configuration management
Articles
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Tool Choice as a Quality Issue We need to choose an SCM tool. It will mean some work to make the choice and then more work to put it into practice. At least we don’t have to worry about it from a quality perspective, though. After all, the tools we choose to employ don’t affect the quality of the software we produce. Do they? Well, let’s think about this a bit. Hmmmmmm…
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Alan S. Koch
November 18, 2008 |
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Selecting a CM/ALM Tool That Will Add Value to All Users Selecting a CM/ALM tool is no small task these days. The CM/ALM tool is no longer just another developer tool, such as a compiler or IDE environment. Instead, it forms the backbone of a development organization. It will strongly influence an organization's ability to measure and control quality, meet schedules, comply to requirements and assess development costs. It will also be the central focus for all development processes. It will support a key knowledge base, and will be viewed as the vault for both software and product assets. |
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What is a CM Tool? Does the title of this article sound silly? I mean, doesn’t everyone know what a configuration management (CM) tool is? Isn’t a CM tool something that provides version control functionality? Well, the short answer is yes but only in its most simplistic form. CM as a discipline goes well beyond simple version control. It is important to look beyond what vendors define as classic CM tools and consider CM in terms of the full practice and processes they offer. CM at its very essence covers identification, control, audit, and report. Many would expand control to include version control, change control, build management, and release engineering. |
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Getting Started with Agile SCM A prerequisite to any of the Agile SCM practices, such as integration build, private build, unit tests, and the like, is being able to set up a developer’s private workspace with the right code and tools so that you can code, build and test. In this article, we discuss the important, and often overlooked process of creating a development workspace, which is to say, getting started. |
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A Framework for Evaluating and Implementing Standards Many organizations do not comprehend that just calling something a standard does not necessarily make it so to folks within the organization. There is effort required to create a standard that is valuable to the organization. On the other hand, there are many de-facto standards that people do not recognize as a standard. This has to do with the drivers of the standards. |
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How Does the Shift Toward Web-Based Technology Influence CM? While the definition of Web 2.0 has barely begun to settle down, applications must start to react. Web 2.0 is, from a technology viewpoint, mostly a combination of collaborative web technology and application web interfaces that mimic their native client counterparts. From a social viewpoint, it's a communication and information transition: blogs, Facebook, integrated chat, and meeting capabilities create a web base of knowledge so that anyone can search for anyone or anything and communicate or contribute to the subject matter. From a CM/ALM perspective, there has always been a need to have a base of knowledge, of data, and of people. The success of CM depends on it. So how really does Web 2.0 play into the next generation of CM? |
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New Developments in Builds and Deployment Management The very first generation of CM tools dealt with support for build operations. Typically, this was through the inclusion of a facility such as a Make utility, and perhaps some tools to help build Make files. But as we move into the next generation of CM tools, it is also more important to be able to manage the builds at an information level. Build Management moves from the earlier build operation support and tagging functions, to wider traceability and better information accessibility. And beyond the build operations themselves, there are additional benefits as we move into the next generation of Deployment Management. |
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Using a Commercial Tool to Automate a Build and Deployment Process The use of a commercial tool to automate your build and deployment process saves time and money. In this article, Michael Sayko explains how to go about selecting the right tool for your specific project and team's needs, and then how to use that tool efficiently. |
Michael Sayko
September 15, 2008 |
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Breaking News: Build Still Important, but Deployment Is King! Brad Appleton, Robert Cowham, and Steve Berczuk continue to explore the role of build and deployment in configuration management. While the details may change from year to year as technology evolves, the underlying principles remain the same. Regarding building, we are going to take the opportunity to provide a guide to some of our previous articles that still hold true. |
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Product and Project Software Configuration Management (SCM) In this article, the authors discuss how software configuration fits into products and projects, beyond managing and controlling source code and other developer assets. They look at the differences between internal and external products and where project fit into the equation. |
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