Identify the configuration items, components, and related work products that will be placed under configuration management.
Configuration identification is the selection, creation, and specification of the following:
· Products that are delivered to the customer
· Designated internal work products
· Acquired products
· Tools and other capital assets of the project's work environment
· Other items that are used in creating and describing these work products
Items under configuration management will include specifications and interface documents that define the requirements for the product. Other documents, such as test results, may also be included, depending on their criticality to
defining the product.
A “configuration item” is an entity designated for configuration management, which may consist of multiple related work products that form a baseline. This logical grouping provides ease of identification and controlled access. The
selection of work products for configuration management should be based on criteria established during planning.
Typical Work Products
1. Identified configuration items
Subpractices
1. Select the configuration items and the work products that compose them based on documented criteria.
Example criteria for selecting configuration items at the appropriate work product level include the following:
· Work products that may be used by two or more groups
· Work products that are expected to change over time either because of errors or change of requirements
· Work products that are dependent on each other in that a change in one mandates a change in the others
· Work products that are critical for the project
Examples of work products that may be part of a configuration item include the following:
· Process descriptions
· Requirements
· Design
· Test plans and procedures
· Test results
· Interface descriptions
· Drawings
· Source code
· Tools (e.g., compilers)
2. Assign unique identifiers to configuration items.
3. Specify the important characteristics of each configuration item.
Example characteristics of configuration items include author, document or file type, and programming language for software code files.
4. Specify when each configuration item is placed under configuration management.
Example criteria for determining when to place work products under configuration management include the following:
· Stage of the project lifecycle
· When the work product is ready for test
· Degree of control desired on the work product
· Cost and schedule limitations
· Customer requirements
5. Identify the owner responsible for each configuration item.