Configuration Management Principles and Practice

Configuration management (CM) is frequently misunderstood. This discipline is growing in popularity because it allows project participants to better identify potential problems, manage change, and efficiently track the progress of a software project. CM is not easy, but at the same time, it need not be difficult. This book gives the reader a practical understanding of the complexity and comprehensiveness of the discipline. Many current CM practitioners rely too heavily on commercial CM tools, and fail to understand the concept as a whole. With the deeper knowledge of CM principles taught in this book, readers will be better able to manage and deliver their next project. The book is included in the Agile Software Development Series because there is growing recognition that an effective configuration management strategy is the cornerstone of a truly agile project.

Anne Mette Jonassen Hass is a senior consultant and registered BOOTSTRAP lead assessor for DELTA (Danish Electronics, Lights, and Acoustics), one of Europe's leading international testing and design consulting organizations. With more than twenty years of experience in IT, she has been involved in all aspects of software development: requirements specification, analysis, design, coding, testing, quality assurance, and management. Ms. Hass was a contributor to Improving Software Organizations by Lars Mathiassen et al. (Addison-Wesley, 2002).