08/27/2026
It is with profound sadness that IPX shares the news of the passing of Ken Black.
Ken was the original architect of CM2. When he joined with Vince Guess, founder of the Institute of Configuration Management, the two of them created something far larger than a methodology. They built a model for how organizations define, control, and continuously improve the information that drives their products, processes, and people. That model has rippled across industries and continents for more than four decades.
If you work in PDM, MES, or PLM today, you are standing on ground Ken helped shape. He was the pebble dropped into still water. The rings are still moving outward through standards, software, and the way industries think about requirements, change, and the integrity of their data.
His mantra was simple: clear, concise, and valid. Three words he applied to every requirement, document, process, and conversation. Those words have never mattered more. As embedded intelligence and AI move deeper into the product space, the quality of the information we feed our systems determines the quality of what comes out of them. Ken understood that decades before the rest of the world caught up.
Beyond the work, there was the man. Ken trained thousands around the globe and touched the hearts of every one of them. He had a rare gift for making difficult ideas land, and an even rarer patience for the people trying to learn them. Ask anyone who sat in one of his classes and they will tell you they remember not only what he taught, but how he made them feel about their own capability.
He will be deeply missed. He is irreplaceable.
All of us at IPX will do our best to carry forward the torch he lit over four decades ago. The truest tribute we can offer is to hold the standard where he set it and pass it to the next generation with the same generosity he showed us.
To Ken's family, friends, and the worldwide community who learned from him: our thoughts are with you.
We invite you to share your memories and reflections with us so that Ken's family can see the reach of what he built.
