Software Configuration Management Process Research Articles

Models and Methods of Software Configuration Management

Abstract The paper provides collection of experience of developing models and methods for implementation of software configuration management process. Nowadays, during the age of agility, startup of new software development projects is like an explosion. Sometimes, in a few days a customer is willing to get the first release, but formalized and reusable process for its creating is not ready yet. Software configuration management controls the evolution of software items and supports building and deployment process for product releases. Models and methods for implementation of software configuration management are presented in the paper. Unlike other approaches, the provided models and methods are related to decrease software configuration management implementation time in new projects. The paper provides a simplified use case to illustrate practical application of the mentioned methods and models.

Models for Implementation of Software Configuration Management

The main scope of software configuration management is control of software evolution process to include at final version only valid and tested items. To achieve this, software configuration management have to prepare solutions for tasks such as identification of software configuration items, version control, build and deploy management etc. The paper provides new model-driven approach for implementation of software configuration management. New approach is supported by set of models to describe software configuration management process from different sides. New approach helps to organize existing solutions in parameterized way that increase ability of its reuse. Current paper introduces to problems in software configuration management area and main trends of new solutions. After introduction, new model-driven approach described. The second part of paper provides models for new approach. Presentation of models combined with simplified use case, which illustrates practical application of models. Finally, directions of further researches are provided.

Implementation of Software Configuration Management Process by Models: Practical Experiments and Learned Lessons

Abstract Nowadays software configuration management process is not only dilemma which system should be used for version control or how to merge changes from one source code branch to other. There are multiple tasks such as version control, build management, deploy management, status accounting, bug tracking and many others that should be solved to support full configuration management process according to most popular quality standards. The main scope of the mentioned process is to include only valid and tested software items to final version of product and prepare a new version as soon as possible. To implement different tasks of software configuration management process, a set of different tools, scripts and utilities should be used. The current paper provides a new model-based approach to implementation of configuration management. Using different models, a new approach helps to organize existing solutions and develop new ones by a parameterized way, thus increasing reuse of solutions. The study provides a general description of new model-based conception and definitions of all models needed to implement a new approach. The second part of the paper contains an overview of criteria, practical experiments and lessons learned from using new models in software configuration management. Finally, further works are defined based on results of practical experiments and lessons learned.

The Tetrad Influences

The Software Configuration Management (SCM) process with its origin in hardware development was first applied to the software development environment in the 1950's. Since then many IT dynamics associated with this process have evolved, such as, software development methodologies, software process improvement standards, computing environments, and organizational needs. Through the observation of these IT dynamics, which the researchers called “the tetrad influences”, it is now apparent that there is a need to look into new adaptable approaches to apply the SCM process for traceability and governance. In this paper, we will present a conceptual framework highlighting the tetrad influences on the SCM process and will propose a Software configuration Adaptable Lean Agile Management “SALAM” model as a solution. We contribute a case study of a large Australian IT project where hybrid project teams delivered a consolidated software product in a hybrid cloud computing environment.

Coexistence of agile and SCM practices

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of Phase 1 of the research and to identify Australian agile software development organizations having such coexistence of agile and software configuration management (SCM) practices. This study employed “organization size” variable to study the phenomenon and used theory of Lean Thinking as a lens to analyse implementation variations of agile and SCM practices. Design/methodology/approach – For this study, the research design was comprised of three phases. In Phase 1, a quantitative study using an online survey was performed to answer RQ using various statistical techniques. In Phase 2, an initial conceptual model based on a literature review was developed, and then a qualitative study was performed using one longitudinal case study. In Phase 3, another online survey was performed using various parametric statistical techniques to validate and generalize the findings of Phase 1 and 2 and the proposed SLAM traceability model. The scope of this paper is to discuss only Phase 1 and its associated findings. Findings – The results of the analysis indicated that organizations, regardless of their size, frequently use agile practices for their software development operations. On the other hand, larger organizations use SCM practices comparatively more than medium and small organizations. However, traces of customized SCM process were found in most of the respondent (large, medium, and small) organizations, which indicates the coexistence of agile and SCM practices. Research limitations/implications – As there is no known listing or database available for such specialized criteria, a non-probabilistic sampling method was used, in the sense that the selection of members of the sample was arbitrary and subjective instead of a non-random selection from the pool of all agile practitioners in the field. Originality/value – By using the quantitative method approach, this study aims to generate empirical evidence to contribute to the body of knowledge in the relevant areas. On the practical side, this research can also provide support to IT businesses in general, and software development organizations in particular, with the streamlining of the internal operational environment for the facilitation of an adaptable process and the resulting coexistence of value-added agile and SCM practices.

Investigation on Australian Agile Software Development Organizations: An Exploratory Study of Adaptable SCM Process Implementation

There have been many studies and examples in the literature separately demonstrating the benefits of Agile software development and Software Configuration Management process to software development organizations. There is, however, a general misconception that these two practice domains cannot coexist in a single environment without compromising the values of each other, and there is little reporting on such phenomenon and/or how practitioners can benefit from it. The aim of this paper is to present the findings of phase 1 of our research and to identify Australian Agile Software Development Organizations having such coexistence. This study will use 'organization size as a lens to analyze implementation variations of Agile and SCM practices and the perceived importance of SCM process in the agile environment. This research as a whole will support SCM practitioners in particular and IT practitioners in general by providing better understanding of SCM Process in agile environments. It will also contribute knowledge towards theory of lean.

Adaptable Software Configuration Management: An Investigation on Australian Agile Software Development Organizations

There is a general misconception on the coexistence of Agile and Software Configuration Management (SCM) practices, and a very little reporting exists about how practitioners can benefit from their coexistence or how such coexistence can improve the organizational capabilities. This paper represent phase one of the research study, with the aim to identify adaptable software configuration management process in Australian agile software development organizations. This as a result will facilitate later phases by identifying suitable candidate organization(s) for case study and providing the basis for validation and generalization of Adaptable Configuration Management Traceability Model (AcmTm) through additional quantitative study. This research as a whole will support SCM practitioners in particular and IT practitioners in general by providing better understanding of SCM Process in agile environments. It will also contribute knowledge towards theory of lean thinking.

A Method for the Effective Configuration of Reuse- Oriented Software Release and Its Application in the Field of Insurance

The paper presents the results of the research related to the improvement of software configuration and release management processes for software maintenance projects. The study describes a simple, effective and reusable solution to build high-quality releases that include not all, but only tested changes. The proposed method produces the list of components to be included into the release build based on the list of changes planned for the upcoming release and information from the project code version control and issue tracking systems.

Secure Software Configuration Management Processes for nuclear safety software development environment

The main difference between nuclear and generic software is that the risk factor is infinitely greater in nuclear software – if there is a malfunction in the safety system, it can result in significant economic loss, physical damage or threat to human life. However, secure software development environment have often been ignored in the nuclear industry. In response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) revised the Regulatory Guide (RG 1.152-2006) “Criteria for use of computers in safety systems of nuclear power plants” to provide specific security guidance throughout the software development life cycle. Software Configuration Management (SCM) is an essential discipline in the software development environment. SCM involves identifying configuration items, controlling changes to those items, and maintaining integrity and traceability of them. For securing the nuclear safety software, this paper proposes a Secure SCM Processes (S 2CMP) which infuses regulatory security requirements into proposed SCM processes. Furthermore, a Process Flow Diagram (PFD) is adopted to describe S 2CMP, which is intended to enhance the communication between regulators and developers.

Pragmatic software configuration management

Often an organization's software configuration management (SCM) mechanisms don't help with the work of building software as much as they could. Either no mechanisms exist for doing common tasks or the processes to use those mechanisms are too complicated and become tasks in themselves. On a daily basis, developers shouldn't notice SCM that much, and what they do notice, they should eagerly embrace because these things help them do their jobs. When developers don't find SCM processes to be helpful, it's often because the processes don't serve the organization's goals well. This tends to be due to two issues: first, basic SCM structures lacking and, second, the structure doesn't fit well into the development environment. This paper provides a brief overview of the essential patterns for a basic, agile SCM environment.

Unified versioning through feature logic

Software configuration management (SCM) suffers from tight coupling between SCM version-ing models and the imposed SCM processes. In order to adapt SCM tools to SCM processes, rather than vice versa, we propose a unified versioning model, the version set model . Version sets denote versions, components, and configurations by feature terms , that is, Boolean terms over ( feature : value )-attributions. Through feature logic , we deduce consistency of abstract configurations as well as features of derived components and describe how features propagate in the SCM process; using feature implications , we integrate change-oriented and version-oriented SCM models. We have implemented the version set model in an SCM system called ICE, for Incremental Configuration Environment . ICE is based on a featured file system (FFS) , where version sets are accessed as virtual files and directories. Using the well-known C preprocessor (CPP) representation, users can view and edit multiple versions simultaneously, while only the differences between versions are stored. It turns out that all major SCM models can be realized and integrated efficiently on top of the FFS, demonstrating the flexible and unifying nature of the version set model.

Software configuration management: Added value assessment

Software Configuration Management Process, a document that was written as part of ISO 9001 standardization project, is assessed for business value. Stated definition of SCM, its scope, goals, and procedures are compared to products and services that my employer offers to the customers. The purpose is to assure that SCM delivers required services without too much overhead.

Major issues on process software engineering environments

This paper discusses the evolution of “programming in the large” environments and presents major innovations in software product structuring, configuration management, and software process integration. The main evolutions that are highlighted show the efforts toward integration, generalization, and modelization in order to achieve a formal description of the software process. We analyze current tendencies from the point of view of both support for resource management and software process. Focussing on the product we illustrate, using examples, the main efforts required to manage the resources involved in a software process. We show the earliest efforts to produce formal representations, applying data modeling concepts to integrate version and configuration management systems using software engineering databases. Turning to the process side of the question, we highlight recent work developing formal method to describe the process model. We conclude by presenting the Adele project, a process software engineering environment (PSEE) that achieves combined resources management (description of resources and product to be consumed and produced by the execution of activities and software process).