configuration management

With the advent of agile in the mainstream, it raises awareness of the challenges in getting software configuration management functionality established that suits the working processes of Agile methods. While not necessarily new to some software configuration management professionals, the primary challenge is how to adapt CM practices in a tangible way that supports Agile values while not discarding the CM values that ensure integrity of the product under development.

In his CM: The Next Generation Series, Joe Farah writes that one of the biggest problems with software configuration management (SCM) standards is that the industry is currently too fragmented. Sure, there are many ways to do things and plenty of high-level standards out there, but as a whole, the industry uses different terminology for the most basic concepts and fails to understand that standards must go beyond ability and push the industry forward.

Best practices are the result of creative and hardworking professionals evaluating and communicating what works and what doesn’t. Getting the right best practice in place requires personality traits that focus on doing the right thing without regard for whether you invented the idea or perhaps learned it from someone else. Sorting through the available choices can be very difficult, and too often we focus on who came up with the idea instead of what the idea represents in terms of value. Coming up with best practices that are truly best requires that we reach deep inside our own personalities for the traits that help us excel in everything we do. This article is about how to put your personality to work for you in a creative and productive way.

What's good for the goose isn't always good for the gander. This is especially true when it comes to labeling "best practices." Joe Townsend has a few things to keep in mind when determining "best," "better," and "good" practices in your organization.