Configuration management should ideally be a strong complement to project management.

• It should aim for the final, integrated embedded system (both hardware and software).
• It takes into account the need for efficient use of resources
• It helps to manage costs and the hardware / software development schedule.
• Identification codes, processes, formalisms, and tools should be the same for both hardware and software.
• Should manage change proposals (including status, etc).
  Configuration management should be fully integrated into the product development processes.

NB: At its core, the software fault that led to the loss of the Ariane 5 rocket was a configuration management problem. The rocket included a software module intended for a previous design, that should never have been aboard and active.