Sheffield Software Configuration Management (SCM) Quiz and Flashcards

Study Notes

Software Configuration Management (SCM)

SCM is a process to systematically manage, organize, and control changes in documents, codes, and other entities during the Software Development Life Cycle.
The primary goal of SCM is to increase productivity with minimal mistakes.

Need for Configuration Management

Multiple people working on software, with multiple versions, branches, and authors, and geographically distributed teams.
Changes in user requirements, policy, budget, and schedule need to be accommodated.
Software should be able to run on various machines and operating systems.
Configuration management helps in developing coordination among stakeholders and controlling costs involved in making changes to a system.

Configuration Management Process

Planning

The Software Configuration Management Plan (SCMP) begins at the early phases of a project.
SCMP defines the types of documents to be managed and a document naming convention.
SCMP defines the person responsible for the entire SCM process and creation of baselines.
SCMP fixes policies for version management and change control.
SCMP defines tools to be used during the SCM process.
SCMP creates a configuration management database for recording configuration information.

Configuration Identification

Products delivered to the customer, designated internal work products, acquired products, tools, and other assets of the project's work environment must be selected and identified.
Other items used in creating and describing these work products, such as source code modules, test cases, or requirements specification, must be identified.
Items are identified by assigning unique identifiers, specifying important characteristics, identifying the owner, specifying relationships, and including details of changes.

Baselines

A baseline is a specification or product that has been formally reviewed and agreed upon, serving as the basis for further development.
A baseline is a formally accepted version of one or more software configuration items, designated and fixed at a specific time.
Baselines can only be changed through formal change control procedures.

Change Control

Change control is a procedural method that ensures quality and consistency when changes are made in the configuration object.
Change requests are submitted to the software configuration manager and checked based on technical merit, possible side effects, and overall impact on other configuration objects.

Configuration Status Accounting

Configuration status accounting tracks each release during the SCM process.
This stage involves tracking what each version has and the changes that have led to this version.

Description

Test your understanding of Software Configuration Management (SCM) concepts, including its definition, goals, and importance in software development. Learn how SCM helps increase productivity and minimize errors.