Planning is key for configuration management. This revolves around identifying the scope of the configuration, such as a list of modules, parameters, references, and master data. Implementation teams typically build a repository of all the configurations in Excel files, which are then imported to the relevant environments. We recommend that you leverage the following key considerations in your configuration planning:

• Create a list of configurations that are needed for the project and identify and assign the resources responsible for configuration. As a part of this list, identify the cross-functional module configuration and add the secondary responsible resources. 
• Build a list of environment-specific configurations. Some of the configurations, such as links between applications talking to each other, need to have different values in different environments. For example, you need to ensure that the test instance of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations is pointing to the test instance of the shipping solutions and that the payment gateways have been configured in the test mode.
• Try to automate the changes to configurations and their movement across environments to avoid the risk of human errors.
• Maintain a list of company-specific configurations. When you are planning global rollouts, define a global template and maintain a list of configurations that need to be revisited for every company.
• Create a configuration template to collect data for the setup of each module, and describe the purpose of configuration and its usage for tracking purposes.

Now, let's look at the various environments that are used in configuration management, especially the golden configuration environment.