Customer Reviews

Software Release Methodology

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Except for a few overinflated claims of originality, this is a fine book chock full of sound, proven strategies for configuration and release management of software. The author gives detailed coverage of strategies and guidelines for: source-code control; software builds; defect tracking; system integration; release classification and numbering; release distribution and services; and release management.

In each case the author explains both the "what" and the "why" behind the strategies, giving practical advice for their deployment in the real world, and practical experience from having already done so.

The only things that bothered me about the book were that (1) the author claims to be introducing a new field "software release methodology"; (2) the back of the book claims most of strategies in the book have never been published before; and (3) there is no bibliography or references section of any kind.

As someone who has been a software configuration management professional for the past twelve years, it is my understanding that release classification, numbering, distribution, and management have all long been considered part of the release engineering process. The other areas of source-control, builds, integration, and defect-tracking & change-control have long been considered part of software configuration management (SCM).

I dont understand why both CM and SCM fail to appear anywhere in the book (especially the index), since the first 7 chapters are precisely the stuff of SCM. I do know that release engineering is often considered part of SCM as well, but I agree with the author that it has been underemphasized for too long. It's good the author remedies this, but failing to even mention SCM, and claiming he's introducing a brand new field stretches reality a tad too far.

Similarly, claiming all or even most of these techniques have never been published before is also too grandiose a statement. I have seen most of them published before, in various books and journals and conference proceedings. The author has done a *great* service by collecting them together in one volume and making them more accessible to the practitioner in the trenches, but he's not the first to publish them (and he doesnt have to be in order for the book to be of value).

I can understand the author making a case that he's creating a "new field" by combining SCM and Release Engineering in a certain way (though I still think its a stretch); I can even understand claiming to be the first to publish these strategies in a single accessible volume (but not the first to publish them ever); What I cant understand is why there is not one single citation or bibliographic reference anywhere in the entire book.

To me, the lack of any bibliographic references seems inexcuseable, and combined with the aforementioned mistatements wreaks a bit too much of hubris/arrogance for my taste. By failing to provide published (as well as online) references, the author gives the reader no way to verify the book's claims of original work, nor to seek out further background material, nor demonstrate that the author performed the requisite due dilligence to comb the literature before making such claims.

It was unnecessary to claim originality for this work to be of value. A modicum of modesty should have been called for here. These three failings which amount to only a few pages of text leave a very sour taste on what is otherwise a very fine, substantive and insightful contribution in the other 250 or so pages of the book.

If not for those ever so brief yet overinflated claims, I would have given the book five stars instead of four. It really is a *must* *read* for anyone who is less than expert in the fields of software configuration management and release engineering. Just keep in mind that the material is not quite as inventive or innovative as those few pages would lead you to believe the rest of the book to be. Fortunately, this in no way detracts from the usefulness of the proven practices described therein.

As the author has observed these fields binding together so have I. I have searched on numerous occasions for texts that provide a unified perspective on these fields. Now I finally have it. The book does a great job of stepping through the mine-fields of SCM, defect tracking, and project management which have collectively been nothing but a disaster in my experience in about 6 software companies. While the book does not go into a low level of detail on the SCM models, as I would like I believe that it does a good overall job of the fields. Hope we can see more from this author in the future.

SCM and Software Release Management encompass a broad spectrum of activities and practices that ultimately determine the quality of the product and the control of the product release. Software configuration management (SCM) and Release Management may sound the same; `Software Release Management' by Michael E Bays lucidly provides an insight into what are the nuances.
Software configuration management is a key process area, which holds a significant importance in determining the control and success of the delivery process. Right from source code control, build management, defect tracking, change management, to multi-platform product releases, determines to a great extend the release process management methodologies that gives a structured approach to software development, that ensures that the efforts of the development team doesn't go wasted in providing the right versions and a more complete solution to the end-users.
The significance of software release management comes more to light in large projects involving large team, multi-site and multi-platform development. Full life-cycle projects which usually reflects wide gaps and variations between what is initially defined and what is finally delivered, demanding stringent and documented processes which control the requirement changes, defect fixes and change control mechanisms to the minutest possible detail. Michael E Bays captures in the most simplistic coverage, how this can be executed by proper release mgt methodologies. This calls for an efficient defect tracking and configuration mgt systems, to determine whether 'what we believe, is what we achieved'.

While the information packed into this remarkable book seems like common sense, making it happen is not easy and deeply understanding the many nuances and practical examples and advice is anything but trivial.

The author has provided a clear and methodical approach to software configuration management, release management and metrics. If you are familiar with goal-question-metric planning you will see the elegance and value of this book. Although the author does not use GQM explicitly, the processes and integration of those processes are fully supported within the GQM framework.

This book is complete and thorough and goes well beyond commonsense. As an example, the chapter on release and version numbering gives one of the best approaches I've encountered, and the end-to-end processes are anything but basic. They are a blueprint for getting to CMM level 3 and about in a number of KPAs, including project management and quality assurance. This book only appears simple to simple-minded people. Experienced professionals who understand the difference between theory and the challenges of real life will see this book as one of the most valuable resources they can own. Additionally, you would have to buy a pile of books, then soft through them to get the same comprehensive approach that the author progives between two covers. If you are a professional who is concerned about process and effective SCM and release management this book is essential.

This book goes far beyond traditional books on SCM by providing a methodical, complete view of the capture, versioning, build and release process.

While the author focuses on what must be done to safely release a software product into production, he also provides the necessary steps to assure product quality and integrity. Key milestones covered include defect tracking, change control and release tracking. These three areas, to the best of my knowledge, are not covered in any real depth in most SCM books, and are welcome additions to the applications delivery body of knowledge.

I like the way the material is presented. As a consultant who has developed processes and procedures in support of release management I can attest to the fact that describing the capture, versioning, build and release process is not an easy task. The author has done a remarkable job of separating out the pieces, focusing on each piece as it relates to the whole, and crafting a big picture that you can drill down into for details. Another thing I like about the book is the standalone nature of each chapter - you can safely skip to whichever chapter interests you the most without getting lost.

Who should read this book? The following come immediately to mind: Build and release managers, software configuration managers, developers who need to understand the processes for which they are responsible for complying, production services personnel who receive applications into production after the release process is complete (actually, this group participates in the release process), SQA professionals and project managers who also need to be aware of the release management process.

In particular, the SQA group will find the chapter on defect tracking extremely useful for developing a strategy for metrics capture, analysis and action. Project managers will find the entire capture, versioning, build and release cycle description in the book useful for adding appropriate tasks and deliverables to project plans. If you follow the author's cycle you will make sure that every milestone, task and deliverable in a development project is accounted for. It is also invaluable to production services staff who will be receiving applications into production

This book easily earns five stars for the following reasons: (1) it is the only book of its kind, (2) it is complete and covers every imaginable detail, and (3) it addresses topics that are of interest to a wide audience.

I you know nothing about software development, you will not understand what he is trying to say. (You will be lost even in the beginning, chapter 2 "Nontechnical Primer on Files, Tools, and Source".) If you are already a seasoned software developer (or release/build engineer), this book will be of very little use. (chapter 3 "Source Code Control", chapter 4 "Builds", chapter 5 "Defect Tracking", etc. are nothing really new to you.)

I give this book 3 stars because
1. it's very hard to find a practical book on SCM and release management
2. Michael Bays has included somewhat useful real-life methods used in Cisco
3. If you know a little and want to know a little more, this book is OK

Having said that, after reading the book, you will still not be able to develop an entire CM, build, and release infrastructure for medium to large software development. One complete infrastructure sample each for small, medium and large software development environment would gain this book 0.5 to 1.5 more stars.

Concentrates on issues related to the delivery of a product such as builds, numbering, distribution, and release planning. Addresses topics associated with a high quality delivery such as source code control, issue tracking, modularized development, and change control. Use this reference to compare your release process with the conventional approach. Excellent discussion of branch management and branching strategies for version control systems on pages 23-32. Explains the usage of a current product tag and a system integrator tag on pages 100-103.

This book integrates SCM and application delivery/service delivery promotion and release processes in a single book. The highlights include: (1) clear descriptions of software configuration management processes and strategies, (2) exit criteria for release of software into production, and the macro view of all of the relationships between and among development, QA and production.

Chapters I particularly like include 5, Defect tracking, which can be used as the basis for an integrated issue management system specification; 6 and 7, modularized system integration and change control, which ties together the processes necessary to interface development and production - two different aspects of IT that seem to be on different planets, and 8, release classifications and numbering, which provides a sane and logical numbering strategy.

As a 25+ year veteran IT professional I learned much from this book, and found the material equally suitable for IT professionals across the full spectrum of skill and experience levels. This is a one of a kind book that bridges development and production, and will give practitioners in both organizations a common vision and insights into the challenges and requirements that are unique to each group.

Excellent details for SCM/CM strategies. Starts off with a couple of chapters for beginner's to SCM. Then covers every aspect of Release Process. The chapter on integration process was detailed like no other SCM book that I've seen. The book explains concepts of software development from the perspective of a Release Engineer -- from source control branching/merging strategies, to build control, aspects of development cycle, then to product release. One of the better CM SCM books out there. None of the others SCM books look at it from a Release Engineer's perspective like this one. If you are already passed the basics of SCM then this book will complete your training.

I went out and got a copy of this book because (1) relatively good initial reviews, (2) the items in the Table of Contents that made sense. Although the content does not suck as badly as what the other reviews wrote, it wasn't "satisfying". Bays placed in sections of text assuming the readers do not an inkling of a tech background, and no idea whatsover on the psychology of a software shop. It's nice to see in print all the psychological/organization behavior assessments you've made through years of painful lessons, but I needed a book that will tell me practically what to do (or at least a story about what worked for him and what he thinks one should do in different set ups). No, instead he launches into a textbook style discussion of a lot of basics with the assumption that the reader have never gotten been down in the trenches as a /with the developers before.

It's not an entirely bad approach. Like I said in the title of this review, this book is great for "Pointy Haired Managers" (ala Dilbert) -- managers of tech organizations who have never been in the trenches himself. No sarcasm intended. It's also a good book to use when you have to educate/convince "Pointy Haired Managers" on how things "should be" done (because it sounds really illogical from his simplified point of view). No sarcasm intended here too. (Those who have worked with non-technical bosses will agree with me the hardest part is educating a boss with a slight tendency to micromanage -- because he couldn't grasp the situation.)

Actually this book can be a great text book for an IT Technical Management course for non technical managers. It does have everything you need to know about the last stages of software development (THE RELEASE).