What do you enjoy most about your configuration manager career?

What do you enjoy most about being a configuration manager? What do you dislike the most? Is it challenging? Are there many opportunities to learn and advance?

What keeps you at your job?

The best part of my job is that I know it all. That's not boasting, in my role I'm supposed to know it all. Whenever information about a baseline is needed, or a report needs to be generated containing design, change process, or product data metrics, I have this info at my finger tips. Like I'm supposed to have.

I like that I am the "go to" person for getting to the bottom of process breakdowns. I get to conduct process improvement exercises. I now know enough about cross-functional processes, and can speak each areas language, that I can help guide groups to swift resolutions. And I can put a workable cadence plan in place.

I know enough to explain to people why specific process steps are required. CM is a discipline of control, which some do not appreciate. My experience and knowledge gives me credibility. Having worked change management and detailed process issues for years, I understand how to deal with difficult people; I know when to kill them with kindness, and when to just kill them and move on.

I like planning a CM system to avoid problems. When problems occur, I enjoy leading the charge in troubleshooting, being a CM detective. It's fun work.

The only dislike is those previously mentioned occasional difficult people...but of course they are everywhere...and we learn from tem as well.

Oh...here's the worst really...working for leadership that has no appreciation of CM...and can't be bothered to learn...again, most design and production companies get CM. If you find yourself in a place that doesn’t get it, run like hell because they will not afford to be in business very long.

I like automation and that is what I enjoy performing as a SCM engineer. I am restless till I convert instruction pages into script/s

Hey, JB......you're my kind of CMer. Been there - done that. I'd like to add you to my CM contacts....what's your email?

Thanks,

Tim Ferguson, CMIIC
ConfigurationManager@Live.com