CCB2 (Configuration Control Board)

A Configuration Control Board (CCB) is the body responsible for establishing configuration baselines and for reviewing, evaluating, approving or otherwise disposing of proposed changes, deviations and waivers to those baselines. It is a core element of configuration management, the disciplined process used to identify, document and control the functional and physical characteristics of a system or product throughout its life cycle.

NASA's handbook defines a Configuration Control Board as a board of technical and programmatic representatives that recommends approval or disapproval of proposed engineering changes and of proposed deviations or waivers affecting configuration items or baseline documentation. The UK Ministry of Defence uses the same term for the authority that decides on changes to product configuration. In practice, the board is the single point where a proposed change is judged before it reaches the product.

What a Configuration Control Board decides

The board controls the approved configuration. That means the documented baseline of a product or system, and any request to depart from it. Its decisions fall into three groups:

• Changes: proposed engineering changes to configuration items or baseline documentation.
• Deviations: approved departures from a requirement for a defined scope or quantity.
• Waivers: permission to accept an item that does not meet a stated requirement.

NASA's definition places all of these under the board's recommendation of approval or disapproval, as set out in NASA's MSFC handbook.

How UK Ministry of Defence guidance positions the board

UK MOD configuration-management guidance states that a Configuration Change Authority may also be known as a Configuration Control Board. It describes that authority as responsible for decisions on product configuration throughout the product life cycle. The guidance is published in JSP 886 Volume 7 Part 8.12.

A later MOD publication, JSP 945 Part 2, separates the CCB from a subordinate Configuration Control Committee (CCC). The CCB usually sits at program or senior-responsible-owner level, while the CCC works at delivery-team level. The outputs of the CCB and CCC include the configuration-management plan, the approval or rejection of referred change proposals, and formal minutes of meetings.

How NASA requires contractors to use CCBs

NASA's contractor configuration-management standard, MSFC-STD-3394, requires applicable contractors to establish CCBs. Those boards review, evaluate and approve proposed changes, deviations or waivers to established configuration baselines. This shows the board is not only a buyer-side body. A contractor can be required to run its own board as part of its delivery obligations.

The activities around a board decision

The authoritative sources describe the same working cycle around a CCB:

• Proposed changes, deviations or waivers are submitted for review.
• Their effects on the approved configuration and on system interfaces are evaluated.
• Approvals or rejections are recorded, with minutes of the meeting.
• Configuration baselines and related documentation are maintained so that the record matches the product.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Where a solicitation for a defence or complex-systems requirement includes configuration-management language, the CCB is the authority that controls the approved baseline and rules on technical changes. Bid teams should read the statement of work and the contract clauses to see who chairs the board, what a supplier must submit for review, and how changes, deviations and waivers are to be documented.

Tender notices and solicitation documents are published on CanadaBuys tender opportunities, and award and contract data are available through CanadaBuys procurement and contracting data. Use them to find the exact configuration-management requirements attached to a given opportunity, and plan for change-control effort in your pricing and schedule.