"Configuration management covers the processes used to control, coordinate, and track: code, requirements, documentation, problems, change requests, designs, tools/compilers/libraries/patches, changes made to them, and who makes the changes. (See the 'Tools' section for web resources with listings of configuration management tools."

"When you build computer software, change happens. And because it happens, you need to control it effectively. Software configuration management (SCM) is a set of activities that are designed to control change by identifying the work products that are likely to change, establishing relationships among them, defining mechanisms for managing different versions of these work products, controlling changes that are imposed, and auditing and reporting on the changes that are made"

Software configuration management (SCM):
is a set of activities that are designed to control change by identifying the work products that are likely to change, establishing relationships among them, defining mechanisms for managing different versions of these work products, controlling changes that are imposed, and auditing and reporting on the changes that are made. For example: the following items should be covered the the CM Plan:
- Change Control policy.
- Versions Control policy (schema).
- The change Impact Analysis procedure.
- The Change Control Board members (CCB).
- The tool or mechanism used to control the configuration (example: source code reparatory).
- The check-in and check-out policy.

Belal Raslan

Software Configuration Management is a methodology to control and manage a software development project.