Version Control

Version control (VC) has been around long before software. But it wasn't until the late 1960s and early 1970s that it emerged as a common software function. Today, version control is still necessary, but is a much smaller piece of the configuration management (CM) and product management (PM) pictures. While version control is a relatively simple application, configuration management is anything but. No wonder it is embraced with such reluctance. This doesn't have to be the case. The key to adopting a successful CM program is to select tools which help you to automate the complexity without taking short cuts that will lead to problems down the road.

This article looks at satisfying the principles of Configuration Management with varying degrees of tool support, which we classify from Version Control at one end, to true CM tools (and beyond!). Many agile developers restrict themselves to tools that are more on the version control end, so we aim to highlight the differences, and particularly point out certain features which can make your life a lot easier.

What is agile CM? If you think it's doing the minimal amount of CM, think again. Instead, it's minimizing and streamlining the work to do all of the CM tasks that are necessary. It adapts to changing CM requirements fairly easily. Agile CM doesn't just happen - it's a combination of good CM process, good CM tools, and CM automation. If you fall short on any of these, your CM process will not be very agile.

The subject of individual -vs- collective code ownership is often the bane of many heated discussions about code change authorization/access and concurrent -vs- serial development. Opponents of collective ownership often claim that it results in "no ownership" of the code and that individual code ownership is better for managing attempts at concurrent changes. Oppenents of individual ownership often counter by saying individual ownership inhibits refactoring and goes against the team ethic of XP and other Agile methods.