Artifact: Configuration Management Plan
This artifact describes all Configuration and Change Control Management (CCM) activities you will perform during the course of the product or project lifecycle. It details the schedule of activities, the assigned responsibilities, and the required resources, including staff, tools, and computer facilities.
Domains: Configuration & Change Management
Purpose

The purpose of this artifact is share procedures and approach for configuration management across the project participants and to ensure that configuration management is maintained throughout the project life cycle. This includes the

  • Identification of items to be maintained under configuration management
  • Identifying responsibilities and authorities for configuration items
  • Identifying policies to ensure configuration management activities being performed correctly
Relationships
Description
Main Description

This artifact describes how the configuration management is organized and identifies what practices and procedures will be followed. Additionally, it documents the identification methods for configuration items, baselining polices, how change request is processed, procedures for conducting the configuration audits.

Brief Outline

This artifact typically defines the project's structure and methods for:

  • Identification methods for configuration items(CIs)
  • Baselining of CIs
  • Controlling changes and releases of CIs
  • Reporting and recording status of CIs
  • Controlling storage and delivery of CIs
  • Ensuring completeness,consistency, and correctness of CIs
  • Storage and environment setup for Configuration Management(CM) System
  • Schedules, Training and Resources
  • Roles and responsibilities

Tailoring
Impact of not having

Without this artifact project participants will not common understanding of the configuration management which cause problems with implementation or maintenance throughout the life cycle of the project.These may be problems with identifying wrong configuration items,versions or inability to identify or recreate specific versions which deals to poor management of configuration change management.

Reasons for not needing
  • Not needed if the CM related information is documented in Project plan.
  • Not needed if Project consist of single person. 
Representation Options

This work product may not exist as a separate entity, and instead can be covered by the overall project plan and project process documentation.  For example, configuration management processes and policies can be documented using Rational Method Composer and published as part of a project-specific process.