IEEE Std 828-2012 PDF

Full title and description

IEEE Std 828-2012 — IEEE Standard for Configuration Management in Systems and Software Engineering. This standard establishes minimum requirements for configuration management (CM) processes applied to systems and software engineering, including identification and acquisition of configuration items, change control, status reporting, and software builds and release engineering; it also describes the content areas for a CM plan and when CM activities should occur during the life cycle.

Abstract

Provides required activities, planning guidance and content areas for configuration management in software and systems engineering. The 2012 revision expanded the earlier 828 text (which focused on the contents of a software configuration management plan) to include broader CM processes, lifecycle timing, and support for release and build engineering. The standard is aligned with relevant ISO/IEC/IEEE lifecycle standards and terminology.

General information

• Status: Inactive / Inactive‑Reserved (standard was inactivated / withdrawn from sale).
• Publication date: 16 March 2012 (Board approval 6 February 2012).
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), IEEE Computer Society sponsor.
• ICS / categories: Software development and system documentation — ICS 35.080 (software engineering).
• Edition / version: IEEE Std 828™-2012 (revision of IEEE Std 828-2005).
• Number of pages: 71 pages (typical published PDF page count).

Scope

Specifies minimum requirements for configuration management processes across any form, class or type of software or system. It describes which CM activities are to be performed, when they should occur in the lifecycle, what planning and resources are required, and the content areas for a configuration management plan. The 2012 revision broadens the previous focus on SCM planning to cover configuration identification, change control, status accounting, configuration audit, and software build/release engineering. The standard is intended to support and be used with ISO/IEC/IEEE lifecycle standards.

Key topics and requirements

• Configuration management planning and the required contents of a CM Plan (roles, responsibilities, resources, tailoring guidance).
• Configuration identification: defining configuration items, baselines, naming and versioning conventions.
• Configuration change control: change request, evaluation, approval, and implementation controls.
• Configuration status accounting and reporting: recording and reporting configuration item status and history.
• Configuration audits and verification to ensure baselines and records are complete and correct.
• Software builds, release engineering and build reproducibility as part of CM responsibilities.
• Lifecycle timing: when CM activities occur across systems/software lifecycle stages and during acquisition/acceptance.
• Tailoring guidance: applying the minimum requirements appropriately for project criticality and organizational context.

These topic areas reflect the standard’s core process model and required CM outputs.

Typical use and users

Applied by systems and software engineering organizations to establish or audit configuration management practices. Typical users include CM managers, release/build engineers, quality assurance and configuration control boards, project managers for safety‑critical or commercial software, and organizations implementing lifecycle processes aligned with ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 and 15288. It is used both for new development and for managing existing software baselines.

Related standards

Designed to be used with and to support ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207:2008 (software life‑cycle processes) and ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288:2008 (system life‑cycle processes). It also aligns terminology and information item requirements with IEEE Std 24765 (standard glossary) and IEEE Std 15939 (software measurement process). The 2012 edition revises and supersedes IEEE Std 828-2005 (earlier SCM plan focus).

Keywords

configuration management, software configuration management, CM plan, configuration identification, change control, configuration status accounting, configuration audit, configuration item, release engineering, software builds, baseline, versioning.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: IEEE Std 828-2012 is the IEEE Standard for Configuration Management in Systems and Software Engineering; it defines minimum process requirements and CM plan content areas for managing configuration across software and system lifecycles.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers CM planning, configuration identification, change control, status accounting, auditing, and software build/release engineering, and specifies when CM activities should occur and what resources and planning are required.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: CM and release engineers, project and program managers, QA and configuration control boards, and organizations developing or maintaining safety‑critical and commercial software systems use the standard to establish, tailor and audit CM processes.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: The document was published on 16 March 2012 and later inactivated/withdrawn from sale (status listed as Inactive‑Reserved / withdrawn) with an inactivation/withdrawn date of 30 March 2023; consult IEEE SA for the latest lifecycle/status information and any successor documents or projects.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes. IEEE Std 828 is part of a family of IEEE configuration‑management and software‑engineering guidance (previous editions include 1983, 1990, 1998, 2005); the 2012 edition broadened scope to systems and release engineering and is intended to work with ISO/IEC/IEEE lifecycle standards.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: change control; configuration accounting; configuration audit; configuration item; release engineering; software builds; software configuration management; system configuration management; CM plan; baseline.