Making predictions is fraught with danger and the last thing forecasters need is somebody to actually compare their predictions with reality. In SCM there were key attempts to project the future of the discipline and the tools that support it. As a dozen years have elapsed since these predictions were made, it is time to assess their accuracy and determine where SCM has been and where it still needs to go.

If your daughter ever comes home with a friendly, outgoing guy named Norbert, shoot first and ask questions later.

Some years ago, a salesman named Norbert at the SCM vendor where I worked got a call in late December from a prospect that had decided to buy from a different vendor. He asked to keep an appointment he had made for a wrapping up session. He went to the meeting with a sales proposal in hand, and after reengineering the vision of the customer, actually left with a sales agreement. Now that's a short sales cycle! 

Many applications have database components, and these components evolve in the same environment as your code and other development artifacts. This article explores some of the issues around applying version management to database development in an agile environment. The article raises more questions than it answers, and we hope that it starts a dialogue about this important, yet often neglected topic.

The best way to make a project succeed is to communicate effectively. When all levels of the project share the goals, vision, constraints, and plan, everyone on the team can pull as hard and as creatively as possible in the right direction. Failing to share the goals and vision underlying a software configuration management (SCM) implementation can cause it to fail.