This paper emphasizes the importance of configuration management (CM) during a software product's development lifecycle. It describes the growth of CM activities during the life of a project and identifies benefits of having a CM discipline, in terms of product integrity and return on investment. Key CM functions (i.e., configuration control, version management, change management, build and release support and process CM) and their respective roles during the software product development lifecycle are described. In addition, this paper identifies some new opportunities of CM roles in the 21st century. Examples of poor configuration control and associated cost are identified and options for an effective CM system are discussed.