On the way towards developing a comprehensive maturity model for Configuration Management, In order to capture the essence of Configuration Management and realize the success factors contributing to its performance, there is a need for a review of current mostly used standards. Therefore, the following standards representing some of the widely accepted standards in the field are investigated in this section and their relevant guidelines for CM are briefly explained.
2.4.2.1 ISO 9000-3
ISO 9000-3 is a guideline for using ISO 9001:1994 for software development which although considered as obsolete, is still of interest to many companies. The definition of CM in this standard is brought as following:
Configuration Management provides a mechanism for identifying, controlling and tracking versions of each software item.
o identify the unique version of each software item
o identify the versions of the sub-items which together constitute a specific version of a complete product o identify the build status of the software products in each phase of lifecycle
o Control the simultaneous update and modification of each software item by more than one person o provide multi-location development and update of the items
o Identify and track all actions and changes resulting from a change request from initiation through release. The next sections of this standard focus on more details about the content of CM plan such as organizational aspects, tools, methods and choice of configuration items along with a description of activities to be performed in different phases of CM process. (Hass, 2003)
2.4.2.2 ISO/IEC 12207 – Systems and Software Engineering – Software Lifecycle Processes
This standard defines Configuration Management and its purpose as (ISO/IEC 12207, 2008):
“The purpose of the Configuration Management Process is to establish and maintain the integrity of all identified outputs of a project or process and make them available to concerned parties”
This standard emphasises on the importance of defining a CM strategy and policy which shall include the authorities for decision making and change control as well as methodologies and storage processes to be used for the CM system.
The CM activities defined in this standard are abstract and are limited to the general steps of planning and execution. In the execution part the organizations, it is suggested to maintain configuration information with an appropriate level of integrity and to ensure that the changes to baselines are properly identified, evaluated, approved, incorporated and verified. For detailed information this standard refers to ISO 10007 which is a specific configuration management standard.
2.4.2.3 ISO 9001
Based on (CMII, 2003), Provisions for Configuration Management in ISO 9001:2000 include activities such as versioning and control of documentation and a more focused set of activities categorized as “Product Realization”. The schematic CM related provisions in this standard is shown below.
Figure 14 - Provisions for CM within ISO 9001
2.4.2.4 ISO 10007: 2003 Quality management systems —Guidelines For Configuration Management
In this standard, Configuration Management and its functionalities are defined as the following:
Configuration management is a management activity that applies technical and administrative direction over the life cycle of a product, its configuration items, and related product configuration information. Configuration management documents the product’s configuration. It provides identification and traceability, the status of achievement of its physical and functional requirements, and access to accurate information in all phases of the life cycle.
This standard is developed to give a better understanding of the subject to organizations and promote the use of CM as well as assist the organization in applying this discipline. Although similar to most standards the information is very abstract in that there is only a brief description of the subject and terminology, responsibility and authority requirements and the process itself, the headlines and overall content covers most of the discipline’s extent. Based on (ISO/IS 10007, 2003), CM process is comprised of the main five stages of Planning, Identification, Change Control, Status Accounting and Audit.
Here a bit higher emphasis and more description is specified for Configuration Management Plan and its content. This shows the importance of having a CM strategy and policy as well as a clear set of defined roadmaps and methodologies in addition to responsibilities and authorities to be used in each process step.
2.4.2.5 EIA-649-B – National Consensus Standard for Configuration Management
The US military standard (ANSI/EIA-649, 2011), which replaces the obsolete MIL-STD-973, covers CM principles and practices more comprehensively and defines CM as:
CM facilitates orderly identification of product attributes, and: • Provides control of product information
• Manages product changes that improve capabilities, correct deficiencies, improve performance, enhance reliability and maintainability, facilitate interface control, or extend product life
• Manages departures from product requirements.
The importance of using a clear set of terminology for CM is acknowledged and followed in this standard. The main functions of CM introduced in this standard are shown in figure 6. These functions match the primary CM processes proposed by most other standards.
Figure 15 - CM functions in EIA-649-B
Unlike most other standards, the focus on the planning and management of the CM discipline over the product lifecycle is of exceptional interest in this standard. EIA-649-B proposes the following main activities to be followed by organizations in CM planning and management:
Implementing policies and procedures, resulting in effective product CM.
Assigning CM functional responsibilities to various organizational elements.
Training of CM personnel and any others who have CM responsibilities.
Determining and applying adequate resources, including CM software tools and facilities.
Establishing CM performance indicators to serve as a basis for continuous improvement.
Ensuring the performance of CM by suppliers.
2.4.2.6 MIL-STD-3046 – Interim Standard Practice for Configuration Management
The US Department of Defense (DoD) is in the process of releasing a new standard for CM (MIL-STD-3046, 2013). The interim version has more or less the same level of comprehensiveness as EIA-649-B, though with more of a focus on the standardization of processes. This purpose is achieved by providing standard process steps, forms and templates for CM functions, such as CM strategy and plan, engineering change templates, functional baseline, allocated baseline, product baseline, configuration status accounting, and functional and physical configuration audits. Comprehensive details for each step of CM process throughout the product lifecycle is thoroughly explained in this standard and additional emphasis of strategy identification as well as CM organizational structure is provided. Wherever needed, clear examples and exceptions are charted to clarify the procedures in practice.
2.4.2.7 Summary
The result of the analysis of CM maturity models and standard are summarized in this section with a table of most important CM characteristics. In the next chapter, these characteristics are extended and combined with empirical findings and form the basis of configuration management capability areas.
Figure 16 - Extract of Configuration Management Charateristics