They can range from an entire service, which may consist of hardware, software, and documentation, to a single. Jan 09, 2009 configuration can be an overloaded term, but im speaking about the information necessary for the software to function correctly. About configuration baselines and configuration items github. This includes technical aspects of the project, all level of communications, organization, and the control of modifications changes to the project plan by the programmers during the development phase. Software updates configuration item a configuration item to determine compliance of software updates using the software updates feature in configuration manager. Other documents that serve to identify the configuration of the product or service, such as test results, may also be included. A software baseline locks in a version, build number, or release number at a particular moment in time. A configuration item ci is any service component, infrastructure element, or other item that needs to be managed in order to ensure the successful delivery of services.
Allow you to classify groups of related cmdb items. Configuration item ownership is defined as the user whose login matches the user login field in the configuration item record. Reference 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. The essential guide to the configuration management database. In this article, well define assets and configuration items cis, compare. You can then select configuration items when you submit forms, such as an incident form, a change request form, or a work item form. 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. In other words, version numbers and configuration item registration codes help in uniquely identifying configuration items. Within this view, you can add values to the inventory and manage other aspects of software, such as license counts, license expiration dates, or even custom fields that support your business processes.
So, what better way to look at configuration items than by defining what is it that we configure. Configuration management cm is an information technology infrastructure library itil. Cis are the basic units of configuration management. Jan 29, 2015 software ownership is a common talking point within organisations. Managing organizational units matrix42 selfservice help center. Configuration items can overlap and exist at many levels of granularity. The term ci encompasses both hardware and software.
The following represents a linear or flat taxonomy of the different configuration item types that are tracked and managed as part of the configuration management discipline and its related set of processes. When a configuration item enters a new stage of its life cycle, that status change is recorded in the configuration management database. Version chains of configuration items that is, versions 1, 2, 3, and so onmay be formed by indicating which configuration item a given configuration item is derived from or based on. Software configuration items are placed under scm control at different times. 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. Ownership section matrix42 selfservice help center. The term configuration item ci refers to the fundamental structural unit of a configuration management system. Oct 12, 2016 configuration items in system center service manager. In other words, a configuration item can be a primitive component or an aggregate of other configuration items.
It is a description that contains the csci type computer software configuration item, a project identifier and version information. Establishing relationship among items, creating a mechanism to manage multiple level of control. Separating configuration from data lowers total cost of ownership. It service management service transition flashcards. The scm typically controls a variety of items in addition to the code itself. Configuration item configuration management systems.
Model id, manufacturer, ip address, mac address, description, owner group. Configuration management cm is an information technology infrastructure library version 2 and an it service management process that tracks all of the individual configuration items ci in an it system which may be as simple as a single server, or as complex as the entire it department. Explaining configuration item ci, cmdb, cms and dml. Us20090319932a1 flexible configuration item reconciliation. It may be the case that nobody has been made responsible, or that there isnt a dedicated and well communicated software license owner. Software configuration management in software engineering. To ensure that no configuration items are added or modified without the required authorization. Joe farah identifies the top ten best practices in configuration management and goes even further by listing ten more runnerup practices.
Ci a component of a system that is treated as a self contained unit for the purposes of identification and change control. All configuration items cis are uniquely identified by ci registration codes and version numbers. A configuration item, or ci, is anything uniquely identifiable that can be changed independently. Configuration baselines are applied to sccm collections and that is where compliance is evaluated. A configuration item ci is an it asset or a combination of it assets that may depend on andor have relationships with other it processes. Any modification to a configuration item should go through the change process, but the update within the cmdb could be either done by the configuration item owner or by a dedicated team once the modification has been agreed by the configuration item owner. The configuration item may be seen as a class and the versions as instantiations of the class, as shown in figure 12. Service asset and configuration management roles and. Documentation can include requirements specifications and interface documents. The configuration management process seeks to identify and track individual configuration items cis, documenting functional capabilities, and interdependencies. Technical data that describes the cis capabilities which include software version. Configuration item register configuration management. Simply put, a ci is an instance of an entity that is part of your environment and has configurable attributes specific to that instance. Configuration items itil documentation agiloft help.
Software configuration item an overview sciencedirect. Without this information, the software is unstable and will not work. Im looking for the most official definition of csci configuration item not just what it is but what we have to deliver can expect when a contract defines subsystems which shall be developed as configuration items i spend some time with my famous search tool and found a lot of explanations for csci wikipedia, acronym directories. In itil, this is known as a configuration management database cmdb. Standard 8282005, standard for software configuration management plans, was used to guide the development of this plan. Jun 09, 2015 start by assigning a configuration management process owner who will be responsible for owning the configuration management strategy, structure and process.
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. What is the difference between an asset and a configuration item ci. A configuration item is anything that can be configured and that is absolutely necessary for the success of your project. For example, if a system contains several programs, each program and its related documentation and data might be designated a. Configuration items can include hardware, equipment, and tangible assets as well as software and documentation. Example characteristics of configuration items include author, document or file type, and programming language for software code files. Cmdb overview knowledge base article service portal. 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. Based upon the outcomes of step three, determine what types of records and data can enable these capabilities. The tailoring of this standard as it applies to this document is. The term configuration item can be applied to anything designated for the application of the elements of configuration management and treated as a single entity in the configuration management system. Specify when each configuration item is placed under configuration management. Managing organizational units matrix42 selfservice help.
A configuration item to determine compliance for general settings and objects, where their existence does not depend on the operating system, an application, or a software update. You can create hardware, software license, consumable, license, software entitlement, and. Each element in the it environment is an individual entity requiring accurate capture of its attributes. You can create hardware, software license, consumable, license, software entitlement, and facility assets. Specify the important characteristics of each configuration item. May 04, 2019 what are configuration item ci, cmdb, cms, and dml in itil itsm. This includes documenting how cm is managed, roles and responsibilities, how configuration item ci changes are made, and communicating all aspects of cm to project stakeholders.
Cmdb solution lets you assign ownership percentage to a confi. Asset and configuration item ci management refers to creating assets, setting appropriate states and substates, synchronizing assets and cis, managing consumables, and retiring assets. Dec 27, 2016 a definition of configuration item with several examples. Such items may be composed of other smaller configuration items that they depend on and may also be used as. Configuration management process, roles, and responsibilities. A classification, or type, which indicates what kind of item it is. Installed configuration items can change to in maintenance for repairs and retired or stolen when the configuration item is no longer in use.
Configuration management represents the one true source of the configuration items. Using desktop configuration management to reduce the total cost of ownership of pcs we consider what contributes to hidden costs in hardware and software and what companies can do to reduce them. One of the first tasks that the process owner should undertake is creating and ratifying a service asset and configuration management sacm policy. Examples of cis include individual requirements docum ents, sof tware, models, and pl ans. A practical guide 042500 ii acknowledgements this document was prepared for the department of energy doe by a working group of the doe quality managers software quality assurance subcommittee sqas.
A software configuration item sci is a software entity that has been established as a configuration item 1. Without this configuration item, the system cannot. An owner, the person who is responsible for the ci. A configuration item ci is an item or aggregation of hardware or software or both that is designed to be managed as a single entity. Configuration management cm is a governance and systems engineering process for ensuring consistency among physical and logical assets in an operational environment.
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. Software configuration management scm is the the overall management of a software design project as it evolves into a software product or system. Configuration items as a configuration management software. Configuration item an overview sciencedirect topics. Explaining configuration item ci, cmdb, cms and dml itil itsm. One collection can have multiple configuration baselines applied at one point in time. You might be hardpressed to pick the best ones out. A configuration item is any component of an information technology infrastructure that is controlled by configuration management. Jan 05, 2017 in information technology, a configuration item is a component of a system that can be identified as a selfcontained unit for purposes of change control and identification. The system requirements have been allocated to hardware and software components or subsystems, and we can now focus on the subsets of requirements assigned to each software configuration item. A ci can be any conceivable it component, including software, hardware. Data source prioritization can include an ordered list, whereby a data source at the top position of the list retains highest priority and a data source at the lowest position in the. This chapter summarises the principles of software configuration management described in esa pss050 and then discusses the application of these principles first to documents and then to code. By definition, a cms provides the representation of all of the information for configuration items within scope of your organizations configuration management effort.
A configuration item can not only be at the most atomic level, but also can consist of a more complex assembly of other configuration items. Free downloadable configuration management plan templates. Software configuration items are not only source files but all types of documents. The purpose of the configuration management plan is to describe how configuration management cm will be conducted throughout the project lifecycle. Monitoring another key activity in the configuration management process is the monitoring of the life cycle of configuration items.
About configuration baselines and configuration items in configuration manager, baselines are used to define the configuration of a product or system that is established at a specific point in time. A ci will have attributes which may be hierarchical and relationships that will be assigned by the configuration manager in the cm database. The configuration management database cmdb is a main component of the. What is configuration management and how does it work. Taxonomy of key configuration item types or categorizations. The term configuratio n i tem ci refers to the fundamental structural unit of a configura tion management system. Service asset and configuration management process owner, configuration coordinator. Configuration management is one of the few processes that overarch all other process and service lifecycle phases in itil v3. One or more locations in which the definitive and authorized versions of all software configuration items are securely stored. Ownership part of financial asset management, ownership attributes record purchase date, warranty, location and responsible person for the ci.
The config uration 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. Configuration items, their versions, and their changes form the basis of any configuration audit. The item approval, which may be a written quality record or verbal, is a user requirement specification v. What is the difference between an asset and a configuration. Software configuration management procedures template. A ci is a software model that contains the attributes of the represented entity. The list of the most popular software configuration management tools top scm tools in 2020 in software engineering software configuration management is the task of tracking and controlling changes in the software part of the larger disciplinary field of configuration management the scm practices include vision controls in the establishment of baselines. For most business systems, a common configuration item is the database connection string. A configuration item ci is any service component, infrastructure element. You can order, purchase, allocate, reserve, transfer ownership, and retire software products. This info includes attributes of cis, like owner, type, version, etc.
In the configuration items application, you can manage configuration item collections, and you can create service requests, incidents, problems, work orders, changes, and releases for the configuration item. Use the software configuration items node to build a list of software assets. For existing configuration items, you can create a link only by clicking change ownership in the action pane. Wthout it, the effectiveness of the rest of your processes will be in.
It services are typically made up of a bunch of individual components things like servers, software and middleware, and unique configuration information. Service asset and configuration management it process wiki. This leads to the inevitable question, what is the difference between an asset and a configuration item ci. That includes buildings, services, software, documentation, users, as well as. Using desktop configuration management to reduce the total. In itil, configuration items cis are those service assets which are configurable and can be managed through change management. For example, source codes, property files, binaries, servers, and tools can all be configuration items for a software firm. When delivering configuration management engagements, customers often notice that some items appear in both their cmdb and in their asset management software. Configuration items cis are the focal point of a cmdb. Cis typically include it services, hardware, software, buildings, people, and formal. Who owns the license, or who has taken responsibility for ownership. Software engineering system configuration management.
Department of energy quality managers software quality. The register identifies and describes cis, maintains ci status information, identifies specifications with which the ci must comply and indicates the cis position in the overall structure of the configuration by describing parentchild relationships with other cis. Anne mette jonassen hass is a senior consultant and registered bootstrap lead assessor for delta danish electronics, lights, and acoustics, one of europes leading international testing and design consulting organizations. Identification of configuration items like source code modules, test case, and requirements specification. Hass, configuration management principles and practice pearson.
Multiple users, departments and cost centers can partly own the same configuration item. Configuration items in service manager microsoft docs. This chapter is the updated version of the software configuration management scm generally accepted knowledge to be used as a consistent view of this software engineering topic worldwide. The configuration item ci owner ensures a control quality on the configuration item he is responsible for and is responsible for the accuracy of these configuration items. The software under control is usually divided into configuration items.
An aggregation of hardware, software, or both, designated for configuration management and treated as a single entity in the configuration management process. A toplevel configuration item is a ci used as the starting point for organizing and promoting a set of related configuration items. The current life cycle stage is recorded as an attribute of that item. Software configuration management procedures software configuration management scm procedures provides a uniform approach to scm for va software products which could be developed in house, embedded, purchased, or outsourced software, third party frameworks or packages. Configuration items are a way to store information about services, computers, software, software updates, users and other undefined imported objects in the service manager database in service manager. They are used in service management, change management, configuration management, incident management and a variety of other processes related to directing and controlling change. At the time this document was prepared, the working group had the following members. Examples of cis include individual requirements documents, software. Configuration item ci is the term used for each of the logically related components that make up some discrete element of software. Cmdb solution lets you assign ownership percentage to a. A configuration item is a software entity that shows up on planning timelines and which requires a certain amount of documentation. The representations of these entities in the cmdb are configuration items cis. Sccm 2012 configuration items, configuration baselines. About configuration baselines and items configuration.
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