Baseline (configuration Management)

Baseline (configuration Management)

Configuration management is the process of managing change in hardware, software, firmware, documentation, measurements, etc. As change requires an initial state and next state, the marking of significant states within a series of several changes becomes important. The identification of significant states within the revision history of a configuration item is the central purpose of baseline identification.

Typically, significant states are those that receive a formal approval status, either explicitly or implicitly (approval statuses may be marked individually, when such a marking has been defined, or signified merely by association to a certain baseline). Nevertheless, this approval status is usually recognized publicly. Thus, a baseline may also mark an approved configuration item, e.g. a project plan that has been signed off for execution. In a similar manner, associating multiple configuration items with such a baseline indicates those items as being approved.

Generally, a baseline may be a single work product, or set of work products that can be used as a logical basis for comparison. A baseline may also be established (whose work products meet certain criteria) as the basis for subsequent select activities. Such activities may be attributed with formal approval.

Conversely, the configuration of a project often includes one or more baselines, the status of the configuration, and any metrics collected. The current configuration refers to the current status, current audit, current metrics, and latest revision of all configuration items. Similarly, but less frequently, a baseline may refer to all items associated with a specific project. This may include all revisions of all items, or only the latest revision of all items in the project, depending upon context, e.g. "the baseline of the project is proceeding as planned."

A baseline may be specialized as a specific type of baseline. Some examples include:

• Functional Baseline: initial specifications established; contract, etc.
• Allocated Baseline: state of work products once requirements are approved
• Developmental Baseline: state of work products amid development
• Product Baseline: contains the releasable contents of the project
• others, based upon proprietary business practices