The Configuration Management Benchmark Report: Formalizing ...

The Configuration Management
Benchmark Report

Formalizing and Extending CM to Drive Quality



February 2007

— Underwritten, in Part, by —














The Configuration Management Benchmark Report

Executive Summary
Configuration management (CM) problems can negatively impact product profitability
by effecting product quality, delaying product launches, and increasing product devel-
opment, direct product, and product lifecycle costs. Yet ongoing engineering changes –
especially in cases in which there are multiple product configurations – make it difficult
to keep bills of material (BOMs) and other product data accurate and synchronized across
the enterprise and the product lifecycle.
Key Business Value Findings
Companies that are best in class at configuration management (CM) hit each of the prod-
uct development and lifecycle targets that drive product profitability, on average, 89% or
more of the time – providing a significant performance advantage over their peers. These
targets include product quality, launch dates, product development cost, product cost,
product revenue, and product lifecycle costs.
Implications & Analysis
• Best in class are 38% more likely to have standardized processes for developing
and maintaining product data such as BOMs, for managing product changes
(200% more), and for communicating these changes ...