Foundation for Configuration and Release Management

Analysing business factors driving CM

• Determining causes of failure in project scenarios
• Positioning strong internal CM controls as the path to success
• Controlling quality in the development life cycle
• Releasing stable configurations

Demystifying core CM processes

• Configuration Identification
• Configuration Control
• Configuration Status Accounting
• Configuration Audits
• Build and Release Management

Identifying Configuration Items (CIs)

Deriving candidate items for the project

• Extracting CIs from the product and the project
• Differentiating between controlled and uncontrolled items

Categorising and naming items

• Devising an effective naming scheme
• Classifying items based on the nature of the project
• Document CIs
• Code CIs
• Data CIs
• Hardware CIs

Baselining CIs

• Defining baselining procedures
• Validating a product against its design
• Checking CIs into a configuration management repository

Controlling Change

Determining roles and responsibilities

• Distinguishing between levels of control authority
• The who, what, when and why of change
• Change Authorities, CCBs and ICWGs

Creating a change control process

• Documenting the change request life cycle
• Establishing and communicating change control procedures
• Facilitating change from requirements through maintenance

Managing problems and emergency fixes

• Specifying the desired responses to problems
• Ensuring the postfix paper trail is completed
• Providing input for root cause analysis
• Identifying the relationships between design, changes and the as-built product

Communicating Configuration Status

Planning the reporting requirements

• Identifying types and frequency of reports required in each phase of CM
• Creating a history documenting need, fix and effect
• Determining the communication needs of stakeholders
• Improving report processing by using a configuration database

Matching CM features to development life cycle needs

• Requirements
• Version control
• Build and release
• Change management
• Traceability
• Test
• Important life cycle interactions with the CM library
• Choosing an appropriate amount of CM control

Auditing in Preparation for a Release

Designing Configuration Audits

• Distinguishing types of audits and reviews
• Clarifying who does what in an audit
• Timing audits throughout the product's life cycle
• Reviewing audit checklists and verifying audit results

Assessing release readiness

• Ensuring the documentation matches the product
• Verifying product configuration with system verification reviews, FCAs and PCAs

Building and Releasing the Product

Ensuring consistency through the build process

• Establishing independence by separating development from the build
• Managing unique code lines and versions
• Knowing why and when to branch
• Knowing why and when to use variants
• The golden rule of merging

Specifying the product release process

• Planning your release strategy
• Resources needed for a smooth release process
• Matching process steps to release types
• Positioning Quality Gates in the development life cycle

Assigning release tasks

• Timing the release appropriately
• Preparing release notes based on change items
• Authorising and releasing the build