Description / Abstract:
FOREWORD
Configuration management (CM) is the special name that has been
coined to describe those specialized engineering management
practices used by industry and the Department of Defense (DOD) to
define and control items (sometimes referred to as configuration
items or CIS) i n their inventories. The overall intent of
configuration management is to support the establishment of a
product service network for all items being developed and to assure
the continued serviceability of the items as changes are made
throughout their service life.
The configuration of an item is defined i n both functional and
physical terms. Functional requirements establish the performance
the i tem is expected to achieve; the physical requirements define
the specific design and appearance of the item to be b u i l t . In
practice, an item being developed is described, and its development
governed, primarily by its intended functional characteristics.
Following development, however, an item being produced for customer
use is primarily described and goverend by its physical
characteristics, althought he functional characteristics continue
to be controlled.