The obsolescence management plan, section by section
An obsolescence management plan (OMP) is the documented process an organization keeps for monitoring which parts on its bill of materials are heading toward loss of supply, assessing the risk each one carries, and resolving each loss before it stops production. It is the deliverable the obsolescence-management standards ask an organization to produce, called an obsolescence management plan in IEC 62402 and a DMSMS management plan in United States Department of Defense practice. This page walks the document section by section, so a reader can read one, audit one, or write one. It is vendor-neutral: it sells nothing, recommends no tool, and points at no template vendor.
Definition // The plan document
What an OMP is
IEC 62402:2019 defines an obsolescence management plan as a description of the strategies for the identification and mitigation of the effects of obsolescence through all stages of the life of a product. In working terms, that is the strategic document setting out the procedures and actions an organization takes to address component obsolescence. It is the documented path engineering and sourcing follow, so obsolescence is handled through a defined process rather than improvised case by case.
The plan is often folded into an organization's existing design processes and procedures rather than kept as a standalone file, and in many industries it is a contractual requirement, an item the customer asks the supplier to produce and maintain.
The organization's stated intent to manage obsolescence: who is accountable at the top level, and to what standard. It is the commitment; the procedure lives in the plan.
How that intent is applied to a specific product or bill of materials, through the actual monitoring, assessment, and resolution steps. It is the operational document a reader follows.
The distinction is worth stating plainly because the two words get used for each other. Policy is why and to what standard; plan is how, for this product.
Purpose // Proactive vs reactive
Why the plan exists
Obsolescence management runs in one of two modes. The plan is the proactive artifact: its purpose is to have the monitoring, the risk ranking, and the resolution playbook written down and running before a part reaches end of life. A plan that is only opened once a part is already gone is reactive in practice.
After the part is gone
Responds after a part is already discontinued: find remaining stock, find a substitute, or redesign under time pressure, generally at higher cost than acting early.
While options are open
Monitors the bill of materials for at-risk parts, forecasts which are heading for end of life, and acts while options remain. DoD policy prescribes this approach because acting early is less costly than reacting after stock is gone.
Anatomy // The recurring building blocks
What each section governs
SD-22 is explicit that the format is not fixed. Its Section 3.2.2 states the outline and format are not prescribed, and lists best-practice contents instead. The seven sections below are those recurring building blocks; no standard mandates a fixed template. Read in sequence, they also trace the workflow the plan runs: monitor, assess, resolve, report, review.
Scope & objectives
Which products, which bill of materials, and which item classes (components, materials, software) the plan covers. The objective is typically to keep the product buildable and supportable for its service life.
WhySets the boundary so everyone knows what is in and out.
Roles & responsibilities
Who owns the plan and who executes each step: the obsolescence owner or, in larger organizations, the DMSMS program office that runs monitoring and coordinates the response.
WhyAn unowned plan is not run; named roles let it survive personnel changes.
Monitoring the BOM
How at-risk parts get found: manufacturer change and discontinuance notices (PCN/PDN), distributor lifecycle flags, industry trends, and supplier relationships that surface early notice.
WhyEverything downstream depends on catching the signal early.
Risk & criticality
How each at-risk part is scored and ranked: the impact of losing it on cost, schedule, and performance, prioritized so effort concentrates on the highest-impact parts.
WhyTurns the raw monitoring feed into a ranked action list.
Resolution options
A last-time buy, a qualified second source, an authorized-aftermarket source, a substitute to validate, or a redesign. This section governs the decision criteria; which option wins depends on the part.
WhyEach option carries a different cost and requalification burden.
Reporting & cadence
How obsolescence status is communicated and how often: a communication plan that keeps stakeholders informed, plus regular status reporting on activity.
WhyDecisions need budget and schedule sign-off, carried on the cadence.
Review & update
Keeping the plan current: revisiting the monitoring results, the risk rankings, and the resolution decisions on a set schedule, and updating the document as parts, suppliers, and the product change. This is what feeds the next monitoring pass, so the workflow runs as a loop.
WhyPrevents the plan from going stale across a long service life. Review frequency is set by the governing standard or contract.
A blank template is only the headings. What each heading has to govern is the substance, and it stays the same whether the plan is written to IEC 62402, to a DoD DMSMS format, or as an internal engineering procedure.
Cross-reference // SD-22 §3.2.2
How the sections map to SD-22
SD-22 Section 3.2.2, Outline of DMP Contents (page 36), states the outline and format are not prescribed, then lists the plan's best-practice contents in three groups. The seven sections here are those same contents, regrouped for a reader building the document.
Method // Use the sections as your template
How to write one
The seven sections are the template for your own plan. Work through them in order for your products and bill of materials, and note the sequence matters: you own it and scope it before you can monitor it.
Own it first
Name the person or program office responsible before writing a line. The roles section is what makes every other section run.
Set the scope
Define the products and the bill of materials the plan covers, so the monitoring has a defined target.
Choose monitoring sources
Decide what you will watch: manufacturer PCN/PDN feeds, distributor lifecycle status, supplier notifications.
Define the risk-scoring method
Set how you rank what monitoring surfaces, so effort concentrates on the highest-impact parts.
Write the resolution options
Record the options and the criteria for choosing among them, so the response is a decision procedure rather than a fresh argument each time.
Set the reporting cadence
Fix how status travels, so decisions reach budget and schedule sign-off on a regular beat.
Set a review schedule and hold to it
The plan's value comes from being current. How often to review is set by the governing standard or contract, so check that source rather than assuming an interval.
FAQ // Frequently asked
Frequently asked questions
What is an obsolescence management plan?
The documented process an organization maintains to monitor its bill of materials for parts heading toward loss of supply, assess the risk each carries, and resolve each loss before it stops production. It is the deliverable the obsolescence-management standards ask for, called an obsolescence management plan in IEC 62402 and a DMSMS management plan in United States Department of Defense practice.
What are its sections?
Scope and objectives, roles and responsibilities, monitoring the bill of materials, risk and criticality assessment, resolution options, reporting and cadence, and review and update. SD-22 §3.2.2 lists a best-practice set of contents rather than a mandated format; the exact section names differ between a commercial IEC 62402 plan and a defense DMSMS plan, but the content each governs is the same.
How is the plan different from the policy?
The policy is the organization's stated intent to manage obsolescence, its top-level commitment and accountability. The plan is how that intent is applied to a specific product or bill of materials, through the actual monitoring, assessment, and resolution steps.
Proactive vs reactive, what's the difference?
Reactive management responds after a part is already gone (find stock, a substitute, or a redesign under time pressure), generally at higher cost. Proactive management monitors the BOM for at-risk parts and acts while options are open. DoD policy prescribes the proactive approach, and the plan is the proactive artifact.
Is a software obsolescence plan different?
The structure is the same. Software and firmware are item classes an OMP can cover alongside hardware, run through the same monitoring, risk, resolution, and review steps. What changes are the items watched (supported OS versions, libraries, toolchains) and the resolution options for each.
How often should it be reviewed?
On a set schedule defined by the governing standard or contract, rather than a single universal interval. The point is that review is recurring: monitoring results, risk rankings, and resolution decisions are revisited and the document updated as parts, suppliers, and the product change.
References // Public sources only
Sources
Related // Read next
Related reading
Reference · The termsDMSMS vs obsolescence: what it means for your parts
The distinction behind the DMSMS management plan, what the acronym covers, and how it differs from obsolescence alone.
Method · The interchangeability testForm, fit, function: when a replacement part actually is one
The test behind the resolution options: a substitute is a candidate to validate against form, fit and function, never a guaranteed drop-in.
An IEC 62402 clause-by-clause decode is a planned companion page. Where this page dissects the plan document an organization writes, that page will explain what the standard itself requires. (Not yet published.)
Editorially independent and from public sources only; standard references and section names are vendor-reported and paraphrased, not reproduced verbatim. A substitute named in any plan is a candidate to validate in your own design. Confirm every detail with the manufacturer and the governing standard before committing.
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