Strategies to the Prediction, Mitigation and Management of Product Obsolescence

Chapter 10

Obsolescence Management Standards and Organizations

There are standards and guidance documents available for obsolescence management. Several of these are described in this chapter. Since there are no “cookbook” approaches that are viable, the material that is available tends to be of an advisory or guidance nature, even though the title of this chapter uses the word “standard.” Obsolescence is an all-pervasive factor in modern system design and support, and it requires managers to make informed tradeoff and optimization decisions. Often there is no single right answer. Organizations that are successful in managing obsolescence are those that consider the impact of obsolescence at all stages of the product life cycle (PLC). Existing standards can do no more than provide guidance to component users. Ultimately, obsolescence is driven by the commercial desires of the component manufacturers, for whom obsolescence management guidelines and standards are not necessarily relevant.