What is Engineering Change Management?

An engineering change request (ECR) can be created by anyone involved in product development or manufacturing process. ECRs provide a general description of issues to be addressed and require engineering management approval before a more detailed engineering change order (ECO) is created and then routed to all stakeholders beyond engineering team for approval. The stakeholders that review ECOs are generally referred to as change control boards (CCBs). Once all members of the CCB approves the ECO, it can be implemented and acted upon by purchasing and manufacturing teams.

Engineering change notices (ECNs) are used to communicate the details of an approved ECO and provide authorization by impacted teams to act on the ECO (or implement the approved changes).

Engineering change management provides traceable, revision-controlled history of products as they go through the entire product lifecycle from concept through sustaining and obsolescence. Change management is important because it allows product teams to:

• Track the status of change requests
• Prioritize those requests
• Review and approve changes (ECRs and ECOs) fast and efficiently
• Ensure products are built correctly and delivered to customers on schedule

*Source: change.walkme.com