The Configuration Management Procedure
What is Configuration Management?
Configuration Management is a collection of all the activities that maintain and control changes for each product throughout the lifecycle of the project and after the project is completed. It is about looking after the Project Products.
PRINCE2 suggests 5 activities to follow
Start of the Project
1) Planning: To what level will we do CM – how low?
2) Identification: e.g. Coding system?: project-product-owner-version-date
During the Project
3) Control: Activities such as Baselinig, archiving, distribution copies,
4) Status Accounting Check up & report on a group of products.
5) Verification & Audit Are products in-line with CIR documents
1) The Configuration Management Procedure Planning:
What happens in planning?
This is done at the start of the project. Each project is different, so the first question to ask is to what level of Configuration Management must be done. . For example, if we are designing a new laptop, we might decide to do Configuration Management for all major products that make up the laptop, but not worry about the tiny internal components in the main components, like the motor used in the hard-disk.
The project will have a configuration item record and product description for the hard-disk but not for any internal components in the hard disk.
E.g. a CRM Project : you may wish to look after the following documents
• Main product, all major components, design, processes, user documentation
E.g. 100 person customer event project, you may want to look after,
• Invites lists, speaker notes, handouts, catering information, venue contracts, etc..
2) The Configuration Management Procedure Identification:
What happens in Identification?
Identification of all products that will be used in the project is done and a coding system is established to provide each product with a unique identifier. For example, a product name could be made of the following:
<Product Code>
<Initials of Owner>
< version number>
<Latest Modified number>
E.g. 045-FT-v04-20112304.pdf
The Configuration Management Procedure 3) Control or Control Changes:
What happens in Control?
Control is about controlling changes that are made to products during the project as once a product is approved “nothing moves and nothing changes without authorization”. Baselined products are also used to compare the current situation with the previous objectives.
Control also deals with the storing, distribution of copies, access control, archiving and other such activities for both management and specialist products.
Tip: Think about a recent project that you have worked on and how you controlled access to documents and prevented other users from making changes to agreed documents.
The Configuration Management Procedure 4) Status Accounting:
What happens in Status Accounting?
This is something that you may never have done or seen in a project, but it is good to know that this activity exists and can be used if required.
Status Accounting is the reporting of all current and historical data for each product using the Product Status Account report format. The report shows the current status of the product and how the product has changed with each new version.
Status Account can include the following status information for each product it looks at:
• Identifier
• Version
• Last update
• Current status
• Owner
• Changes since last update
• List of users
• Date of next baseline
• Related items
Let me give you two examples of a Status Account
• The Librarian may ask for report from the computer systems
o Query: Author=George Orwell, Date=1940 to 1947, Status=In Library
• The purchasing manager may have received an invoice from Supplier X and will ask you the Project Manager for the status on all products by that supplier in Stage 3.
o Query: Provider=Supplier X, Stage Produced=3, Current Status=Show Status
The Configuration Management Procedure 5) Verification and audit:
What happens in Verification & Audit?
This is to verify that products are in line with the data in the Configuration Item Records. .
For example: Do certain users have access to the correct product versions? Are products where they are supposed to be? Have they the correct identification numbers? Are the products secured?
Verification and audit also checks that the Configuration Management procedure outlined in the Configuration Management Strategy document is being followed correctly.
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