Final answer:
Modern software engineering practices indeed maintain SCIs in a project database or repository, as part of essential configuration management to track changes and ensure project integrity.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is true that modern software engineering practices usually attempt to maintain Software Configuration Items (SCIs) in a project database or repository. This is part of a broader discipline known as configuration management, essential for tracking changes and maintaining the integrity of different project components over time. A repository, such as a Version Control System (VCS), is used to manage these items, which could be code files, design documents, or any other essential assets related to the project.