Configuration management

©Ian Sommerville 2006

Software Engineering, 8th edition. Chapter 29

Slide 1

Software Configuration Management

 Art of coordinating SW development to minimize confusion  Software quality assurance (umbrella) activity  Set of tracking and control activities beginning to end ©Ian Sommerville 2006

Software Engineering, 8th edition. Chapter 29

Slide 2

Why Software Configuration Mgmt?

  Change increases confusion CM necessary when a software system has  Many developers  Many versions  CM aims to control the costs and effort involved in making changes to a system ©Ian Sommerville 2006

Software Engineering, 8th edition. Chapter 29

Slide 3

Software Configuration Mgmt Activities

 Identifying change  Controlling change  Ensuring change is properly implemented  Reporting changes to interested others ©Ian Sommerville 2006

Software Engineering, 8th edition. Chapter 29

Slide 4

Identifying Changes: Origin of changes

     New business or market conditions New customer needs Reorganization or business growth/downsizing Budgetary or scheduling constraints Most changes are justified ©Ian Sommerville 2006

Software Engineering, 8th edition. Chapter 29

Slide 5

Baselines

   Concept that helps us control change without seriously impeding justifiable change Before baseline: changes made quickly and informally Once baseline established: changes can be made, but a formal procedure must be applied to evaluate and verify each change ©Ian Sommerville 2006

Software Engineering, 8th edition. Chapter 29

Slide 6

Identifying Changes

 SW Configuration Items (SCIs) are identified • Document, suite of test cases, program component, software tools • Identify relationships among SCIs (part of, interrelated, dependencies) ©Ian Sommerville 2006

Software Engineering, 8th edition. Chapter 29

Slide 7

Controlling Changes

 Version control • • manage many existing versions of SCIs Use evolution graph or object pool representation ©Ian Sommerville 2006

Software Engineering, 8th edition. Chapter 29

Slide 8

Controlling Changes

• • • • • • • • • • ©Ian Sommerville 2006 before and after release Authority (access control and synchronization control) Change requests submitted and evaluated Change report (results of evaluation) Change order (for approved change) Check out SCI, make change, apply SQA activities Check in SCI to database and version control mechanisms Before baseline, informal change control Once baseline est. project level change control After release, formal change control

Software Engineering, 8th edition. Chapter 29

Slide 9

Ensure change properly implemented

 aka Configuration auditing • • Formal technical reviews Software configuration audit • • • • Change made? Additional modifications?

Formal technical review conducted?

Software process followed/standards applied?

Change “highlighted” in SCI? change date/author noted?

• • SCM procedures followed?

Related SCIs updated?

©Ian Sommerville 2006

Software Engineering, 8th edition. Chapter 29

Slide 10

Reporting Changes

• • • • What happened?

Who did it?

When?

What else will be affected?

• Keep management and practitioners appraised of important changes.

©Ian Sommerville 2006

Software Engineering, 8th edition. Chapter 29

Slide 11