Configuration Item

A discrete document, drawing, software element or hardware unit whose development is to be controlled and tracked. Items have a development history which is relevant to a project / programme / service : this must be stored so that any item may be reconstructed in one of its former (well-defined) states.

-- PatrickEgan - 18 Dec 2002

An abstract concept: a software configuration can be considered as a set of configuration items.

Note that the SCM tool might restrict what kinds of items it identifies and manages (e.g. many tools will not consider directories as configuration items, others, not derived objects).

Once identified, configuration items may be managed statically, as elements, or dynamically, as derived objects. In either case, a CI defines a family of possible representations.

There is also the issue of structure is is an attribute of the software configuration, or of the configuration item?

-- MarcGirod - 18 Jan 2003

We could consider a configuration item as a class and a configuration item version as an instance of the class. Each CI either specifies structure (e.g. directory), identification (e.g. file name or directory name) or contents (e.g. file).

With these concepts, any structure of data can be composed, identified and versioned.

-- FrankSchophuizen^? - 01 Feb 2003

In fact, I am not satisfied with this characterization of structure. The considerations above concern the specific contents of the CI, which should be beyond the scope of SCM -- this being only interested in generic aspects.

The only SCM concern for structure relates to this of the SC. The confusion comes from the fact that the two are not without relationship: the generic structure of SC often reflects the specific contents of at least some of the CIs it refers to.

-- MarcGirod - 09 Feb 2005

In fact, less and less satisfied by either Patrick's liminal definition, and Frank^?'s additional comments, I try to propose an alternative.