TOPIC I

Software Configuration Management

Based on material from:

Bruegge and Dutoit (chapter 13),
RCS/CVS/Bugzilla Web Sites,
CVS Poket Reference (O’Reilly),
Softwa
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 Dilbert on Change Management

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Change Management and Software Configuration Management 2

 Dealing with Real Software…

• I’m pretty sure I have fixed that bug. Why is it back?

• Oops! The latest version got overwritten by an older
version…
• How can I go back to the previous version, you know,
the one that was stable?
• The design document is out of sync with programs…
• I don’t know if all the changes that were suggested have
been incorporated!
• Which version is the right one? We have so many!
• For this customer, I’d like to use this special component
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instead of the regular one…
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 Outline
Change Management
• Overview in a requirements engineering context
Purpose of Software Configuration Management (SCM)
• Motivation, definitions, activities
Some Terminology
• Configuration Item, Baseline, SCM Directory, Version, Revision
Release.
Software Configuration Management Activities
• Promotion Management, Release Management, Change
Management
Outline of a Software Configuration Management Plans
• Standards (Example: IEEE 828-1990)
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 Introduction to Change Management

If you see change not as an enemy, but as a

welcome friend, you will secure the most
valuable prize of all – the future…

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 Change Management

Raw Information
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 Change Management
Focuses on procedures, processes and standards used to manage
changes to requirements, code, and other artefacts.

Change management policies can describe:

• The process for requesting changes and required information
• The process to be used to analyse the cost, benefits, and impact of
the proposed change (need traceability)
• Who will approve the request, and how
• Software support (tools)

A change request can have a status (state), like requirements

• E.g.: Proposed, rejected, accepted, postpones, incorporated…

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 Sample Requirements Change Request
Process

Changes are Proposed Proposed

proposed changes changes
against are assessed are applied
requirements and approved

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 Software Configuration Management

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 Why Software Configuration Management ?
The problem:
• Multiple people have to work on software that is changing
— Teams can also be distributed
— Avoid multiple copies, avoid clashing updates
• More than one version of the software has to be supported:
— Released systems
— Custom configured systems (product families)
— System(s) under development
• Software must run on different machines and operating
systems
Need for coordination!
Software Configuration Management (SCM)
• Manages evolving software systems
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• Controls the costs involved in making changes to a system
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 What is Software Configuration
Management?
Definition:
• A set of management disciplines within the software
engineering process to develop a baseline.
Description:
• Software Configuration Management encompasses the
disciplines and techniques of initiating, evaluating and
controlling change to software products during and after
the software engineering process.
Some standards:
• IEEE 828: Software Configuration Management Plans
• IEEE 1042: Guide to Software Configuration Management
Softwa • ISO/IEC 12207: Information Technology-Software Life Cycle
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Processes

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 Software Configuration Management as a
Project Function
• SCM is a project function with the goal to make
technical and managerial activities more effective.
• Not a goal of the product in itself
• SCM can be administered in several ways:
• A single software configuration management team for the
whole organization
• A separate configuration management team for each
project
• Software configuration management distributed among
the project members
• Mixture of all of the above
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 Configuration Management Activities
Configuration item identification
• modeling of the system as a set of evolving components
Promotion management
• is the creation of versions for other developers
Release management
• is the creation of versions for the clients and users
Change management
• is the handling, approval and tracking of change requests
Branch management
• is the management of concurrent development
Variant management
• is the management of versions intended to coexist
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…
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 Configuration Management Activities
Build management
• Automatic compilation minimizing the amount of recompilation
and handling multiple variants/combinations of components.
• May include automated documentation generation and
unit/integration testing.
• Example: Tools for continuous integration
— CruiseControl, http://cruisecontrol.sourceforge.net/
— Hudson, http://java.net/projects/hudson/
Automated auditing
• Checks the code against standards (quality metrics, architectural
constraints, policies, etc.) before accepting it.
• Example: SonarGraph Architect and SonarQube.

No fixed rules!
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 Configuration Management Roles

Configuration manager
• Responsible for identifying configuration items. The
configuration manager can also be responsible for defining the
procedures for creating promotions and releases.
Change control board member
• Responsible for approving or rejecting change requests.
Developer
• Creates promotions triggered by change requests or the normal
activities of development. The developer checks in changes and
resolves conflicts.
Auditor
• Responsible for the selection and evaluation of promotions for
Softwa release and for ensuring the consistency and completeness of
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 Terminology

IEEE standard terminology

• Configuration Item
• Baseline
• SCM Directories
• Version
• Revision
• Release

Different configuration management systems may use

different terms.
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• Example: the CVS configuration management system
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 Terminology: Configuration Item

“An aggregation of hardware, software, or both, that is

designated for configuration management and treated as a
single entity in the configuration management process.”

Software configuration items are not only program code segments

but all type of documents according to development, e.g.:
• all type of code files
• drivers for tests
• analysis or design documents
• user or developer manuals
• system configurations (e.g., version of compiler used)

In some systems, not only software but also hardware

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configuration items (CPUs, bus speed frequencies) exist!
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 Tasks for the Configuration Managers
SCMP following the IEEE 828-1990 standard

Define
Defineconfiguration
configurationitems
items

Define
Definepromote/release
promote/releasepolicies
policies

Define
Defineactivities
activitiesand
andresponsibilities
responsibilities

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Setup
upconfiguration
configurationmanagement
managementsystem
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 Tasks for the Configuration Managers

Define
Defineconfiguration
configurationitems
items

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 Finding Configuration Items
• Large projects typically produce thousands of entities (files,
documents, data ...) which must be uniquely identified.
• Any entity managed in the software engineering process can
potentially be brought under configuration management control
• But not every entity needs to be under configuration management
control all the time.
• Two Issues:
• What: Selection of Configuration Items (CIs)
— What should be under configuration control?
• When:
— When do you start to place entities under configuration
control?
• Conflict for the Project Manager:
• Starting with CIs too early introduces too much overhead
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• Starting with CIs too late introduces chaos
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 Finding Configuration Items (continued)

Some items must be maintained for the lifetime of the software.

• This includes also the maintenance phase, when the software is
no longer developed but still in use (perhaps by industrial
customers who are expecting proper support for many years).

An entity naming scheme should be defined so that related

documents have related names.
• Having metadata attached to CIs can also help.

Selecting the right configuration items is a skill that takes practice

• Use techniques similar to object modeling for finding CIs!
—Find the CIs
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—Find relationships between CIs
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 Which of these Entities should be
Configuration Items?
• Problem Statement • Source code
• Software Project •
Management Plan (SPMP) API Specification
• Requirements Analysis • Input data and databases
Document (RAD) • Test plan
• System Design Document •
(SDD) Test data
• Project Agreement • Support software (part of the
• Object Design Document product)
(ODD) • Support software (not part
• Dynamic Model of the product)
• Object model • User manual
• Functional Model
• Unit tests • Administrator manual

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• Integration test strategy
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 Possible Selection of Configuration Items
• Problem Statement  Source code
• Software Project • API Specification
Management Plan (SPMP)
 Requirements Analysis  Input data and databases
Document (RAD) • Test plan
 System Design Document  Test data
(SDD)
• Project Agreement  Support software (part of the
 Object Design Document product)
(ODD) • Support software (not part
• Dynamic Model of the product)
• Object model • User manual
• Functional Model
 Unit tests • Administrator manual
• Integration test strategy
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 Configuration Item Tree (Example)
“The project” CI

Models Subsystems Documents

Object Model Dynamic Model RAD ODD ....

Database User Interface ....

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 Tasks for the Configuration Managers

Define
Defineconfiguration
configurationitems
items

Define
Definepromote/release
promote/releasepolicies
policies

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 Terminology: Version

“The initial release or re-release of a

configuration item associated with a complete
compilation or recompilation of the item. Different
versions have different functionality.”

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 Terminology: Baseline
“A specification or product that has been formally
reviewed and agreed to by responsible management, that
thereafter serves as the basis for further development,
and can be changed only through formal change control
procedures.”

Examples:
• Baseline A: All the API have completely been defined; the
bodies of the methods are empty.
• Baseline B: All data access methods are implemented and
tested.
Softwa • Baseline C: The GUI is implemented.
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 More on Baselines
As systems are developed, a series of baselines is developed, usually
after a review (analysis review, design review, code review, system
testing, client acceptance, ...)
• Developmental baseline (RAD, SDD, Integration Test, ...)
— Goal: Coordinate engineering activities.
• Functional baseline (first prototype, alpha release, beta release)
— Goal: Get first customer experiences with functional system.
• Product baseline (product)
— Goal: Coordinate sales and customer support.
Many naming scheme for baselines exist (1.0, 6.01a, ...)

A 3 digit scheme is quite common:

7.5.5

Softwa Release Version Revision

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 Change Management
Change management is the handling of change requests
• A change request leads to the creation of a new version/release
General change process
• The change is requested (this can be done by anyone including
users and developers)
• The change request is assessed against project goals
• Following the assessment, the change is accepted, postponed (to
a later phase), or rejected
• If it is accepted, the change is assigned to a developer and
implemented
• The implemented change is audited.
The complexity of the change management process varies with the project.
Small projects can perform change requests informally and fast while
complex projects require detailed change request forms and the official
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 Controlling Changes

Two ways of controlling change:

• Promotion: The internal development state of a software is changed.
• Release: A changed software system is made visible outside the
development organization.

Promote Release
Policy Policy
User
Programmer Master Software Repository
Promotion Directory Release

Approaches for controlling change (Change Policy)

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 Terminology: SCM Directories
Programmer’s Directory (IEEE: Dynamic Library)
• Library for holding newly created or modified software entities.
• The programmer’s workspace is controlled by the programmer
only.
Master Directory (IEEE: Controlled Library)
• Manages the current baseline(s) and for controlling changes
made to them.
• Central directory of all promotions.
• Entry is controlled, usually after verification.
• Changes must be authorized.
Software Repository (IEEE: Static Library)
• Archive for the various baselines released for general use.
• Copies of these baselines may be made available to requesting
organizations.
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 Change Policies

Whenever a promotion or a release is performed, one

or more policies apply. The purpose of change policies
is to guarantee that each version, revision or release
conforms to commonly accepted criteria.

Examples for change policies:

“No developer is allowed to promote source code
which cannot be compiled without errors and
warnings.”

“No baseline can be released without having been

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 Summary: Version vs. Revision vs. Release
Version
• An initial release or re-release of a configuration item
associated with a complete compilation or
recompilation of the item. Different versions have
different functionality.

Revision
• Change to a version that corrects only errors in the
design/code, but does not affect the documented
functionality.

Release
Softwa • The formal distribution of an approved version.
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 Tasks for the Configuration Managers

Define
Defineconfiguration
configurationitems
items

Define
Definepromote/release
promote/releasepolicies
policies

Define
Defineactivities
activitiesand
andresponsibilities
responsibilities

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 Software Configuration Management
Planning
Software configuration management planning starts during
the early phases of a project.

The outcome of the SCM planning phase is the Software

Configuration Management Plan (SCMP) which might
be extended or revised during the rest of the project.

The SCMP can either follow a public standard like the

IEEE 828, or an internal (e.g., company specific) standard.

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 The Software Configuration Management
Plan
• Defines the types of documents to be managed and a
document naming scheme.
• Defines who takes responsibility for the CM procedures
and creation of baselines.
• Defines policies for change control and version
management.
• Describes the tools which should be used to assist the
CM process and any limitations on their use.
• Defines the configuration management database used
to record configuration information.
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 Outline of a Software Configuration
Management Plan (SCMP, IEEE 828-1990)
1. Introduction 4. Schedule (WHEN?)
• Describes purpose, scope of • Establishes the sequence and
application, key terms and coordination of the SCM
references activities with project
2. Management (WHO?) milestones.
• Identifies the responsibilities 5. Resources (HOW?)
and authorities for • Identifies tools and
accomplishing the planned techniques required for the
configuration management implementation of the SCMP
activities 6. Maintenance
3. Activities (WHAT?) • Identifies activities and
• Identifies the activities to be responsibilities on how the
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 Tailoring the SCMP

The IEEE standard allows quite a bit of flexibility for

preparing an SCMP.

To conform to the rest of the project, the SCMP may be

• tailored upward:
— To add information
— To use a specific format
• tailored downward
— Some SCMP components might not apply to a
particular project.
— Instead of omitting the associated section, mention
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its applicability.
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 Tasks for the Configuration Managers

Define
Defineconfiguration
configurationitems
items

Define
Definepromote/release
promote/releasepolicies
policies

Define
Defineactivities
activitiesand
andresponsibilities
responsibilities

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Setup
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 SCM Tools
Software configuration management is normally supported by tools with
different functionalities, e.g.:
• RCS
— Very old but still in use; only version control system
• CVS (Concurrent Version Control)
— Based on RCS, allows concurrent working without locking
— http://ximbiot.com/cvs/
• Subversion/SVN
— A replacement for the aging CVS (http://svnbook.red-bean.com/)
— Eclipse client: http://subclipse.tigris.org/
• Git
— A distributed version control system
— http://git-scm.com/
• Perforce
— Repository server; keeps track of developer’s activities
— http://www.perforce.com
• IBM/Rational ClearCase, IBM/Telelogic Synergy, MS SourceSafe
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Comparison_of_open_source_configuration_management_software
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 Tasks for the Configuration Managers
SCMP following the IEEE 828-1990 standard

Define
Defineconfiguration
configurationitems
items

Define
Definepromote/release
promote/releasepolicies
policies

Define
Defineactivities
activitiesand
andresponsibilities
responsibilities

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Setup
upconfiguration
configurationmanagement
managementsystem
system
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 Summary
• Software Configuration Management
• Important part of project management to manage evolving
software systems and coordinate changes to them.
• Software Configuration Management consists of several
activities:
• Promotion and Release management (covered here)
• Branch, Variant and Change Management (see [Bruegge-
Dutoit])
• Public standard for SCM plans: IEEE 828.
• The standard can be tailored to a particular project:
• Large projects need detailed plans to be successful
• Small projects should not be burdened with the bureaucracy of
detailed SCM plans
• SCM should be supported by tools. These range from
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• Simple version storage tools
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checks and support for the creation of SCM documents.
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