Customer Reviews

Configuration Management for Software (Vnr Computer Library)

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Of all of the SCM books on my shelf this one is the best. The writing is engaging because the authors narrate their own experiences while imparting a copious amount of technical information and guidance on SCM. They use wry humor and case studies to reinforce their detailed description of the technical underpinnings and processes required to implement and manage SCM.

The first five chapters lay the foundation. Chapter 1 is introductory and provides the basic concepts. Chapter 2 covers the major SCM activities in detail, and addresses both technical and managerial considerations. Role and responsibilities of the software configuration manager is the topic of chapter 3. Forms, records and other essential SCM tools are covered in depth in chapter 4, with chapter 5 giving a wide survey of existing standards and procedures. The standards covered are primarily from the Federal Government and IEEE; however, the case studies in this chapter also include ISO 9000.

Chapters 6 through 8 cover how to implement and manage SCM. The chapter I liked most in this group is 8, Adapting to the Organization. The information will show you how to tailor SCM to fit within your particular organization and how to integrate it into your development processes. Chapter 9 is an extended case study of how SCM was used in the Space Station Freedom project. This chapter is a gold mine of best practices, as well as a dissertation of the challenges of applying SCM to a complex project. Chapter 10 reinforces chapters 8 and 9 by providing a conceptual framework for SCM, which contains some of the best case studies in the book.

Although this book is out of print there is a way to purchase used books. This one pops up from time to time as available - the next time it does I strongly recommend that you grab a copy if you are serious about SCM. This is a 5 star book and the best one among the dozen I own on the subject.