About The Obsolescence Brief

01 · Why this exists

Straight answers, from no one who's selling

Every year, thousands of electronic components go end-of-life. The notices are scattered, the cross-references are shallow, and almost everything written about the problem is published by someone trying to sell you a tool, a brokerage service, or a data subscription.

The Obsolescence Brief is the missing piece: an independent publication for the engineers, procurement teams, and program managers who carry hardware BOM risk and need straight answers. When a part you depend on disappears, the question is never abstract.

It's this part, this board, this program. That's the level this site works at, and the only level that actually helps you make a decision.

02 · Who writes it

Written by someone who does the work

Hermann Njike

Systems Obsolescence Manager

I lead the cross-functional response when critical electronic components go end-of-life on long-life, high-reliability programs, the kind of hardware that has to stay in production and in service for decades after the parts inside it stop being made. I'm the single point of contact for thousands of production parts, with a background in mechanical engineering and supply chain management.

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This site is where I write down what that work actually looks like: how to read a lifecycle flag, when a "replacement" is really a replacement, and how to make a last-time-buy decision you won't regret in year twelve.

03 · How the work is done

Built from public sources, held to one standard

Every article is built from public sources. Lifecycle flags, pin functions, and electrical ratings are vendor-reported and not independently audited, and I say so in every piece. Alternates named here are candidates to validate in your own system, never drop-in equivalents.

Primary sources

Manufacturer datasheets, product change notices (PCNs), and end-of-life notices, read directly rather than through a broker's summary.

Market data

Distributor stock and pricing and published availability, used to judge how much runway a part actually has.

Standards

Published industry standards for form, fit, function, and qualification, the test a candidate has to pass.

The bar

If an article can't survive that standard of honesty, it doesn't get published.

04 · Independence

Independent analysis, open to support

The independence pledge

When I compare obsolescence data platforms or name replacement candidates, no one pays for the verdict.

The analysis is built from public sources and never resells vendor data. Sponsorship and reader support are welcome and help keep the Brief going, but they never buy a placement, a named candidate, or the outcome of a comparison.

05 · Subscribe

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Free · Every issue

If your job includes keeping hardware alive after the parts stop shipping, this is written for you.

Free subscribers get every new article by email: replacement analyses, tool comparisons, and guides on managing component end-of-life.

Questions, corrections, or a part you'd like covered: hnike1020@gmail.com.