Configuration management (
CM) is a
systems engineering 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. The CM process is widely used by military
engineering organizations to manage changes throughout the
system lifecycle of
complex systems, such as
weapon systems,
military vehicles, and
information systems. Outside the military, the CM process is also used with IT service management as defined by
ITIL and with other
domain models in the
civil engineering and other
industrial engineering segments such as
roads,
bridges,
canals,
dams, and
buildings.