History of software configuration management
The history of software configuration management (SCM) in computing can be traced back as early as the 1950s, when "CM" (for Configuration Management), originally for hardware development and production control, was being applied to software development. The first software configuration management was most likely done manually. Eventually, software tools were written to manage software changes. History records tend to be based on tools and companies, and lend concepts to a secondary plane. Background. Until the 1980s, SCM could only be understood as "CM" applied to software development. Some basic concepts such as "identification" and "baseline  (well-defined point in the evolution of a project) were already clear, but what was at stake was a set of techniques oriented towards the control" of the activity, and using formal processes, documents, request forms, control boards etc. It is only after this date that the use of software "tools" applying directly to software "artefacts" representing the actual resources, has allowed SCM to grow as an autonomous entity (from traditional CM). The use of different tools has actually led to very distinct emphases.