Simply put, a ci is an instance of an entity that is part of your environment and has configurable attributes specific to that instance. In itil terminology, configuration items ci are components of an infrastructure that currently is, or soon will be under configuration management. The technical baseline is one of these and includes user requirements, program and product information, and related documentation for all configuration items. Cis may be a single module such as a monitor or tape drive, or more complex items, such as a complete system. The configuration management system is a subsystem of overall project management. Predefined configuration item types also known as predefined resource types are the templates that define what data is created and stored about a specific configuration item. It is abbreviated as the scm process in software engineering. These practices may overlap, but they arent the same. Software configuration management scm is a set of processes, policies, and tools that organize the development process. They are used in service management, change management, configuration management, incident management and a variety of other processes related to directing and controlling change. Configuration items cis are the focal point of a cmdb. A configuration is an arrangement of a group of things.
Different types of assetsconfiguration items in freshservice. Configuration items can overlap and exist at many levels. Googling the words configuration items or the acronym ci will result in approximately 26,300,000 results. Itil version 3, issued in 2007, renamed the process to service asset and configuration management. The primary goal is to increase productivity with minimal mistakes. Dec 27, 2016 configuration items can overlap and exist at many levels of granularity. Each element in the it environment is an individual entity requiring accurate capture of its attributes. Software configuration management is defined as a process to systematically manage, organize, and control the changes in the documents, codes, and other entities during the software development life cycle. What are hardware configuration items and how are they used.
The representations of these entities in the cmdb are configuration items cis. A ci record within the cmdb contains the following data. Configuration items vary widely, but include anything related to your account that you want to track. Jul, 2017 the number one activity is source code control. Csci an aggregation of software that satisfies an end use function and is designated for separate. There have been many updates to the original software. Jan 05, 2017 common configuration types include software, hardware, communications, location and documentation. As far as i can tell, csci was defined in the same logic as hwci hardware configuration item in dodstd2167a which simply defined csci as a configuration item. Configuration management represents the one true source of the configuration items.
A configuration item is a product hardware andor software that. Software configuration management scm a practical guide. The default assets or configuration items cannot be deleted. Configuration identification is the process of identifying configuration items and their attributes.
The first software configuration management was a manual operation. Connecting the concepts from configuration item to. Examples of cis include individual requirements documents, software, models, and plans. About configuration baselines and configuration items github. There are different types of configuration baselines depending on the context such as software, hardware and others. For example, source codes, property files, binaries, servers, and tools can all be configuration items for a software firm. Checklist configuration item ci record from the itil process map v2.
These requirements vary depending on the role an organisation plays for example. In this article, well define assets and configuration items cis, compare asset management and configuration management, and provide additional resources for. What are examples of configuration items in project. A configuration item, or ci, is anything uniquely identifiable that can be changed independently. Specify the important characteristics of each configuration item. A software baseline includes the source code for each software configuration item and a software baseline document that provides a listing of the software and any other pertinent information such as developer, version, or software libraries. They can be physical things, information technology elements or concepts.
The term configuration item or ci refers to the fundamental structural unit of a configuration management system. Asset management suite provides predefined configuration item types for many types of assets. Jan 10, 2019 configuration management represents the one true source of the configuration items. A quick guide to adding a new assetci type to freshservice. Software configuration management in software engineering. Use functional or objectoriented analysis to define a functional architecture that can be used as a basis for allocating requirements. Itil v3 describes configuration item ci as a subset of service asset that has a direct impact on service delivery and needs to be managed in order to deliver an it service in itil, configuration items cis are those service assets which are configurable and can be managed through change management. Configuration items can include hardware, equipment, and tangible assets as well as software and documentation.
Configuration can refer to either hardware or software, or the combination of both. You can add custom fields to the predefined configuration item types. Configuration identification is the process of identifying the attributes that define every aspect of a configuration item. What is the meaning of baseline in software configuration. Its features allow you to set margins, create tabs and insert page breaks for your documents. Released systems custom configured systems different functionality systems under development wsoftware must run on different machines and operating. Examples of software configuration items include a console display module for an air traffic control system, and an accounts receivable module for an accounting.
Activities and roles in software configuration management some terminology configuration item, baseline, scm directory, version, revision release. Use configuration items and configuration management. A list of different types of computer software with examples. Application configuration item example definition namespace. Specify when each configuration item is placed under configuration management. Without a clear definition of what qualifies as a ci, you will constantly struggle with deciding whether to put certain kinds of data into the cmdb. Configuration items help in identifying the components of a system. Their definition is intentionally broad so that a wide number of industries can model things they change with the same set of tools. The following are illustrative examples of configuration items. It is an environment needed to apply change management processes to admin all changes related to the organization project. The other configuration items can be imported, created, and configured with the configuration manager console. This document provides a practical guide for integrating software configuration management disciplines into the management of software engineering projects. In software engineering, software configuration management scm or sw cm is the task of tracking and controlling changes in the software, part of the larger crossdisciplinary field of configuration management. The configuration management database cmdb is a main component of the service asset and configuration management process, as defined by itil.
A toplevel configuration item is a ci used as the starting point for organizing and promoting a set of related configuration items an example of a toplevel ci is a computer system. Simple useful rules for defining configuration items the. The purpose of the baseline is to have a static reference point for changes that occur once the baseline is crea. Software a bank implements a process whereby development teams document system configuration items as part of release handover to support teams. The goal of this subsystem is to manage fundamental project constraints of scope, time, cost and quality. Cis vary widely in complexity, size, and type, ranging from an entire service or system including all hardware, software, documentation, and support staff to a single software module or a minor hardware component. Example microsoft office project server, hyperoffice, 24sevenoffice, etc. What are some examples of software configuration management. Other documents that serve to identify the configuration of the product or service, such as test results, may also be included. In this context, it is very important to remember that all cis are service assets. If something goes wrong, scm can determine what was changed and who changed it. Software configuration management is the process of identifying and defining the software configuration items in a system, controlling the release and change of these items throughout the system lifecycle, recording and reporting the status of configuration items and change requests, and verifying the completeness and correctness of. Configuration definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Configuration item configuration management systems.
Allocate all system, subsystem, and interface requirements to appropriate hardware and software configuration items. This is where instead of just saving your code to your desktop where you might lose it, or at least forget what it looked like yesterday before you decided to refactor everything and break everythin. Purpose of software configuration management scm motivation. Utility software they are usually small programs that help in the management of the hardware and the application software, installed on a computer. More clear definition is in milstd498 which superseded dodstd2167a.
This application software can be installed on computers, tablets or cell phones that support it. Configuration item an overview sciencedirect topics. As discussed above, configuration testing is a software testing where the application under test has to be tested. The essential guide to the configuration management database. The configuration management system oversees the life of the cis through a combination of processes and tools by implementing and enabling the fundamental elements of identification, change management, status accounting, and audits. Mar 28, 2017 simply put, for software development, a baseline is a static i.
A software baseline locks in a version, build number, or release number at a particular moment in time. The configuration management system oversees the life of the cis through a combination of process and tools by implementing and enabling the fundamental elements of identification, change. Software configuration item an overview sciencedirect. Configuration control also governs the implementation of approved. For example, office software suites might include word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation, and email.
Scm is the process of identifying and defining the items in the system, controlling the change of these items. Ieee software designed to fill specific needs of a user. Role of configuration management in devops pluralsight. This means that software updates configuration items can be selected to be included in configuration baselines, although they are not displayed under the configuration items node. Itil checklist cms cmdb, enhanced with many additions itil process. Explaining configuration item ci, cmdb, cms and dml. The goal of scm is to improve the speed of and quality by catching errors early and enabling quick fixes when they occur. Click on the new asset type button on the topright. Official definition of csci computer software configuration. Configuration items can overlap and exist at many levels of. Microsoft word is a wordprocessing software that was created in 1983. All configuration items cis are uniquely identified by ci registration codes and version numbers. With the advances in language and complexity, software engineering, involving configuration management and other methods, became a major concern due to issues like schedule, budget, and quality. The way a system is set up, or the assortment of components that make up the system.
Jan 05, 2017 there are different types of configuration baselines depending on the context such as software, hardware and others. Apr 29, 2020 configuration testing is defined as a software testing type, that checks an application with multiple combinations of software and hardware to find out the optimal configurations that the system can work without any flaws or bugs. Understand how to define scm and discuss how to accomplish it. Application configuration item example 2 configuration. Selected items of system hardware or software or combinations of hardware and software, in which the government or acquiring activity has configuration management concern, are designated as configuration items cis. Common configuration types include software, hardware, communications, location and documentation. Checklist configuration item ci record it process wiki. Example characteristics of configuration items include author, document or file type, and programming language for software code files. The term configuration item ci refers to the fundamental structural unit of a configuration management system. A ci is used to index related process records in the cmdb. What are hardware configuration items and how are they. A definition of configuration item with several examples. Documentation can include requirements specifications and interface documents.
Cscis are selected based on tradeoffs among software function, size, host or target computers, developer, support concept, plans for reuse, criticality, interface considerations, need to be separately. Simple useful rules for defining configuration items the it. Lists include software products, libraries and infrastructure that must be maintained to support services. A definition of configuration identification with a few examples. Configuration management encompasses the technical and administrative activities concerned with the creation, maintenance, controlled change and quality control of the scope of work a configuration is the functional and physical characteristics of a product as defined in its specification and achieved through the deployment of project management plans. Define configuration itemsdefine configuration items define promote release policiesdefine promote release policies guenter teubner 154 software engineering fall 1998 20. Simple useful rules for defining configuration items. For instance, a typical configuration for a pc consists of 32mb main memory, a floppy drive, a hard disk, a modem, a cdrom drive, a vga monitor, and the windows operating system. Definition an aggregation of hardware, software, or both, that is designated for configuration management and treated as a single entity in the configuration management process. The lowestlevel ci is usually the smallest unit that can be changed independently of other components. Software configuration management is the process of identifying and defining the software configuration items in a system, controlling the release and change of these items throughout. A hw support provider may need to manage change at a part number level.
Jan 25, 2018 software configuration management scm is a set of processes, policies, and tools that organize the development process. Software configuration management scm is the process of identifying and defining the scis in the system and coordinating the changes made to these items a formal definition. It can have many child cis, such as an operating system, application software, and hardware components. Many projects require components to be integrated for example the development of a new phone handset would involve screen, case, software drivers and apps, battery, marketing materials, user guides and so on. A software suite is a group of software applications with related functionality. A configuration item is anything that can be configured and that is absolutely necessary for the success of your project. Open source software this is a type of software the source. Guenter teubner 154 software engineering fall 1998 3 why software configuration management. Scm practices include revision control and the establishment of baselines. Examples of configuration items include software and applications, locations and offices, employees and customers, documentation, hardware and companies, and even your incidents, changes and customers.
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