This is the fourth in a series of posts on commonly confused terms for the PMP exam.
Configuration Management’s focus, in the context of a project, is on controlling changes to the project’s product’s functional and physical specifications (also called configuration items) as well as project baselines. Review the post on Configuration Management for a more thorough discussion on the topic.
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) defines:
Configuration Control is focused on the specification of both the deliverables and the processes.
Change Control is focused on identifying, documenting, and approving or rejecting changes to the project documents, deliverables, or baselines.
As the above definition states, the focus of configuration control is on the specifications of both the project’s product (deliverables) as well the process baselines (scope, cost, time, etc.). While change control is much more focused on the “process” part of that change.
Change Control, as defined in the Change Management Plan, will outline a generic process to identify, document, and process any kind of change. This is the intent of Integrated Change Control process. On the other hand, Configuration Control will ensure control of the specifications (product or the process), identifying configuration items to be controlled, evaluating the impact of a change on the whole configuration, as well as control after the change is processed through Change Control. In order words, as (Gladstone, 2008) states, “Three main aspects of configuration management are – version control, change control, and reports (audits).” Change Control is part of configuration management and is “process” focused while Configuration Control is specification focussed for controlling the whole confirmation.
Let’s look at an example (Wikipedia, 2013):
Virtual Case File (or VCF) was a software application developed by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) between 2000 and 2005. The project was officially abandoned in January 2005, while still in development stage and cost the federal government nearly $170 million. The primary reasons for the failure of the project were repeated changes in specifications, and repeated turnover of management, which contributed to the specification problem.
As a specific example, Sept 11 attacks highlighted the Bureau’s information sharing problems and increased pressure for the Bureau to modernize. In December 2001, the scope of VCF was changed with the goal being complete replacement of all previous applications and migration of the existing data into an Oracle database. Additionally, the project’s deadline was pushed up to December 2003.
The change to scope and specifications of the software would have been processed through a Change Control process as defined in the Change Management Plan. Configuration Control would have ensured correct impact analysis while changing the product specifications and ensuring any changes to the scope and specifications are documented and a new design baseline is established. The new project schedule would have been the result of impact analysis and taking into account the new configuration of the software.
References:
Project Management Institute (PMI). (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (5th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
Gladstone, Kent (2008), Virtual Configuration Management, PMI Virtual Library
Wikipedia (2013), Virtual Case File. Retrieved July, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Case_File .