scope:

Purpose. This regulation prescribes uniform policies and guidance for the Military Services and Defense Agencies (hereafter referred to as DOD components) responsible for implementation of Configuration Management within the Department of Defense. Configuration Management identifies, controls, accounts for and audits the functional and physical characteristics of systems, equipments, and other designated material items developed, produced, operated and supported by DOD components.

Applicability.

a. The provisions of this regulation apply to all DOD components and shall be applied to (1) major defense systems (DODD 5000.1); (2) other designated systems (less than major programs) requiring service/Agency decision processing; and (3) selected and item/prime equipments for reason of system integration or interface control. This application shall encompass systems such as aircraft, missiles, ordnance, ships, submarines, space and surface vehicles, electronic installations (including their computer programs) and facilities; and equipment, such as vehicles, artillery, ammunition, and radar sets (hereafter referred to as Configuration Items (CIS)). Application of the management requirements of this regulation is not intended to impose any special organization, structure(s) or organizational title(s), particularly upon Contractors.

b. The configuration management process shall be carefully tailored to the quantity, size, scope, stage of life cycle, nature and complexity of the CI involved, whether the CI is developed at Government expense or privately developed and offered for Government use, and whether the CI is new or now in development, production or operational inventory. The selection of CIS to be configuration-managed is determined by the Government's need to control a CI's inherent characteristics or to control that CI's interface with other items. The selection of prime and lower level CIS is basically a management decision normally accomplished through the system engineering process. The decision is based on numerous engineering logistic factors.

c. Exploratory and advanced development efforts including prototype projects will be exempt from application of formal configuration management unless such application will be advantageous to management of the project.

d. It is recognized that no single common set of configuration management procedures will meet every DOD need. Due to variations in requirements, organizations, industrial commodity areas, and working relationships, the military specifications and standards (prescribed herein) will be tailored to recognize peculiar program requirements. However, optimum uniformity throughout DOD and between DOD and Industry components can be achieved by Service/Agency adherence to the policies outlined herein coupled with reasonable contractual application of the prescribed MIL-SPECs/STDs and applicable Data Requirement Descriptions (DD Forms 1664) for citation in the DD 1423 (Contract Data Requirements List).