Configuration management (CM) is a process for establishing and maintaining consistency of a product's performance, functional and physical attributes with its requirements, design and operational information throughout its life.  For any product it is very important to manage the data defining it.  This statement goes beyond simply controlling changes and revisions. 

It is just as important to know when a set of data was released, to whom and how.  This becomes very important when a product is still in work yet multiple groups are making decisions based upon copies of that data.  While traditional CM of a drawing based product is difficult, it is even more difficult in a Model Based Enterprise (MBE).  In MBE there are many more data elements when compared to a drawing counterpart.  The relationships between these elements must also be managed and are quite complex.  To compound this fact there are many derivative models such as STEP, JT and PRC of each model that must be managed.  While not impossible to do, manually this would be very difficult.  This is why a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tool is needed (see PLM section for more information).

There are many different methodologies for CM, below are just some of the relevant standards that exist:

• 828-2012 Currently active IEEE Standard which supersedes/supports older ones
• MIL-HDBK-61A Configuration Management Guidance 7 February 2001
• 10007 Quality management - Guidelines for configuration management
• ACMP 2009 (DRAFT) NATO Guidance on Configuration Management
• GEIA-HB-649 - Implementation Guide for Configuration Management
• ANSI/EIA-649-1998 National Consensus Standard for Configuration Management
• EIA-836 Consensus Standard for Configuration Management Data Exchange and Interoperability
• ANSI/EIA-632-1998 Processes for Engineering a System