Create or Release Baselines

A baseline is a set of specifications or work products that has been formally reviewed and agreed upon, that thereafter serves as the basis for further development, and that can be changed only through change control procedures. A baseline represents the assignment of an identifier to a configuration item and its associated entities.

A set of requirements, design, source code files and the associated executable code, build files, and user documentation (associated entities) that have been assigned a unique identifier can be considered to be a baseline. Release of a baseline constitutes retrieval of source code files (configuration items) from the configuration management system and generating the executable files. A baseline that is delivered to a customer is typically called a “release” whereas a baseline for an internal use is typically called a “build.”

• Obtain authorization from the configuration control board (CCB) before creating or releasing baselines of configuration items.
• Create or release baselines only from configuration items in the configuration management system. Ensure that the configuration items are built to the correct drawing.
• Document the set of configuration items that are contained in a baseline.
• Make the current set of baselines readily available.