Glossary · Engineering, integration and validation
Configuration management
Also known as: CM
German: Konfigurationsmanagement
In systems and software engineering, configuration management is the coordinated activity of identifying the configuration items of a product, controlling changes to them, recording their status and auditing that the product matches its documented configuration. It applies to hardware, software, parameters and documentation over the whole life cycle.
- Validation
- Standards
In one sentence
Configuration management identifies configuration items, controls their changes, records their status and audits that product and documentation match.
Example
For a filling machine, configuration management records which PLC program version, drive parameter set and manual revision belong to serial number 4711.
Explained in context
Context cards connect this term with others to answer one question. Also in British English and German.
How it applies
- Engineering: The project defines configuration items, such as control programs, HMI projects, drive parameters, drawings and manuals, and assigns identifiers and versions to each.
- Operation: Plant owners keep the installed configuration of each machine on record, so service staff know which software and documents apply before they intervene.
- Maintenance: Changes go through Change control and create a new Configuration baseline; audits confirm that the delivered product and its records agree.
- Documentation: The documentation team treats manuals, parameter lists and safety information as configuration items with their own versions and records which document revision belongs to which product configuration.
Configuration management vs. version control
Version control tracks the history of individual files or repositories. Configuration management is the broader discipline: it decides what is controlled, how changes are approved and how the consistency of the whole product configuration is verified. A version control system is one tool that supports it.
ISO 10007 gives guidance on configuration management within a quality management system; ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 treats it as a technical management process.