Original Date: 09/14/1998
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

In 1997, Raytheon Missile Systems Company (RMSC) developed and implemented the Enterprise Information Systems Management (EISM) concept. EISM is a formal process with supporting infrastructure which maintains baseline configuration and change control of the overall Information Technology (IT) environment. This development grew out of the realization that IT is complex and critical to the overall business, and since IT touches all business areas, decisions made by one service provider could adversely affect a number of other organizations. Accordingly, the EISM concept was adopted to establish a change control process within RMSC, as formally documented in a change control plan issued in September 1997.

RMSC’s EISM is a function within the IT Directorate which is responsible for the IT change control process. The process begins when a requesting organization submits a change request (e.g., software or equipment upgrade), along with its completed checklists for software procurement and change preparation. If the request only affects a single functional organization, then it is evaluated by the change review board (CRB) in that organization. If the impact goes beyond a single functional organization, then the Enterprise CRB evaluates the request. Upon approval, the IT provider implements the change, and the EISM librarian records the updated documentation. RMSC uses the Product Data Management system as the repository of all IT baseline documentation and changes.

The EISM process is very similar to the Product Configuration Control systems in place throughout industry. What is unique is the application of proven techniques from the product/engineering environment, and the realization that IT required this level of management. EISM provides the safeguards and controls necessary in an area with enterprise-wide implications.

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