A major concern with operating plants is their performance with respect to safety, reliability and availability. Modernization of the information technology tools for configuration management (CM) in nuclear power plants has been one of the key factors in increasing plant availability. This publication presents a basic approach for the application of information technology to CM, considering experience gained from organizations and utilities that have successfully implemented configuration management. It focuses on the attributes of CM related to information retention and retrieval, lays out what is required from a software program to effectively support a strong CM programme, provides information related to information technology and organization, and outlines the design of a CM software system.