Four basic processes within software configuration management

Configuration management is a process to identify the functional and physical characteristics of a software, firmware, or hardware item during its life cycle. Status reports shall include the number of changes for a project, latest software item versions, release identifiers, the number of releases, and comparisons of releases. We have trained longer and trained more cm professionals than any other organization. Explanation of four components of a configuration management system are configuration identification, configuration control, configuration status accounting, and configuration verification and audit. Software process management deals with getting and maintaining control over processes and their evolution. The four components of a configuration management system. Software configuration management in software engineering. The increasing popularity of service oriented architecture soa and distributed systems makes it even harder for organizations to maintain. The purpose of configuration management is to identify, track and protect the projects deliverables or products from unauthorized change.

The four basic process activities of specification, development, validation and evolution are organised differently in different development processes. This may mean little to a programmer, but the configuration management cm teams decisions needs to take into account. The software configuration management process traces changes and verifies. Generally in this guidebook we will use the term csci, since we are talking about software systems and software configuration management. Configuration management has many interactions with other development and support processes. This module introduces software configuration management scm as a key element of software engineering, and a key component of software development and. The scm practices include vision controls in the establishment. Becoming acquainted with existing software process models is not enough, though. Cmtf is the largest configuration management training company in the world. In software engineering, a software development process is the process of dividing software development work into distinct phases to improve design, product management, and project management.

One of the main concepts in cfengine is that changes in computer configuration should. A software process framework for the sei capability. A ci that is purely software is often called a computer software configuration item, or csci. The era is a largescale, comprehensive system designed to provide preservation of, and access to, electronic federal. As the complexity of information systems increases, the complexity of the processes used to create these. It contains general questions and answers and a book list. The cm process is widely used by military engineering organizations to manage changes throughout the system lifecycle of complex systems, such.

Data refers to the information required to perform the process. The configuration management process seeks to identify and track individual configuration items cis, documenting functional capabilities, and interdependencies. Agile software development centers on four values identified in the agile alliances manifesto. Software configuration management build and release. An introduction to configuration management digitalocean. The configuration management training foundation cmtf was founded by mr. This answer delves into the change management aspect of cm that. All the activity areas in configuration management share metadata for. Trying to do so without the aid of a project management software is asking for trouble. The model is intended to help software organizations improve the maturity of their software processes in terms of an evolutionary path from ad hoc, chaotic. As a broader subject, configuration management cm refers to the process of systematically handling changes to a system in a way that it maintains integrity over time.

The four key elements in effective systems management. Epas configuration management policy, june 10, 20 6. The key difference to configuration management for agile projects is in the identification step. In software engineering, software configuration management scm or sw cm is the task of tracking and controlling changes in the software, part of the larger crossdisciplinary field of configuration management. It is also known as a software development life cycle sdlc. Configuration management in the field of software engineering, configuration management cm is becoming more and more vital to a projects success as systems become more complex and diverse. In a previous article configuration management system a quick refresher we got an overview of the configuration management system. All four may be satisfied by an scm tool, a tool set, or a combination of automated and manual procedures. The organizational elements responsible for the software engineering supporting processes may be structured in. Ensure that the product is developed within a certain time frame. Rather than introducing a new set of processes, it takes a different perspective on the existing processes. Configuration manager owns the configuration management process, and is accountable for drafting the plan as well.

Software configuration management project management 101. In this short article, well look at the four main activities of a. What is configuration management and how does it work. Procedure in accordance with epas configuration management policy, program offices and regions, in collaboration with the office of mission support, office of information technology operations, must document, implement, and maintain configuration management processes. Software configuration management is a process independent of the development process largely because most development models cannot accommodate change at any time during development. This is part 1 of the frequently asked questions faq list for the software configuration management comp. The software configuration management scm process is looked upon by practitioners as the best solution to handling changes in. What is configuration management in project management. A piece of software or work product which is subject to change is a configuration item change request. It is a formal report that contains the request for modification in a configuration item. Department of energy quality managers software quality. Configuration management frequently asked questions. How you can benefit from software configuration management.

Software configuration management can be functionally broken out into the areas of 1 version control, 2 document control, 3 change management 4 build management, and 5 release control. At the time this document was prepared, the working group had the following members. Introduction for software configuration management training. Configuration management is applied to ensure operational efficiency and control cost and may be applied to achieve uniformity. Oct 16, 2012 the manufacturers by realising the basic rules for version management outlined below. It is abbreviated as the scm process in software engineering. Metadata is a database concept that means data about the data stored in the database. Software configuration management an overview sciencedirect.

The basic activities within the scope of configuration management are. The configuration management process is a process of applying administrative and technical procedures throughout the software life cycle to. Configuration management is the practice of tracking operational items and their attributes. Configuration management cm is a systems engineering process for establishing and maintaining consistency of a products performance, functional, and physical attributes with its requirements, design, and operational information throughout its life. The primary reasons for implementing software configuration management system are. The list of the most popular software configuration management tools top scm tools in 2020 in software engineering software configuration management is the task of tracking and controlling changes in the software part of the larger disciplinary field of configuration management. Software configuration management is the process of identifying and defining configuration items in a system, recording and reporting the configuration items and request for change, and verifying the completeness and correctness of configuration items. Jul 29, 2017 the four components of a configuration management system. A guide to understanding the foundations of software configuration management scm and applying this knowledge to ibmrationals clearcase. Software configuration management software configuration management scm is the process of identifying and defining the scis in the system and coordinating the changes made to these items a formal definition.

Systems management is the combination of four key elements. The major activities covered are software configuration identification, software configuration control, software configuration status. What is software configuration management v definition. Computer programs both source level and executable work products that describe the computer programs targeted at both technical and end users data contained within. Practices are grouped into four categories that govern the management process. The key difference is that itil v4 is less prescriptive. The four procedures typically found in a reliable software configuration. Configuration management process overview micro focus.

Jul 16, 1997 guidebooks focus on specific activities that fall within the software assurance discipline, and provide more detailed information for the manager andor practitioner. Pdf basic activities of software configuration management. The goal of having an scm process is to successfully deliver a software product to a customer or market in concordance with your business plan. Ibmrationals clearcase unk product launch at ibmrational software development conference in. It is a fundamental operations technique that captures valuable information for processes such as incident management, problem management, change management, maintenance, safety and risk management. The methodology may include the predefinition of specific deliverables and artifacts that are created and completed by a project. The two processes are so interrelated that project configuration management has been said to be kind of like change management on. Software version management basic rules for legal metrology. Template for software configuration management documents. Sponsor improvement initiatives and drive the requirements for the cmdb. Manage changes to the software using a change management system and configuration management procedures and tools. Software configuration management principles and best practices.

Figure 11 illustrates the production and usage activity areas via their respective libraries. An introduction to configuration management with ansible. The number of ci in any software project and the grouping of artifacts that make up a ci is a decision made of the project. Pdf scm is a critical element of software engineering feiler 1990.

Software configuration management handbook, second edition. This is the software configuration management guidebook which describes software configuration management in a way that is compatible with practices in industry and at nasa centers. Learn how software configuration management scm can benefit your organization in. As a broader subject, configuration management refers to the process of handling changes to a system in a way that assures integrity over time, typically involving the use of tools and processes to facilitate automation and observability. Unk a soup to nuts guide full of practical advice for practitioners looking to manage project change with the most popular scm tool in the market. The list of the most popular software configuration management tools top scm tools in 2020 in software engineering software configuration management is the task of tracking and controlling changes in the software part of the larger disciplinary field of configuration management the scm practices include vision controls in the establishment of baselines. Traditional software configuration management process. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools working software over. The purpose of configuration and change management is to establish processes to ensure the integrity of assets, using change control and change control audits crr.

Report on configuration management activities number of cis populated, number of. Software configuration management can be functionally broken out into the areas of 1 version control, 2 document control, 3 change management 4 build management, and 5. Basic rules for version management in the following, we will describe four basic rules which are of special importance for version management in the field of legal metrology. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools working software over comprehensive documentation. Tools for ensuring operational performance to ensure operational performance throughout the life cycle of a unit of explosivesdetection equipment, the faa should implement a lifecycle management plan that defines and documents configuration management, performanceverification, and qualityassurance procedures for all stakeholders. Software configuration management handbook, second edition maps the integration of scm activities within the software development life cycle. The configuration management process ensures that selected components of a. Basic activities of software configuration management. Scm is the process of identifying and defining the items in the system, controlling the.

Scm practices include revision control and the establishment of baselines. Just like planning for development, plans for improving product quality and reducing development time must be followed to reap the benefits. Configuration and change management presents an overview of the configuration and change management process and establishes some basic terminology. Software configuration management scm is the discipline for systematically controlling the changes that take place during development. Even though this process was not originated in the it industry, the term is broadly used to refer to server configuration management. The introduction of configuration management is a project in and of itself, requiring a project plan within the context of the organization. A software development process, also known as a software development lifecycle, is a structure imposed on the development of a software product. Each program, its related documentation and data can be called as a configurable item ci. Developers and others involved in the project can use scm to keep track of artifacts, including source code, documentation, problems, changes requested, and changes made. This is the software configuration management guidebook which describes software. This document provides a set of templates for implementing a software configuration management process the meets the requirements of isoiec standards 12207. A practical guide 042500 ii acknowledgements this document was prepared for the department of energy doe by a working group of the doe quality managers software quality assurance subcommittee sqas. It explores the latest advances in scm tools, scm organization, operation and maintenance of the scm system, and the level of automation needed.

Mar 14, 2018 managing the processes and phases of a project is hard enough. The mission of the spd project is to make the use of. Identification, control, audit, and status accounting are the four basic requirements for a software configuration management system. The end product is made up of a bunch of ci s the status of the ci s at a given point in time. Dec 19, 2016 configuration management process configuration manager 1. Configuration management is also used in software development and deployment, where it is called software or unified configuration management scm or ucm.

Administrators, technicians, and software developers can use. Part four discusses issues integral to the conduct of a systems engineering effort, from planning to consideration of broader management issues. These requirements must be satisfied regardless of the amount of automation within the scm process. Software configuration management linkedin slideshare. It is within this context that many of the software configuration control tasks are conducted. Systems engineering fundamentals mit opencourseware. Own, maintain and continuously improve the configuration management process.

Cmtf also has the longest running cm certification program. Software configuration management csc532 chandra shekar kandi. A better model for software configuration management that is clearly understood and is scaleable is the subject of this paper. The capability maturity model defined by the software engineering institute sei for software describes the principles and practices to achieve a certain level of software process maturity. This article is the third in the series on configuration management. The four basic requirements for an scm system how you. All the activity areas in configuration management share metadata for items placed under configuration management. Configuration management cm is a governance and systems engineering process for ensuring consistency among physical and logical assets in an operational environment. Identification, control, audit, and status accounting are the four basic. The output of a software process is information that may be divided into three broad categories. Configuration management procedures the prepared procedures are applicable to all hardware, software, and firmware components of systems or subsystems developed and acquired by the eed contract andor delegated to configuration management control by the operational sitelevel organizations. Configuration management process configuration manager 1. Create a configuration and change management plandetails the process of creating a configuration and. Software configuration management strategies and ibm.

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