The planned or existing breakdown of an entity by the number, nature, arrangement and interfaces of its components, to conform to designated functional and/or physical characteristics.

The designated functional and/or physical characteristics of the entity (the configuration of the entity) are determined by the requirements of the entity's end-use. It is thus the configuration of the entity that makes it what it is, giving it the specific physical, functional and/or other qualitative characteristics making it suitable for use to satisfy a need.

In the context of Configuration Management such an entity is referred to as an item. The item can be hardware, software, a process or a function or combinations of these, configured to represent or achieve an identifiable end-use item.

A configured end-use item can be a singular item like a screw, a valve or a resistor, or a complex piece of equipment like an aircraft, a complete plant, or a process like brewing beer or performing a maintenance operation.

See also DOCUMENT, FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS ITEM, and PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.