Configuration Management (CM)

CM Definition

Configuration management (CM) is defined as the SE technical and administrative discipline applied over the lifecycle of a product. The five principles of CM are: CM planning and execution, configuration identification, configuration change and variance control, configuration status accounting, and configuration verification.

CM Planning and Execution

Broad CM planning and management are the key to effective implementation of CM. Particularly in the differences allowed from program to program, the CM responsibility can be accomplished with flexible, adaptive, and mature management methods.

Configuration Identification

The configuration identification activity is facilitated by the documented CM process and by open communication, providing the basis for all the other CM functional activities.

Configuration Change and Variance Control

The reason for change and variance control is to ensure the integrity of products and activities as the systems and products change from inception to retirement; it is based on two main concepts: change is to be anticipated and programs and products improve over time.

6.5.5 Configuration Status Accounting

Configuration status accounting is a way to capture, record, maintain, and report the CM data. The goals for this function are to answer four main questions, as follows:

1. 1. What are the proposed changes?
2. 2. What are the approved changes?
3. 3. What changes have been made?
4. 4. What units have the changes been applied to and when?

Configuration Verification to Establish and Maintain Consistency of That Product’s Performance, Function, and Physical Attributes

There are two basic types of configuration verification: physical and functional. The physical verification measures the conformance of the product to its defining documentation. The functional verification determines if a product meets all defined functional requirements. Both may be accomplished by incremental inspections or tests, or they may be subject to audits, depending on program or customer requirements.

CM is the discipline of applying technical and administrative direction and surveillance to identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of a product end item (e.g., CI, SW CI, CSCI); control changes to those characteristics; record and report change processing and implementation status; and verify compliance with specified requirements. From a product perspective, CM is a management process for establishing and maintaining consistency of a product’s performance, function, and physical attributes with its requirements, design, and operational information throughout its life. CM provides knowledge of the correct current configuration of defense assets and the relationship of those assets to associated documents. The CM process efficiently manages necessary changes, ensuring that all impacts to operation and support are addressed. The benefits of the process should be obvious but are often overlooked.

CM is an integrated and documented system of management controls involving decisions, actions, and approvals that are applied throughout the lifecycle of a program or system from the conceptual stage, through production, and into postproduction product support. It is designed to support and help the program or system to deliver products faster and more efficiently, and it facilitates the timely conversion of requirements into products that will perform as required and that can be produced, operated, and supported as planned. In general, CM is accomplished by applying technical and administrative direction and surveillance to

1. (1) plan and manage products,
2. (2) identify and document functional and physical characteristics of products,
3. (3) control changes and related documentation,
4. (4) provide status accounting (capture, maintain and record change processing and implementation status), and
5. (5) verify product conformance to and compliance with documented requirements.

CM planning	Configuration identification	Change and variance management	Configuration status accounting	Configuration verification
Requirements	Product structure	Change or variance identification	Planning	Functional verification
Planning	Product identification	Classification	Recording	Physical verification
Process documentation	Baselines	Justification	Reporting	Discrepancy resolution
Roles, responsibilities, and resources	Documentation and dataset standards	Description		Monitor CM process
CM tools	Product definition release	Coordination and evaluation
CM training	Serialization	Authorization
Assessments and audits	Documentation revisions
Flow down to suppliers	Hardware and software change (part number control)
Data storage, retrieval and interpretation	Product marking
	Software CM libraries
	Retrievable data

CM Purpose

The purpose and benefits of the change management process include the following:

1. 1. Enable change decisions to be based on knowledge of complete change impact.
2. 2. Limit changes to those which are necessary or offer significant benefit.
3. 3. Facilitate evaluation of cost savings, and trade-offs.
4. 4. Ensure customer interests are considered.
5. 5. Provide orderly communication of change information.
6. 6. Preserve configuration control at product interfaces.
7. 7. Maintain and control a current configuration baseline.
8. 8. Maintain consistency between product and documentation.
9. 9. Document and limit variances.
10. 10. Facilitate continued supportability of the product after change.

Importance of applying CM to program/products

1. 1. Products that are supposed to be produced, are being produced, and have already been produced.
2. 2. Changes and problem reports that have been identified against the product, approved/disapproved, and implemented into the product.
3. 3. Status of all changes to products.

Benefits of configuration management

1. 1. Reduced downtime and increased efficiency
2. 2. Version and build control of SW products
3. 3. Baseline and distribution control
4. 4. Change tracking
5. 5. Increased data security
6. 6. Data retention and data integrity
7. 7. Facilitates adherence to legal obligations
8. 8. Aids financial and expenditure planning
9. 9. Allows organizations to perform risk/impact analysis and schedule changes safely and efficiently
10. 10. Verification that the products achieved required functionality
11. 11. Verification of conformance to the technical description of the product
12. 12. Ensure all builds and deployments are accurate and repeatable
13. 13. Capability for disaster recovery.

Configuration change management is defined as the systematic evaluation, coordination, approval, and/or disapproval of all changes to an established baseline; it is an element of CM, consisting of the evaluation, coordination, disposition, and implementation of changes to products (e.g., CIs, CSCIs) after their configuration identification documentation has been formally established (a.k.a., baselined). Configuration change management/configuration control is:

1. 1. A systematic process that ensures changes to released configuration documentation are properly identified, documented, evaluated for impact, approved by an appropriate level of authority, incorporated, and verified.
2. 2. The CM activity concerning the systematic proposal, justification, evaluation, coordination, and disposition of proposed changes; and the implementation of all approved and released changes into (a) the applicable configurations of a product, (b) associated product information, and (c) supporting and interfacing products and their associated product information.