Configuration Management Definition/Meaning:
Ensuring throughout its lifetime that a product put to some usage
is properly constituted for that usage - e.g. that the correct
procedures have been followed in creating the product, that the
appropriate version of each individual component has been selected,
that any required tests have been performed, that the product
represents a complete and consistent whole, and that all known
problems in any way pertinent to the product have been properly
considered. As an illustration, a relatively simple configuration
management activity might ensure that the individual components of a
software system are the appropriate ones for the particular hardware
on which the system is to run. A rather more complex activity might
be to assess the impact on all software systems of a newly
discovered problem with some version of a compiler. and to initiate
any necessary corrective action.
The problems of configuration management can be complex and
subtle, and for many projects effective configuration management can
be crucial to overall success. Approaches to configuration
management fall into two broad classes. One approach attempts to
retain control over the product as it evolves, so that configuration
management is viewed as a continuous activity that is an integral
part of product development. The other approach views configuration
management as a separate activity; it is a distinct milestone when
the product is first placed under configuration management, and each
new revision of the product is subject to the configuration
management process, but configuration controls are not imposed
during periods of development.
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