Configuration Item Record

Here you can find a simple Configuration Item Record template in Microsoft Word/Excel format, along with explanation on how to use it.

Download the Template

Background

So, what’s wrong with Configuration Item Record? Why don’t we have a template for it?

The previous version of PRINCE2 used to have this one, as well as a separate product called Configuration Management Strategy. The second one is removed in the 6th edition of PRINCE2, and the first one doesn’t have a Product Description anymore. Why?

Configuration Management is mainly used in change management, and now it’s a part of the Change Control Approach instead of being a separate document, just to keep it simple. I was against this decision when we were working on the new version, but it didn’t work.

So, here I took the liberty of reintroducing my own Configuration Management Approach, especially because Configuration Item Records (which are still official management products in PRINCE2, but do not come with a Product Description) are fully described in a Configuration Management Approach.

Configuration Management seems scary to many people, but it can be very simple, and yet, it’s extremely helpful in every project, and I HIGHLY recommend you start using it. How? Well, that’s out of scope of this guide, and I suggest you read about it in specialist resources about project configuration management. When you’re done, come back and document it in this template.

As usual, this is a type of document that you can prepare in the organization level (e.g. in a PMO) and just tailor it for your projects.

Composition

The template has 3 main sections:

Document information: this is the generic information about the document and connections with your Configuration Management system. Feel free to add more information here, but it’s best to keep it simple.
Approval: this section is for capturing approvals. There are multiple lines, because you may have multiple versions of this document approved. If you have a well-formed Configuration Management system to track approvals, feel free to remove this section.
The System: this is the important part, where you define how the system works, including the columns in table(s) of the configuration management system.

eLearning Courses

If you’d like to learn everything about PRINCE2, I can suggest our eLearning courses:

The first few lessons in each course are free. You can start taking the courses right now and make sure it’s what you’ve been looking for before you buy.

Note: The first 30% of the courses used to be free, but because of the recent constraints from PeopleCert, we’re not allowed to offer more than 15% of the scope or more than 90 minutes of the duration for free.