Configuration Management Plan

Purpose

The Configuration Management Plan is to ensure that the Project conforms and provide assurance that the Project conforms to the Project Process Requirements.

To identify how, and by whom the project’s deliverables will be controlled.

Derivation and Source Requirements

The Configuration Management Plan will be derived from the:

·       Management System and in particular Project Management Processes,

·       The Customer’s quality expectations,

·       The configuration management requirements, and

·       Quality Management Plan.

Composition

The Configuration Management Plan consists of:

·       An explanation of the purpose of configuration management,

·       A description of the configuration management method to be used. Highlighting any variances from the Management System.

·       A definition for the configuration item record,

·       Reference to any other configuration management systems with which links will be necessary,

·       How and where products will be stored (e.g. Project Filing structure),

·       What filing and retrieval security there will be,

·       How the deliverables and various versions of these will be identified, and

·       Where responsibility for configuration management lies

The configuration item record is to include the following information:

·       Project identifier,

·       Type of deliverable,

·       Deliverable identifier,

·       Latest version number,

·       Deliverable description,

·       A description of the life-cycle steps appropriate to this deliverable,

·       ‘Owner’ of the deliverable (Accountable),

·       Person working on the deliverable (Responsible),

·       Date allocated,

·       Library of location where the deliverable is stored,

·       Source, for example internal, external, purchased (and from whom),

·       Links to related deliverables,

·       Status,

·       Copy holders and potential users,

·       Cross reference to Project Issues, Risks and/or Change Requests that have caused this deliverable to change, and

·       Cross-references to any correspondence.

Quality Criteria

Are the responsibilities clear and understood by both the customer and supplier?

Are the identifiers for key deliverables defined?

Are the methods and circumstances of version control clear?

Does the Configuration Plan provide the Project Manager with the product information they require?

Quality Method and Skills

The Configuration Management Plan is to be developed by somebody with experience of configuration management standards and procedures. Quality Assurance representative and the Project Team will review it.