Configuration, to form from or after, derives from the latin com, meaning with or together, and figurare, to form. Softwareconfigurationmanagement dictionary definition. It is a logical group of test cases which when taken together test a particular function. In this context, configuration management attempts to define which components of a system are available and operating up to standard. It is abbreviated as the scm process in software engineering. Scm helps in identifying individual elements and configurations, tracking changes, and version selection, control, and baselining. Classic discussions about cm are highlight the user concepts. Ccm is a continuous process of controlling and approving changes to information or. It is a document that describes the sequence of steps to execute a test case. Although version control, which maintains a database of revisions, is part of the system, a fullblown software configuration management system scm system or cm system automatically documents. From a management perspective, the principles and practices of cm represent an accepted and understood foundation for implementing isocompliant. Software configuration management is a process to systematically manage, organize, and control the changes in the documents, codes, and other entities during the software development life cycle. Definition what does software configuration management scm mean.
The company is the recognized market leader in version control within the gaming sector. Software configuration management in software engineering. Simply put, for software development, a baseline is a static i. Configuration management is one of the few processes that overarch all other process and service lifecycle phases in itil v3. It is a fundamental operations technique that captures valuable information for processes such as incident management, problem management, change management, maintenance, safety and risk management. A configuration item is anything that can be configured and that is absolutely necessary for the success of your project.
Configuration management represents the one true source of the configuration items. Configuration consists of both hardware and software components. Find out inside pcmag s comprehensive tech and computerrelated encyclopedia. In simple terms, configuration means arrangement of the parts while change means modification of the parts or the whole machine.
This document provides a practical guide for integrating software configuration management disciplines into the management of software engineering projects. The identification of the configuration of software at discrete points in time and the systematic control of changes to the identified configuration for the purpose of maintaining software integrity, traceability and accountability throughout the software life cycle. Sometimes, people specifically point to hardware arrangement as hardware configuration and to software components as software configuration. Erp needs a robust capability to track and support engineering changes. The definition of configuration management is a system of making sure that a product or service remains consistent throughout its lifespan. Wthout it, the effectiveness of the rest of your processes will be in. Configuration control requires that both proposed and approved engineering changes be tracked and identified to the affected items. Software configuration management plan introduction. Configuration management is a set of interrelated processes, management techniques, and supporting tools that assure.
Configuration is the manner in which components are arranged to make up the computer system. Configuration management cm is a governance and systems engineering process for ensuring consistency among physical and logical assets in an operational environment. Scm is the process of identifying and defining the items in the system, controlling the. The primary goal is to increase productivity with minimal mistakes. Its predecessor defined only the contents of a software configuration management plan. Configuration management encompasses the technical and administrative activities concerned with the creation, maintenance, controlled change and quality control of the scope of work a configuration is the functional and physical characteristics of a product as defined in its specification and achieved through the deployment of project management plans. This revision of the standard expands the previous version to explain cm, including identifying and acquiring configuration items, controlling changes, reporting the status of configuration items, as well as software builds and release engineering. If something goes wrong, scm can determine what was changed and who changed it. Configuration management and engineering change control.
The purpose of configuration management is to identify, track and protect the projects deliverables or products from unauthorized change. Perforce is a software company that specializes in software configuration management, version control and collaboration products. Configuration management is the practice of tracking operational items and their attributes. Cm also involves logging the network addresses belonging to the hardware devices used. Software configuration management scm is a set of processes, policies, and tools that organize the development process. What does software configuration management actually mean. Due to inadequate configuration management procedures, the latest hardware and software revisions were uploaded and installed into a system with an outdated configuration, rendering the test a. Configuration management definition of configuration. Practical lessons, over the years, had led to the definition, and establishment, of procedures and tools. Software configuration management scm is a software engineering discipline consisting of standard processes and techniques often used by organizations to. A product data management system or engineering document control system is a logical approach to addressing this and other documentation needs.
In software engineering, software configuration management is the task of tracking and controlling changes in the software, part of the larger crossdisciplinary field of configuration management. Configuration manager is a powerful management application, with the potential to affect every computer in your organization. Software configuration management article about software. The goal of scm is to improve the speed of and quality by catching errors early and enabling quick fixes when they occur. This answer delves into the change management aspect of cm that.
Software configuration an overview sciencedirect topics. Learn about configuration management cm, a continuous process of recording and maintaining consistent and reliable records pertaining to an organizations hardware and software composition. Software configuration management scm is a set of processes, policies. The acronym scm is also expanded as source configurat. A set of management disciplines within a software engineering process to develop a baseline software configuration management encompasses the disciplines and techniques of initiating, evaluating and controlling change.
Software configuration management scm a practical guide. The purpose of the baseline is to have a static reference point for changes that occur once the baseline is crea. A configuration management plan cm plan or cmp should be developed. Software configuration management scm is a software engineering discipline consisting of standard processes and techniques often used by organizations to manage the changes introduced to its software products. Software configuration management software configuration management scm is the process of identifying and defining the scis in the system and coordinating the changes made to these items a formal definition. Software configuration management scm is a software engineering discipline consisting of standard processes and techniques often used by.
Software change and configuration management provide a framework for. Software configuration management scm question and. You can think of configuration management like an always uptodate inventory for your technology assets. The configuration management system is a subsystem of overall project management. This guide defines and explains what software configuration management is, provides guidelines on how to do it, and defines in detail what a software configuration management plan should contain. Understand how to define scm and discuss how to accomplish it. The configuration management process seeks to identify and track individual configuration items cis, documenting functional capabilities, and interdependencies. If a configuration is working well, scm can determine how to replicate it across many hosts.
This includes technical aspects of the project, all level of communications, organization, and the control of modifications changes to the project plan by the programmers during the development phase. It is an environment needed to apply change management processes to admin all changes related to the organization project. Software configuration management meaning software configuration management definition software. The goal of this subsystem is to manage fundamental project constraints of scope, time, cost and quality. When you deploy and manage configuration manager with careful planning and consideration of your business requirements, configuration manager can reduce your administrative overhead and total cost of ownership. Software configuration management scm is the the overall management of a software design project as it evolves into a software product or system. Software configuration management is the process of identifying and defining the software configuration items in a system, controlling the release and change of these items throughout the system lifecycle, recording and reporting the. What is configuration management and how does it work. Configuration management terminology configuration. For example, source codes, property files, binaries, servers, and tools can all be configuration items for a software firm. A configuration management cm system is used to keep track of an organizations hardware, software and related information. In itil terminology, configuration management refers to the process of defining configuration items ci within a system and recording and reporting on the status of the cis and any requests for change, then verifying the correctness of a ci. Applications configuration management, scm, application configuration management definition. Software configuration management synonyms, software configuration management pronunciation, software configuration management translation, english dictionary definition of.
Software configuration management definition of software. Software configuration management plan introduction scope and intent of scm activities the primary focus of the software configuration management scm is to identify and control major software changes, ensure that change is being properly implemented, and report changes to any other personnel or clients who may have an interest. Configuration management therefore refers to managing a relative arrangement of parts or elements. The software engineering practices associated with software configuration management scm or cm offer a number of opportunities to address requirements found in the international standard, iso 9001. Configuration status accounting is the ability to record and report on the configuration baselines associated with each configuration item at any. It also means a relative arrangement of parts or elements. In software engineering, software configuration management is the task of tracking and. This includes software versions and updates installed on the organizations computer systems.
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