frequency.

3 Collect and analyze your CM data

After you have chosen your CM metrics, you need to collect and analyze your CM data to track your progress and identify your strengths and weaknesses. You should use reliable and consistent data sources, such as code repositories, issue trackers, testing tools, or deployment tools. You should also use appropriate data analysis methods, such as charts, dashboards, reports, or benchmarks. You should analyze your CM data regularly and compare it with your baselines, targets, or industry standards.

4 Implement and review your CM improvements

Based on your CM data analysis, you should implement and review your CM improvements to achieve your CM goals and enhance your CM performance. You should prioritize the improvements that will have the most impact on your quality, cost, and time aspects. You should also use the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle to plan, execute, monitor, and adjust your improvements. You should review your improvements periodically and measure their results using your CM metrics.

5 Communicate and collaborate with your CM stakeholders

Finally, you should communicate and collaborate with your CM stakeholders to ensure the alignment and integration of your CM metrics and activities. Your CM stakeholders may include your project team, customers, managers, or auditors. You should communicate your CM goals, scope, metrics, data, and improvements clearly and transparently. You should also collaborate with your CM stakeholders to solicit their feedback, input, or support for your CM metrics and activities.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?