Comments From
My Readers:
Regarding the re-write of MIL STD 973 - "Thanks for
your input. Your comments and PCM III book have been a great source of material for
this effort." Jeff Windham
"They (students taking
CM course at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College) said they could understand the CM
terms, speak intelligently in meetings, and had the "big picture" during the
procurement process. This speaks volumes about your text and the course." Larry
Blavos, instructor
"The 'Practical CM'
book is great--you've done a very nice job of putting into common English what could
potentially be drudgery." Lou DeSanzo
"It is written in
simple sentences, and is clear to understand." Kaiser Saifudin
"I have just finished
reading your book and enjoyed it a lot - if one can enjoy reading about CM." Susan
Floyd
"Your book may become a
more useful tool than the handbook & military interface standards that are being
developed by the Department of Defense." Dave Young
"The book authored by
Mr. Dave Lyon is worthwhile reading. I have a softbound copy and have used it often as a
source of information and suggestion." Wade Sanders
"I read it, and
I’m a better person for it." Karl Kremeyer
"Your book is very good
for implementing CM." Dennis Sutch
"The text is great. A
simple straightforward approach, and explanations that are easily
understood." Pete Bahr
"It is a bit long but
has some valuable information contained in it." Jay McKenna
"I reviewed the book
this morning and it looks like it will be a big help. Thanks for doing the hard work and
suffering the pain." Norm Wolstein
"I spend $ out of my
own pocket to purchase the book and I believe that it was a good investment."
Patrick Binckly
"I appreciated your
book. Your book appears to provide a good track to follow when/if I get the opportunity to
automate." Chris Hogg
"Practical CM helped me
to set up a non bureaucratic electronic CM system for a very small aerospace
company." Rob Roy
"David D. Lyon's
Practical CM, Best Configuration Management Practices contains a cd which includes all the
templates needed to start-up,up-grade, and maintain a good value added CM
environment." Wayne Adams
"This is an excellent
book! Very helpful!" Shereen Husk
"I'm very interested in
obtaining more copies of your book for my department. I have found your book to be
extremely helpful." Tonya Santini
"Your book was the best
source on CM and far and away the best written in regards to terminology, information, and
format of all the source documents and articles I have read. I know it will be an
invaluable tool for me and it will be on my desk daily." Brett Oxley
"The book is very well
done. Both my partner and I are very impressed and hope to apply many of the principles to
a large project for which we are currently in negotiation." Henry Vandelinde
"Thank you very much
for the very interesting and helpful book you have written. From our point of view,
there is really not much literature available other than that of software
configuration management, and quite many of those are not useful for
other disciplines. Especially the CM-related part of your book was most helpful and
informative. Your work for putting PLM into the right scope, a tool for implementing
CM, was very enjoyable to read." Juho Nikkola
"Thanks for your help.
Your text is very useful." Jean Vlieghe
"Your books are very
good." Lee Marshall
"I received your book a
couple of weeks ago and have found it very interesting that most of CM practices that you
describe in your book are what I have set up for the company that I work for. It has been
very helpful to me to have as a reference." Richard Potter
"Your text book has
proven a very easy and enjoyable read so far. Although I am far, far from envisioning an
electronic PDM, I am still referring to your text for a baseline understanding for the
"manual" CM incorporation." Gerald Yedynak
"I like your pragmatic
approach, both in contents and also language." Klaus Jung
"On first review, looks
like you provide a great conceptual introduction to this domain for the "newbie"
to be tasked and trained in this realm." William Turgeon
|
PRACTICAL
CM
Mike Tarrani -
Amazon.com Reviews
This is Lyon's
third book on Configuration Management and an extension of his Practical CM (ISBN
0966124820). The key difference between the two books is this one is more focused on
engineering development and reflects more of the author's ideas. The first book was more
influenced by MIL-STD-973 and the related EIA standard 649. This one does not conflict
with those standards, but does take a more real world approach, with a distinct focus on
product management. In fact, there is more similarity between this book and Lyon's
"Transparent Configuration Management (ISBN 0966124804), especially in the detailed
documentation of best practices versus current industry practices and the in-depth
treatment given to each stage of Configuration Management.
It is in the
detailed descriptions of the phases, and how they relate to product development, that
makes this book an especially valuable resource to anyone working in the PLC environment.
Each phase - identification, control, status accounting and auditing - are covered widely
and deeply, with best practices associated with each clearly identified and explained.
Different scenarios add depth to this aspect of the book.
Two areas covered,
transition to production and support, are unique to most Configuration Management books
that either gloss them over, or focus on, for example field changes and product
configuration, but do not devote as much coverage to these areas as they merit in the real
world. The coverage of software and firmware was a bit light in my opinion, especially
since most products have one or both as integral parts, but there are a wealth of other books that
cover those topics. It is interesting to note that this book's processes do align to SEI's
CMMI process areas for configuration management.
Some of this
material is carried over from the other two books, and there is definite overlap between
the Transparent CM coverage here and his book devoted to that subject. It does serve as a
nice binding and segue between this book and the one on Transparent CM.
Like Lyon's other
books, this one is a definitive text on Configuration Management and an important addition
to the body of knowledge.
|
TRANSPARENT CM
Craig Senior -
'Insight' Reviews
Implementing a Product
Lifecycle Management (PLM) system is a foray into complexity for which most organisations
and people are unprepared. Throwing the latest feature-rich technical fad at old business
problems with glassy-eyed, optimistic zeal, later blaming any failure on
“circumstances beyond our control”, and moving laterally into the next project
assignment is slowly losing its appeal. Even information technology practitioners are
catching on to the woes of their ways, but you’d be hard pressed to get one to admit
it.
Transparent Configuration
Management delivers
some great lessons, of which these are but a few:
1) There is a DNA-like,
intertwined relationship between quality and Configuration
Management.
2) The shortest route to
implement a complex system is to do it right the first time. The only short cut is to take
no short cuts.
3) Automating Configuration
Management and making
it more transparent is becoming a competitive advantage like 'supply chain management' and
'just in time'.
4) Aim to make the process
steps transparent and efficient for users; they do the right things right using the
fastest, easiest method and might not know it.
Transparent Configuration
Management is the
essential guide to implementing a PLM system. It presents a practical process, a
methodology for implementation, supplemented by checklists and templates. It sets the
reader’s foundation with the common, traditional definitions of configuration
management (CM). It takes us on a brief, often entertaining stroll through the history of Configuration
Management. Then it
asks you to ask yourself what you really need to do with this thing. What are your
requirements for a PDM system? What information must you capture, manage, and use? Who
authorizes product changes and how are those changes documented, communicated, and
controlled? Much of this data is required regardless of whether you use a PDM system or
what PDM system you choose.
After that you are guided
through PLM-specific functions to analyze the degree to which the PDM system satisfies
your requirements, off-the shelf. It guides you through PDM system evaluation, using
extensive checklists that you can readily apply. Finally, it brings you through
implementation and integration with other subsystems. Obviously, the book could not
consider all the technical issues of every reader, but the principals are firmly in place.
Very useful was the PDM Project Schedule that you could transcribe as the basis for your
schedule.
Transparent Configuration
Management presents
guidance for overcoming resistance to PDM and Configuration
Management in general.
It presents Configuration
Management best
practices geared towards Dept of Defence contracting, but you can easily read through this
and apply the material to any organization.
Transparent Configuration
Management is the
essential guide for anyone considering a PLM implementation, any Configuration
Management
practitioner, quality practitioner, or anyone involved in managing design and manufacture.
David Lyon clearly demonstrates that he’s been there and he’s packed a lifetime
of experience into this very important book.
|
TRANSPARENT
CM
Mike Tarrani - Amazon.com
Reviews
Mr. Lyon's earlier book,
"Practical CM" (ISBN 0966124820) is the foundation of this work, which extends
the approach - in the author's own words - to '[Presenting] unique methodology for a
successful evolution from today's CM practices to best CM practices, then on to the
implementation of a truly automated CM system in order to reach the ultimate goal of
transparent CM.'
This book accomplishes that goal
in every respect. After a chapter giving an overview of CM, the seeds of this approach are
planted in the chapter titled, "Transition From Current CM Practices to Best CM
Practices".
A clear approach, based on the
product data management approach within the CM discipline, is given. Included
are a distilled list of best practices, and flow charts of the associated process.
Chapters 3 and 4 cover a proposed PLM system in great depth. The requirements
are outlined in sufficient detail to both gain a full understanding of the scope of the
system, as well as to layout a fairly high-level system diagram if you were to build such
a system in-house. Since building a system is probably not cost-effective for most
organizations, Chapter 5 extends the requirements by giving advice on how to evaluate
tools and vendors, and to select the best solution within constraints.
Chapters 6 and 7 describe the
evolution from automated CM to transparent CM, which is the focus of the book. These are
followed up with a final chapter that ties up loose ends by addressing the people
dimension. Appendices A (List of Best Practices) and B CM Plan outline are invaluable, as
are the documents on the accompanying CD ROM.
This is an
outstanding book for advanced CM practitioners, especially those who have read and liked
the author's earlier book, and/or those who are seeking to improve an existing, stable CM
process.
|
Configuration Management
Books, Training Courses, Seminars, & Consulting Services - PLM System Selection &
Implementation