CM Communication
This year's CM Workshop was one the largest attended to date and offered, once again, diversity in speakers, information sessions, training workshop and tours of the William J. Hughes Technical Center. The many new faces (FAA and Industry) present, interacted and shared knowledge in an open forum.
The annual Workshop, sponsored by ATO-W Enterprise Configuration Management, was held in Atlantic City the week of September 15. There were approximately 140 attendees for the 3 day event offering an overall focus on CM moving forward to NextGen.
Dynamic speakers from FAA management and Industry executives, combined with informal networking, made for a powerful occasion for new and returning attendees alike. The workshop offered NextGen awareness, System Engineering insight, and Industry CM practices through briefings, CM related training and information sessions. CM is a management process for establishing and maintaining consistency of a products, processes or systems performance, functional, and physical attributes with its requirements, design and operational information throughout its life. The agency benefits from CM through Organizational Excellence by standardization, traceability, documentation (changes, requirements, issues, lessons learned), Systems Engineering (accurate and current drawings for better planning), Strategic planning (knowing who owns, maintains, uses, and accountable for strategic decision making). Sheila Franklin-Smallwood, William J. Hughes Technical Center presented the welcoming and closing remarks. The large number of distinguished speakers presented the need for CM in managing the agency’s mission and CM accomplishments. FAA speakers included James Williams, Director of Systems Engineering presented real examples on the importance of CM; Mary Golia, Director, ATC Facilities on CM accomplishments; Debbie Wilson, Director of Acquisition Policy and Contracting presented the essential need for CM; Ann Tedford, Manager Chief Engineering for NextGen provided overview of NextGen and CM; Jesse Wijntjes, NAS Chief Architect on CM and the NAS Architecture and Faye Jordan, Enterprise CM, on CM Strategy. Industry speakers included Steve Bement of MicroSoft , Michael LaFramboise, formerly of Delphi and Steve Easterbrook, of Configuration Management Process Improvement Center. The caliber of speakers and the overall workshop was inspirational - much like a CM campus. In addition to the 16 breakout sessions covering topics ranging from Introduction to FAA CM to advanced techniques in Web CM, attendees had the unique opportunity to tour the Tech Center. The main focus was on CM moving forward to support NextGen, discussing what we do today and how we anticipate, plan and implement changes within the FAA for tomorrow. Making the commitment to attend the three-day event was huge, with the payoff being that we are taking more and more steps toward truly integrating Enterprise Configuration Management into all areas of the FAA. The prevailing thought, from all the speakers and attendees, was that they see the future of CM going beyond what we have been traditionally taught and moving toward an Enterprise Configuration Management that addresses what is behind many of the shortcomings of today. Every face present, reflected obvious pride in their own jobs, their commitment and appreciation to their organizations as well as their continued appreciation, understanding and belief in Configuration Management. There was tremendous support from our leaders and organizations across many lines of business supporting what CM could and should be for all of us as well as what this annual workshop has become for CM practitioners. One could hear some very exciting and informative plenary talks by the attendees sharing practical ideas and theories with all. The speakers and breakout sessions made the workshop worth every moment. It was truly a community of learners with a CM staff that went above and beyond to make it a great experience to all participants. The success of the event can be measured by the increased awareness, learning and promotion of Enterprise Configuration Management. Attending workshops is not just about what happens on the stage, but also about what happens in the time wrapped around the event where networks can be established and nurtured, helping us all to realize that we are in this together and the more we help to build on that, the more there will be for everyone. Plan on attending the 2009 National CM Training Workshop and spread the word about the effectiveness of this workshop for the new, the beginners and the CM practitioners!
James Williams, Director of Systems Engineering
Below is a list of briefings on CM in the FAA.