Configuration management lifecycle includes all activities related to creating, maintaining, and retiring product configurations. All involved parties must coordinate these activities to avoid errors and inconsistencies. There are four main stages of the configuration lifecycle: 1) Planning and design 2) Implementation 3) Operation and maintenance 4) Retirement The planning and design phase is when the product configuration is first created. During this phase, the requirements for the product configuration are gathered and defined. Once the requirements are finalized, the product configuration is designed and implemented. The implementation phase is when the product configuration is put into use. During this phase, the product configuration is tested to ensure that it meets all requirements. After the product configuration is verified, it is deployed to production. The operation and maintenance phase is when the product configuration is used daily. The product configuration may be updated or modified during this phase. If changes are made to the product configuration, they must be tested and verified before they are deployed to production. The retirement phase is when the product configuration is no longer needed. During this phase, the product configuration is decommissioned, and all associated data is deleted.