CM2 Baseline: how to make Impact Analysis easy!

In the previous edition of How Do YOU CM2?, we talked about Impact Analysis and why it is often skipped.

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👉 One of the main reasons? It’s not always easy to do.
If you can’t find the data or understand the dependencies, how can you perform a proper impact analysis?

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🔍 This is where the 𝐂𝐌𝟐 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 comes into the picture.

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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐌𝟐 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.

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It’s the gateway to all the single sources of truth. You can see how it was connected, how it is connected, and how it will be connected.

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Let’s unpack that.

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Imagine trying to forecast the weather without satellite imagery or historical data. You’d be guessing. That’s what performing Impact Analysis without a CM2 Baseline is like: guesswork in the dark.

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💡 A proper 𝐂𝐌𝟐 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 turns Impact Analysis from a painful process into something as easy as looking up the weather forecast.

When implemented correctly:
– You gain full visibility across product, process, and people interdependencies.
– You make decisions based on truth, not assumptions.
– You prevent rework, cost overruns, and unnecessary delays.

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👎 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐂𝐌𝟐 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞:
Your team needs to implement a critical design change. Without a robust CM2 Baseline, you’d spend countless hours manually tracing dependencies, sifting through disparate systems, and crossing your fingers that you haven’t missed anything. This isn’t just inefficient; it’s risky. A missed dependency can lead to costly rework, delays, compliance nightmares, and even product failures.

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🚀 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐌𝟐 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞:
But with a well-implemented CM2 Baseline, the process transforms. You have immediate visibility into every impacted and affected item, every dependent dataset, every stakeholder. You can instantly understand the ripple effect of any change, empowering you to make informed decisions. This isn’t just about speed; it’s about precision, control, and significantly reducing risk while remaining agile.

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𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬?

🔗 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 are the secret ingredient combined with knowledge graph technology.
You most likely already identify your parts, datasets, and link them in one way or another. So the hard part is already done! Some links can even be inferred with some basic logic. While this information currently resides in multiple application databases, you can create a knowledge graph that connects all of it in one graph, which represents your CM2 Baseline.

What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to performing Impact Analysis? And how has your organization leveraged (or struggled with) baselines to overcome this?

Ready to go deeper?

Use code Martijn10 for 10% off training—and don’t forget to tell them Martijn sent you 😉.

Copyrights by the Institute for Process Excellence

This article was originally published on ipxhq.com & mdux.net.

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