Revision Control – The Foundation Of Any Engineering Effort

Community Revision Control – The Foundation Of Any Engineering Effort Jim BlackAugust 26, 2022 Bigstock {"adCodes": [{"desktop": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e", "display": true, "mobile": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e", "new_amp": "\u003camp-ad width=336 height=280\n type=\"doubleclick\"\n data-slot=\"/22278042776,22664312254/wit/wit_content\"\n data-multi-size=\"300x250\"\u003e\n\u003c/amp-ad\u003e", "order": 0, "tablet": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"}, {"desktop": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e", "display": true, "mobile": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e", "new_amp": "\u003camp-ad width=336 height=280\n type=\"doubleclick\"\n data-slot=\"/22278042776,22664312254/wit/wit_content\"\n data-multi-size=\"300x250\"\u003e\n\u003c/amp-ad\u003e", "order": 1, "tablet": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"}, {"desktop": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e", "display": true, "mobile": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e", "new_amp": "\u003camp-ad width=336 height=280\n type=\"doubleclick\"\n data-slot=\"/22278042776,22664312254/wit/wit_content\"\n data-multi-size=\"300x250\"\u003e\n\u003c/amp-ad\u003e", "order": 2, "tablet": "\u003cdiv class=\u0027rblad-wit_content\u0027\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"}], "adsOrder": [2]}

What is revision control?

Simply put, revision control is the management of changes over time. If an object is released for use outside of development, a revision is initiated.

Whether you are writing software code, developing a CAD drawing, modifying a product or its tooling, and even editing a document, each time a copy is released from the governing task a revision is introduced. Controlling these various versions of a unit is critical to engineering success.

Why would something as simple as knowing a revision be so critical to engineering efforts?

• Product Recall – consumers need to know if their product is good or bad. The revision will provide these details.
• Consistency – by following a single revision, efforts are consistent across the board with the defined specifications.
• Tracking Efforts – if everyone has a document with the same name and is working concurrently, how does the group know what is the most accurate and up-to-date version?
• Maintaining Control – with a strong revision scheme, your processes will remain in control allowing improved efficiencies within the confines of the activity.

Lessons For A Young Intern

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My first exposure to revision control was drafting for a major automotive OEM. At 19, I was creating and modifying drawings for major brands. I had power I did not fully understand—my lines and numbers on the page would influence thousands of products within a single platform. This new authority meant my mistakes would also perpetuate through the system.

I would handle dozens of drawings per week to either create a drawing or revise an existing product. I had the responsibility to capture engineering concepts and present them on this sheet of paper. My actions directly controlled how items were manufactured.

Each and every single change on this paper needed to be documented. If I moved one arrow, I needed to identify the change. If I added a line, deleted a circle, or even changed the color of an element, I was responsible to capture these changes within a revision to the document.

If I made a mistake, everyone knew it.

The 4 AM Call… From Chester

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We had checkers on staff who would review every single drawing for detail. Comparing the old to new drawing or reviewing a brand new design, these checkers were responsible for accuracy. Chester was the toughest, and he abused his power.

I had recently made changes to an engine block drawing of approximately 20 pages. I had moved a bolt circle and some additional changes. Inadvertently, I made some modifications to the main area of the drawing when I made my final submission.

The phone rang on my desk (before cell phones and IM), and Chester was on the other line. He was not happy with me, and proceeded to scream, yell, curse, and berate me for 12 minutes… and it felt much longer. Each and every mistake I made was a “you dumb #$%*, how did you miss this?” question. I felt terrible.

Two hours later, the drawing appeared on my desk from a runner. I unrolled the paper, and it bled red ink. One marked up mistake after another. Some pages the redlines overtook the actual lines drawn in CAD.

One final message on page one… “You need to change the revision. You can’t collect these mistakes under the old rev. Fix it – NOW.”

I was scared I was going to be fired.

The Lesson

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When I finished wiping up the blood (red lines), I submitted a new revision of my drawing. I worked tirelessly to ensure I got every markup Chester made. I printed and reprinted copies of the drawing to ensure each line was perfect. I sweated as I walked down the hall to his inbox. Dropping my drawing package in his office, I ran away fearing the worst.

Two days later, a bundle of drawings appeared on my desk with a note. The handwriting was unmistakable, it was Chester. “Much better kid. Two more quick things, and submit for approval. You learned your lesson.”

Whoa… I dodged a bullet.

Why Is This Important?

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While developing “work” within the team, revisions can become cumbersome, and they are often ignored during the creative process. As soon as you submit something to anyone outside of your group, you have released a version of your work product. You cannot control where it goes, who sees it, or who can change it. You lose the ability to protect the information.

By adding a revision each time something crosses that control line, you are taking a snapshot of the history of the product. You are recording the status of this object on this date and time. You make it a piece of history.

When someone returns with questions about this product or unit, you cannot control how they received the information or how it was manipulated. You can only control how it left your hands. Knowing what state an item is when you release it can eliminate many mistakes and arguments. It can also save you from litigation.

How To Manage Revision Control

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Many people will think it is easy, and at its core, revision control is simple. The discipline and execution are hard… because of humans.

A simple rule to follow: if you change something after it leaves your control, revise it.

For example, I write you a letter confirming an agreement we made over a phone call. I send this letter to you for review before we sign it making the agreement official. This letter is in its original state when I release it.

During the review, you find I mistyped your company’s price by transposing two numbers. Nothing major, correct? I just fix it and send a new letter. We agree upon it, and we sign the letter. Two years pass, and my company wishes to invoice you per the agreement. You have two letters in your possession—the original and the revised. Which price is right? What did we agree upon? Neither of us can find the signature copy. Which value is correct?

Had a revision been included in the letter moving the original copy which we will call “A” to the revision copy “B,” the difference would be immediately resolved. “B” supersedes “A,” and I have a record of the change.

This example is overly simple to prove a point. Do you agree this revision control issue is exponentially worse in a multi-piece assembly similar to your car, an airplane, or even your cell phone? Add in layers of software and variations due to assembly, and the identification of your product becomes more challenging. Having robust revision control will save you significant effort in the end.

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The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic spurred change across every industry. Businesses had to change, and so did workers—especially leaders, who also had to facilitate change within their organization. We recently asked our leading executives how they have changed as professionals as a result of the pandemic.

Here are their responses...

Jim Black, Engineering & Technical Executive

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At the beginning of quarantine, I hated working from home. I put in extra hours, I disliked people instant messaging me all day long, and I loathed the isolation. Even me as an introvert. After about 12-16 weeks, my entire demeanor changed. I found my stride. I enjoyed virtual team meetings with my engineering staff. I found ways to keep myself engaged and involved despite my physical location. I worked to be productive despite being alone. I found an interesting fact: I was more productive in this environment.

Since returning to work, I spend the majority of my time in the office. We have a policy where employees can work from home up to two days a week. I cannot every week; however, the weeks where I can work from home now are so enjoyable. I get many tasks accomplished, I remain connected, and I avoid my commute. I actually miss the quarantine occasionally.

Jim Black is an engineering professional focused on the development of technical professionals. He is also a professional bass player.

Kathryn Marshburn, Music Program Manager

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From my recent work at a major music streaming corporation, I have observed changes within the Gen Z and millennial co-working spaces, where there is an openness to talk about mental health and work-life balance issues. These groups approach work differently than generations before them. These two groups work extremely hard and are overachievers; however, they are acutely aware of wellness after the pandemic.

For example, as a program manager, I had the pleasure of managing eight cross-functional teams, and part of my responsibilities included gathering teams to share results. As I looked at each team member's availability on their calendars, I often saw time blocked off for “Therapy” or “Counseling” and even “Workout Time.” These did not exist pre-pandemic, and I love this shift. Almost a more vulnerable type of communicating is now encouraged by executives, complemented by shifting company priorities, and it has created a more open form of comms exchange. Successful teams are paying attention to their own wellness and taking control of their mental health as a community.

Kathryn Marshburn has spent 12+ years in the music and gaming industries guiding teams on identifying targeted goals with an agile approach resulting in driving revenue and reducing risk.

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive

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The most significant change I’ve experienced as a marketing executive due to the pandemic is that I feel like I get to have it all. Prior to the pandemic, I spent on average three hours a day in LA traffic driving to and from work. I left for work at 6:30 am and got home at 8:30 pm barely getting any time with my girls and husband. The cost of gas, the wear and tear on my car, the frustration. It takes a toll. A typical day included greeting my team, back-to-back meetings, and lunch with co-workers.

Life post-pandemic is very different. I am home! I see my girls, husband, two labs, and my cat every day. If my girls have questions or need me, I’m there for them. If I need to take my girls or my pets to the doctor, I can do it now. I can manage my work and my family life, no problem. My days are full of Zoom meetings, blurred background with kids and dogs scurrying behind me as I work. I still go into the office two days a month and interact with my co-workers.

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

Percy Leon, Digital Media Content Executive

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I've always been a professional content creator/filmmaker, but the pandemic has really changed the way I work. I used to be very reliant on in-person interactions with friends and family to help me come up with ideas and film new videos. However, since the pandemic started, I've had to get creative with my content. I've started using my family and friends as resources for new ideas, and I've also started filming new videos by myself. I also started doing a lot of micro-learning on subjects that would help me in my career (video editing for YouTube, TikTok, professional development [Executive Online Presence]). I have also been learning as much about Web3.

This has been a big change for me, but it's one that I've really enjoyed. I'm much happier with my work now, and I feel like I'm more fulfilled as a content creator. The pandemic has definitely changed the way I work, but it's also made me a better professional.

Percy Leon is a digital media content producer specializing in educational technology and entertainment. He is interested in web3, metaverse, and the use of virtual reality for storytelling.

What's the number one way you have changed as a professional as a result of the pandemic? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily's Executive Program.

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The organization has a documented business continuity plan (BCP) which identifies the departments’ needs and requirements to recover in the event of a disaster. Technology is at the center of the business and typically touches every department. But IT only has finite resources—people, equipment, and time. This means IT has to have a comprehensive disaster recovery (DR) plan that is agreed upon by the business. This includes defining a plan for incidents such as phishing and ransomware attacks.

Start off by determining what all of IT assets are (e.g., hardware, software, data). Unless you have large stacks of money, it’s typically not cost-effective for IT to recover and bring up everything at the same time. Instead, it needs to be prioritized. One way is to categorize applications as mission critical (minimal downtime of x minutes/hours), essential (downtime of x hours/days), and non-essential (downtime of x days/weeks/months). There is a cost associated with the defined recovery time objective (RTO).

Preventative Controls To Implement

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Now that you know what you have, there are some preventative controls you can implement to protect those assets:

1. Have a surge protector for each laptop/desktop/external monitor in case there is a power spike.

2. Have an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for desktops/servers so that they can be shut down gracefully in the event of a power outage or bridge the time until the generator kicks on.

3. Have a generator for when the power goes out and you have equipment/systems that must stay up. You can use colored electrical outlets to designate which are connected to the generator. Make sure you test the generator and have a plan to maintain sufficient fuel.

4. Create backups including for email, applications, data, etc. Some backup considerations include:

• Incremental backups vs. full backups
• Real-time, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual backups
  • The time since your last backup will affect your recovery point objective (RPO)
  • Don’t forget that passwords will be as of the time of the backup
• Periodic testing to ensure you can recover the backed-up data.

If there is an incident, the next question is where to recover. Whether the hardware is on premise or in the cloud could make the answer significantly more straightforward. Also, is the incident isolated such as one server going down and another server can be swapped in? Is there a fire in the main server room? If so, do you have a hot site or an alternate location? If you’re in the cloud, how easy is it for you to spin up other servers, or do you have disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS)? There could be significant costs depending on the strategy.

Managing Your Disaster Recovery Plan

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Make sure you document your DR plan and keep it current. You may want to keep a hard copy of the DR plan at your alternate site (if applicable). The next three critical steps are to test, test, and test some more. Test at least once a year (preferably with the business). Tabletop tests are good, but actual tests are better and more realistic. Document your test results to see what went well, what could be improved, and what didn’t work or meet expectations. The lessons learned for each test will help you refine your DR plan (and BCP plans), especially with the business’ ever-changing needs and objectives.

There is a saying that applies: “Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.” Having a written and comprehensive DR plan will put you ahead of the game when you’re trying to recover the organization’s IT assets in a chaotic and stressful disaster situation.

For more information on having a thorough disaster recovery (DR) plan, follow me on LinkedIn!

Read moreShow lesswhy do you need a disaster recovery plan {"customDimensions": {"1":"Executive Community, Debra Shannon","3":"why do you need a disaster recovery plan, bcp, bcp plan, disaster recovery plan, technology, business, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:31173963, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:31174194, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:31174596","2":"community","4":"08/25/2022"}, "post": {"split_testing": {}, "providerId": 0, "sections": [0, 544324100, 544398580, 544398581, 479660731, 473333499], "buckets": [], "authors": [21030904, 24925024]} } Featured Revision Control – The Foundation Of Any Engineering Effort {"customDimensions": {"1":"Executive Community, Jim Black","3":"engineering revision control, engineer, engineers, revision, revision control, engineering, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:31153031, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:31152807, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:31154293, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:31154270, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:31153737, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:31153508","2":"community","4":"08/26/2022"}, "post": {"split_testing": {}, "providerId": 0, "sections": [0, 544324100, 544398570, 473333499, 479660731], "buckets": [], "authors": [21030904, 25315544]} } Now Hiring: Remote SysOps Engineer {"customDimensions": {"1":"Work It Daily, Kinsta \u00ae","3":"kinsta, hiring, remote jobs, remote work, remote workforce, remote companies hiring, remote companies 2021, sysops engineer, sysops engineer jobs, ~popular_source-pageview, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:26404410, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:26409812","2":"popular","4":"05/18/2021"}, "post": {"split_testing": {}, "providerId": 0, "sections": [370480899, 545998439, 545998440, 473310812, 376489962, 526353713, 545658354, 548352055, 548352058, 543270555, 473333499, 473310813], "buckets": [], "authors": [19548593, 21891195]} } 3 Important Career Lessons Learned On And Off The Field {"customDimensions": {"1":"Executive Community, J.T. O'Donnell","3":"career change, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, career, career challenges, overcoming career challenges, personal branding, personal development, professional development, professional growth, success, career success, pro athletes, tom brady, chris gronkowski, nfl, tiktok, social media strategy, social media, career growth, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:25632872, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:25633076, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:25632876, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:25632899","2":"popular","4":"02/10/2021"}, "post": {"split_testing": {}, "providerId": 0, "sections": [0, 370480899, 473333499, 376489962, 526353713, 376489624, 479660731], "buckets": [], "authors": [21030904, 19549412]} } How Ex-NFL Player, Chris Gronkowski, Is Using Social Media To Change Careers {"customDimensions": {"1":"Executive Community, J.T. O'Donnell","3":"2010, Barstool, camera phone, career growth and development, career growth opportunities, chrisgronkowski, cowboys, dallascowboys, dinner, football, free, gronkspike, iceshaker, investor, nfl, nflfootball, nflplayer, nflplayers, nflworkout, payday, rookie, salary, sharing, sharktank, tic toc, tic tok, tick tock, ticktock, tictok, tik tok, tiktok, tiktok.com, trade, trainingcamp, upload, video, video phone, weighin, youtube.com, ~popular_source-pageview, \u0442\u0438\u043a \u0442\u043e\u043a, \u30c6\u30a3\u30c3\u30af\u30c8\u30c3\u30af, chris gronkowski, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:25551501, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:25551637, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:25551540, ~rmsc:rebelmouse-image:25598481","2":"popular","4":"01/29/2021"}, "post": {"split_testing": {}, "providerId": 0, "sections": [0, 370480899, 473333499, 526353713, 376489624, 479660731], "buckets": [], "authors": [21030904, 19549412]} }