The invention provides, in some aspects, a process, environmental, manufacturing, industrial or other such control system (hereinafter, “control system”) with enhanced, real-time change tracking. The system includes one or more configurable elements (e.g., field devices), a change tracking system that records of changes to those configurable elements (e.g., for compliance reporting, etc.) and a change detection system that responds to detected changes in configuration of those element(s) by inferring an identity of a person and/or device responsible for a change, the time of the change, and/or the reason for the change. This is unlike prior art systems, in which that such information must be specified, e.g., in a data entry form filled-in by the field engineer, operator or other who is making the change.