Attributes of Effective Configuration Management For Systems of Systems

Abstract

This paper explores the problems related to configuration management (CM) for systems of systems, and describes several attributes of successful system-of-systems configuration management. The authors show that, just as with other management aspects of systems of systems, you don't stop performing CM when you leave conventional systems behind; instead, there are additional concerns that must be addressed to achieve effective CM in systems of systems. Presented as a system of systems CM framework, the authors describe several principles and supporting attributes for effective system-of-systems CM. These principles and attributes are applied against a real-life scenario to illustrate how they can be used to increase the probability of success when initiating a system of systems CM strategy.