Specific and Generic Goals >> Establish Baselines >> Identify
Configuration Items
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
· 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.
Typical Work Products
Identified configuration items
Subpractices
1. Select the configuration items and the work products
that compose them based on documented criteria.
2. Assign unique identifiers to configuration items.
3. Specify the important characteristics of each
configuration item.
4. Specify when each configuration item is placed under
configuration management.
5. Identify the owner responsible for each configuration
item.
