SCM Team5

Software configuration management

Software configuration management is a crucial activity for any software development effort. The software configuration management activity, however, must not delay or impede the rapid software development schedule necessary to meet the harsh time to market needs of the E-World.
Consequently, effective and time-efficient software configuration must be practiced with all efforts having a justification in functional value. The software configuration management theoretical model that is most commonly referred to in literature does not easily correspond to the functions that must be accomplished through software configuration management activities. A better model that is functional in derivation, and that will be clearly understood and will be easily scaleable is the subject of this paper.
A functional model of software configuration management is organized into the areas of 1) version control, 2) document control, 3) change management, 4) build management, and 5) release control. This typology corresponds directly to the functional tasks that must be performed for a project and also agrees with the typology of the major software configuration management tool vendors.

A better model for software configuration management that is clearly understood and is scaleable is the subject of this paper. 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.