configuration management

Articles

Configuration Management VS Change Management - Who's in Control

Discussion has gone around a number of times on the issue. There's even been a poll on the issue. Is configuration management part of change management or vice versa? Everyone has an opinion and there does not seem to be a consensus. What's the problem? Well, here's how I see it.

Joe Farah's picture Joe Farah
Approaching Code Access for Distributed Development

There was a time when mainframe development was the norm and teams were in close physical contact only having to walk down a few feet to interact with their colleagues. However, times have changed and access to code has to be considered in a much more serious manner. Some companies have had multiple sites participate in their development efforts for upwards of two decades, but a majority of them have only been at this for the last 5 years or just undertaking this venture. The crux of distributed development is the ability to share code for development across sites via the network or via tape or disk.

 

Mario  Moreira's picture Mario Moreira
CM: The Nerve of Your Life Cycle Management

Most CM professionals, I think, would agree that the CM database is not just another component of Application Life-Cycle (ALC) management, it's really at the heart of the matter. I'd like to say that the CM function shares the same stature - it's not just another component of your ALC management - it's the nerve. In fact, I'd like to go one step further and say that the integration of CM and Data Management (DM) capabilities, when done properly, can transform your ALC management environment into a next generation engine that will empower each component of your environment.

Joe Farah's picture Joe Farah
The Road To Production Quality

My product is ready on CD. It's better than the previous release in respect to both quality and functionality perspectives. Does that mean it's ready to be released as a production product? How do I know when it's really ready?

Joe Farah's picture Joe Farah
Evaluating CM Tools

How do you evaluate a CM tool? What's important to you? Did you know that a good CM tool could actually make the difference between success and failure?

Joe Farah's picture Joe Farah
CM Generations and a Vision for the Future

It was 1978 when I first introduced change packages (a.k.a. updates) as the central feature of an in-house CM system. It's still in use today supporting a 40 million LOC project. It was 1982 when I introduced the concept of streams to rationalize branching along the product roadmap. Little did I know that a quarter century later, these concepts would just be starting to move to the forefront.

Joe Farah's picture Joe Farah
The Basics of Release Management

In the ever-growing complexity of dependencies amongst products at the build and run time level, there is the challenge of managing increasingly separate items that must work together upon release. This is where the concepts, disciplines, roles, and responsibilities of release management help. Release management focuses on both the engineering disciplines that must bring a specific project release together along with the management of external dependencies across products that must accompany a release.

Mario  Moreira's picture Mario Moreira
Application, Project, and Organizational Configuration Management

To get to our destination, the road that we take is important. In order to navigate, the road must be built for our needs. In order to keep it safe, signs with meaningful messages must be added along the way. This should parallel our approach to configuration management (CM). The road in this CM example is the CM infrastructure: a combination of the CM environment (CM technology and systems) and the CM procedures. This car vehicle is the project which uses CM road to deliver a release to its destination. The signs on the road are the organizational policies and direction given to guide us in the right direction and on the right road.

Mario  Moreira's picture Mario Moreira
Approaching Parallel Development with Branch - Merge Strategies

Many times when managers first consider parallel development, it appears to be a very effective way to manage changes to concurrent streams of development. This is somewhat true if the project uses an SCM technology that allows for stable branching and establishes discreet project and maintenance branches. However, what is often forgotten is that while branching is a great way to separate code changes, at some point merging will have to occur. This article provides guidance for approaching and performing parallel development.

Mario  Moreira's picture Mario Moreira
The Illusion of Control in Software Configuration Management

We explore why it is important to understand the context of agile techniques when you are trying to build a more agile software configuration environment and how people can fool themselves into thinking that their non-agile environment has more control.

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