Configuration Management Plan

Definition

The configuration management plan (CMP) is the configuration management work product that documents all planning directly related to the configuration management activity.

Objectives

The typical objectives of the configuration management plan are to:

• Inform stakeholders regarding plans concerning configuration management.

Benefits

The typical benefits of a configuration management plan include:

• Project staff can learn how to perform project-specific configuration management tasks.
• The customer organization can be assured that adequate configuration management will take place on the project.
• The quality team will know the specified quality management process against which to evaluate the process as implemented during quality assurance.

Contents

A configuration management plan typically has the following contents:

• Configuration Management Tasks:
  • Configuration Identification
  • Configuration Control
  • Configuration Status Reporting
  • Configuration Auditing
• Team Responsibilities:
  • Configuration Management Team
  • Project Management Team
  • Project Team
• Configuration Management Tools
• Appendices:
  • Major Issues
  • TBDs
  • Assumptions

Stakeholders

A configuration management plan typically has the following stakeholders:

• Producer:
  • Configuration Management Team
• Evaluators:
  • Technical Leader
  • Customer Representative
• Approvers:
  • Project Manager
  • Technical Leader
  • Customer Representative
• Maintainers:
  • Configuration Management Team
• Users:
  • change control board (CCB), which uses the configuration management plan to understand their CM related duties.
  • Project Team, which uses the configuration management plan to understand their CM related duties.
  • Customer Organization, which uses the configuration management plan to understand how configuration management will perperformed on the endeavor.

Phases

A configuration management plan is typically produced and maintained during the following phases:

• Business Strategy: Completed
• Business Optimization: Maintained
• Initiation: Completed
• Construction: Completed
• Delivery: Completed
• Usage: Maintained
• Retirement: Archived

Preconditions

The configuration management plan can typically be started if the following preconditions hold:

• The endeavor has started.
• The configuration management team is properly staffed and trained.

Inputs

A configuration management plan typically has the following inputs:

• Work Products:
  • Contract
  • Statement of Work
  • Management Plan
  • Application Vision Statement
• Stakeholders:
  • Project Management Team
  • Process Team

Guidelines

• Use the procedure in the associated work flow to produce this work product.
• If you tailor this work product, then tailor its associated standard, template, and inspection checklist.

Conventions

The configuration management plan is typically constrained by the following conventions:

• Work Flow
• Content and Format Standard
• MS Word Template
• XML Template
• Inspection Checklist

Examples

• Example Configuration Management Plan