Identify Configuration Items
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:
- Products that are delivered to the customer
- Designated internal work products
- Acquired products
- Tools
- 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.
Configuration items can be decomposed into configuration components
and configuration units. Only the term “configuration item” is used in this
process area. In these practices, “configuration item” may be
interpreted as “configuration component” or “configuration unit” as
appropriate. For example, configuration items in the area of
requirements management could vary from each individual requirement
to a set of requirements.
- 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:
- 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:
- Process descriptions
- Requirements
- Design
- Test plans and procedures
- Test results
- Interface descriptions
- Assign unique identifiers to configuration items.
- 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.
- Specify when each configuration item is placed under configuration
management. Example criteria for determining when to place work products under configuration
management include:
- Stage of the project life cycle
- When the work product is ready for test
- Degree of control desired on the work product
- Cost and schedule limitations
- Customer requirements
- Identify the owner responsible for each configuration item.