Words and Phrases
Configuration Status Accounting and Reporting (process ST 3.4)
Configuration Status Accounting and Reporting ensures that all configuration data and documentation are recorded as each CI progresses through its life cycle from test to production to retirement. Configuration information should be kept current and made available for planning, decision making, and managing changes to the defined configurations.
Configuration Status Accounting and Reporting keeps track of the following CI status changes:
- New items received (as evidenced by a goods receipt procedure or from development)
- Installation of items
- Transition from test to production
- System down (based upon events)
- Retired or disposed items
- Lost or stolen items
- Unauthorized CIs and Version changes of CIs
Current and accurate configuration records should be maintained to reflect changes in the status, location, and versions of CIs. The history of each CI must be maintained. Changes to CIs are tracked through various states, such as ordered, received, in acceptance test, live, under change, withdrawn, or disposed.
Where required, configuration information should be accessible to users, customers, suppliers, and partners to assist them in their planning and decision making. For example, an external service provider may make configuration information accessible to the customer and other parties to support the other service management processes in an end-to-end service. Archiving procedures should be defined for data related to retired or disposed CIs.
Configuration Management reports should be available to all relevant parties. The reports should cover the identification and status of the CIs, including their versions and associated documentation. A large set of different reports are needed for the different stakeholders (for example, audit reports, software compliance reports, and charge back reports).
Details for this process can be seen in the following figure and table.
