Configuration Management

Configuration Management (CM) is the systems engineering discipline of identifying, controlling, accounting for, and auditing the configuration of a product — the specific hardware, software, firmware, and documentation that defines what a product is at any point in time. CM ensures that the product is built from known, approved configurations; that changes are made through a controlled process; and that the configuration of any fielded unit can be reconstructed from records.

The four functions of CM are: configuration identification (assigning unique identifiers and revisions to every item), configuration control (the ECO process for approving and documenting changes), configuration status accounting (maintaining records of the current approved configuration and change history), and configuration audits (verifying that the physical product matches the documented configuration). Together, these functions answer the question 'exactly what was built, and why is it that way?'

CM is mandated in regulated industries: FDA QSR requires a Device History Record for medical devices; DO-178C requires CM for aviation software; AS9100 requires CM for aerospace products. Beyond regulatory compliance, CM is valuable in any hardware project because it enables root cause analysis (which configuration revision introduced the failure?), field service (which units are affected by a known issue?), and product evolution (what changed between Rev A and Rev C, and why?).