Configuration Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Configuration Management - Essay Example This paper would particularly discuss the research paper of I. Hsin Chou1 and his proposed methods to implement change in a nuclear power plant without compromising on the security of the system. In a nuclear power plant security is given utmost priority. Any lapse in security could have serious consequences. To ensure that there is no lapse in security during the implementation of any change regarding the software of the system some steps, related to security, needs to be included in the system development life cycle. 1. Introduction Software configuration management is the study of managing and tracking changes during the development of software. The main purpose of software configuration management is to provide coordination among individuals working on a change regarding particular software through a series of managerial and technical decisions2. 1.1 Importance of change management Proper change management could help increase the coordination between different departments and emp loyees. Change management also reduces the chances of errors and bugs in a program. The project manager is provided with complete knowledge, from the resources needed to the time of completion that the team needs to complete the change3. 1.2 Importance of tracking change As mentioned before software configuration helps with the management and tracking of the changes in software. It is understandable why there is a need to manage change but why track it. Tracking of change helps keep the project manager informed about the status of the change or what phase is the change going through, providing a general idea about the completion of the software4. 2. Use Of Software Configuration Management to Develop Nuclear Safety Software The difference between the development of commercial software and nuclear safety software is the increase in the risk factors. A fault in the safety system of a nuclear power plant could have dire economic and physical consequences. With so much at risk there is practically no room for error and the authorities responsible must be vigilante and make sure that no errors are left unchecked when it comes to nuclear safety. However safety during the development of nuclear based software has been ignored. 2.1 Problem As mentioned above software configuration helps manage change. The first step to configuration management is identifying the configuration items. Configuration items are the basic structural units of a configuration management system. These configuration items can range from the tools being used to the models being followed. After identifying the configuration items the next step is to bring about the required changes to these configuration items. In most of the cases these configuration items are controlled by the operations department. The software related incidents in nuclear power plants caused the loss of more than 1.6 million MW-hours5. However the use of software and hardware products available in the market can lead to a lap se in the security and would make nuclear power plants an easy target for hackers. A recent attack on Iran’s Nuclear power plant is an example of such attacks. The power plant was attacked by the Stuxnet worm, a bug that hinders the working of the Uranium enriching machine6. From software configuration point of view there are three main threats to the system7. The first threat is from unauthorized users working from outside the system. These personnel are neither employees of the power plant nor are they working with the development team. The