A Software Assembly is a collection of multiple ‘built' configuration items, some or all of which have their own development process and their own release identifiers. These complete items are incorporated together into an assembly. The assembly aspect is the key to this technique, which is outlined in this article.

Part of managing software development is dealing with the challenges that arise. This article discusses the most basic software configuration management, capability to manage different configurations and the financial costs to do so.

CM architecture has the ability to influence the market even more so than vice versa. The complexity of CM and ALM forces vendors to take the lead in market development. But the market will have its influence, and those solutions with strong architectures will be in the best position to serve that market. Last year at this time, I identified where I thought the CM solution space was heading generally. Looking back two and three years ago, I painted a bit of a picture of what defines 3rd and 4th generation CM/ALM solutions. Over the next couple of years, we should expect to see competitive and market pressures push the industry into the 3rd generation.

If you are not yet practicing software configuration management and just getting started, this article is written for you. There aren't any prerequisites or requirements for implementing "No CM," other than keeping people who know better from implementing some kind of CM system behind your back. Costs are fortunately low, as "No CM" costs absolutely nothing.