Configuration Item Definition

Configuration Item (CI) – a defined part or resource in a system unambiguously and traceably maintained, of which a state change can be documented systematically. Configuration Items include source code files, executables, libraries, documentation, and other related elements or artifacts. This means the project should allow a way to maintain every CI with its unique identifier, enabling the individual to get access to any previous program state at any time.

Configuration Items are central to organization of the processes of the change management. They not only provide structure to managing changes, but also guarantee that versions are controlled and give trackability. The information is fed into such vital elements of software configuration baseline which in turn will represent the state of the system configuration at some point in time. In this way, they form the basic build blocks in the improvement of the reliability, maintainability, and quality of the software products since the items are controllable and systematically recorded.