Why configuration management is the backbone of modern defence capability

Walk into any Defence program today and you’ll hear talk of digital twins, model-based systems engineering, and data-driven sustainment. These terms dominate discussions about capability modernisation and sovereign design. But behind every one of these ambitions lies a quieter discipline - one that ensures those models, designs and data sets all align to the same truth.

That discipline is Configuration Management

More than paperwork

Configuration Management (CM) is often misunderstood. To a lot of engineers and managers, it’s a bureaucratic exercise in version control - a collection of registers, forms, and approvals that slow things down. But those who’ve seen major projects succeed or fail know that CM is much more than paperwork. It’s the framework that holds an entire system together, ensuring what’s designed is what’s built, what’s tested is what’s delivered, and what’s maintained remains fit for purpose.

When you strip CM back to its intent, it’s all about integrity - the assurance that decisions made across design, production, and operation remain traceable and controlled. In industries where a single change can cost millions or compromise safety or critical operational capability, that assurance isn’t optional.

It’s essential.

A foundation for governance

In the Defence sector, governance is everything. Complex programs involve hundreds of suppliers, thousands of components, and lifecycles measured in decades. Each of those elements changes over time - designs evolve, technologies are upgraded, and sustainment requirements shift. Without robust Configuration Management, governance quickly becomes guesswork.

Good CM provides structure. It defines who controls what, how changes are assessed, and how information flows between stakeholders. It ensures that data from the design office, the test range, and the shipyard all point to the same baseline - the approved configuration that everyone can trust.

This isn’t just process for the sake of process. When done well, CM reduces rework, eliminates duplication, and prevents errors from propagating through the supply chain. It gives project leaders and directors confidence that when they approve a change, they understand its impact - not just on cost and schedule, but on capability, interoperability, and compliance.

From documents to data

The world is shifting from document-based to data-centric engineering, and CM must evolve with it. Where once we managed drawings and specifications, we now manage digital models, software builds, and real-time sensor data. The principles of identification, control, and status accounting still apply - but the scale and speed are far greater than ever before.

Modern CM is about data integrity. It’s about ensuring that every digital artefact, from CAD models to simulation outputs, is traceable to a verified requirement and a controlled baseline. In practice, that means integrating CM with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems, Model-Based Systems Engineering (MSBE) environments, and digital twin platforms.

This evolution makes CM more critical than ever before. As projects become more interconnected and automated, the consequences of poor configuration control multiply. A single unverified model or outdated data set can ripple across entire systems, introducing risks that no amount of downstream testing can catch.

Supporting Sovereign Capability

Australia’s push for sovereign capability depends not only on local manufacturing, but on local governance. To deliver complex platforms sustainably, industry needs to own and control its data - and that begins with Configuration Management.

When configuration data is well structured and traceable, it enable smooth transfer of knowledge between Defence and industry partners. It supports through-life support planning, upgrade programs, and obsolescence management. It allows future engineers to understand the intent behind today’s design decisions. Without that continuity, sovereignty is compromised. If we can’t trace how a system was built, modified, and certified, we can’t effectively sustain it. CM isn’t just about compliance, it’s about control of intellectual property, design authority, and operational readiness.

People, not processes

The biggest challenge facing CM today isn’t technology. It’s recognition.

Despite its importance, CM often lacks the professional visibility afforded to engineering or project management. Many practitioners learn it on the job, piecing together standards and procedures without formal training or accreditation.

That needs to change.

Configuration Management deserves to be treated as a profession in its own right - one with defined competencies, education pathways, and leadership roles. Practitioners aren’t simply administrators; they’re the custodians of data integrity and configuration control across the capability lifecycle.

As Australia’s Defence industry expands, so too must its CM capability. That means investing in education, building communities of practice, and aligning with international standards such as EIA-649C and ISO 10007. It also means giving CM professionals a seat at the table - not after design decisions are made, but as the decisions are being shaped.

Looking Ahead

The next decade will see Configuration Management evolve from a support function to a strategic enabler. It will underpin digital engineering, sustainment, and certification processes. It will define how we manage digital twins, validate software updates, and maintain configuration integrity across distributed supply chains.

For practitioners, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. The tools are becoming more powerful - PLM systems, digital thread integration, and model-based change control - but they demand new skills and a mindset that values data as much as documentation.

For leaders, the message is clear: CM is not a cost centre. It’s a safeguard. It’s the backbone that ensures complexity doesn’t become chaos.

Configuration Management is the quiet force behind capability assurance. It doesn’t make headlines, but it prevents disasters. It ensures that every bolt, line of code, and design revision aligns with the approved baseline — the single source of truth that defines what a system is and how it changes over time.

As Defence projects grow in complexity, the organisations that master CM will be the ones that deliver capability with confidence, efficiency, and integrity.

Because without control, there is no configuration — and without configuration, there is no capability.