ARCHIVED - Configuration Management Plan Outline

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Objectives

To illustrate and define a standard format for the Configuration Management (CM) Plan. (See Configuration Management Procedure). The CM Plan describes the plan for assuring that the project has adequate control over all items necessary for creating or supporting the customer deliverables.

Scope

A Configuration Management Plan is produced for most software projects at Department X and, if produced, must conform to this template. In cases where the project is small, the Project Plan may include the necessary configuration management planning information. Research and development projects are not required to create a Configuration Management Plan.

References

CM010 Configuration Management Procedure

CM051 Documentation Format Guideline

CM020 Version Identification Procedure

CM030 Change Control Procedure

SD050 Release Procedure

Outstanding Issues

None.

Approvals

Development Manager.

Responsibilities

The Development Manager is responsible for preparing and maintaining this document, Configuration Management Plan Outline.

The Project Manager is responsible for ensuring that the CM Plan is written for her/his specific project.

The Project Manager is responsible for ensuring that the CM Plan is reviewed for conformance to this Outline and the Configuration Management Procedure.

The Project Manager is responsible for ensuring that the CM Plan and related information is controlled, as per the Configuration Management Procedure.

Template

Lead-in sections

The following sections start the Configuration Management Plan. They are described in more detail in the Documentation Format Guideline.

i. Objectives

ii. Scope

iii. References

iv. Outstanding Issues

v. Approvals

Introduction

Product Overview - Provide an overview of the product and the project.

Organization and Responsibilities

Specify Department X (or customer) organizational groups involved in the CM process and describe the responsibilities of each group.

Resources

This section describes the resources required for performing the CM tasks. It can include plans for obtaining required staff, hardware, software, office space, etc.

Configuration Management Tasks

Identify the configuration management tasks to be performed during the project and relate the tasks to the responsible organizational groups. Examples of configuration management tasks are identify configuration items, build product baselines, issue CM Library report, track changes in the baseline, etc.

Configuration Identification - Define what types of items will be controlled in the project, such as software, hardware, documentation. Also define the documentation scheme used to identify the items (i.e. filenames, CI identifiers, labels, etc). Reference the Version Identification Procedure, if applicable.

Configuration Items (CIs) - List each configuration item, when it will be put under control, and the person responsible for each item.

Product Baselines - Identify the product baselines. If more than one, show which CIs makeup each baseline. Describe when and how baselines are produced.

Configuration Library - Describe any tasks associated with using the Configuration Library (i.e. submitting CIs, deleting CIs, retrieving CIs).

Change Control - Describe the mechanism for controlling changes to the items under configuration management. Include details of initiation, recording, review, approval, tracking, and closure. Reference the Change Control Procedure, if applicable.

Support Software - Describe any special procedures for controlling support software (i.e. tools, drivers, test data).

Release Procedure - Describe plans for releasing deliverables to the customer. Reference can be made to the Release Procedure, if applicable.

Tools and Techniques

This section describes any tools or techniques required for performing the CM tasks. For example, there may be tools to manage access to the Library, tools to request changes, tools for status reporting, etc.

Configuration Reports

This section describes the reports issued by the Configuration Librarian. It also includes the frequency and the distribution of the reports. Reports to be considered are:

i. CI Detailed Report

ii. CI Change History

iii. CI Status

iv. Released Items

v. Product Baseline Status

vi. Results of Audits.

Archiving

This section describes what items are archived and for how long.

Audits and Reviews

This section describes any audits or reviews of the configuration management process or library that will be conducted during the project (i.e. audit of product baseline, audit of Configuration Library, review of CM Plan).