Effective software configuration management (SCM) strategies promote a healthy, team-oriented culture that produces better software. Software Configuration Management Patterns alleviates software engineers' most common concerns about software configuration management—perceived rigidity and an overemphasis on process.

Through the use of patterns, the authors show that a properly managed workflow can avert delays, morale problems, and cost overruns. The patterns approach illustrates how SCM can be easily and successfully applied in small- to mid-size organizations. By learning how these patterns relate to each other, readers can avoid common mistakes that too often result in frustrated developers and reduced productivity.

Key coverage includes instruction on how to:

• Develop the next version of a product while fixing problems with the current one.

• Develop code in parallel with other developers and join up with the current state of codeline.

• Identify what versions of code went into a particular component.

• Analyze where a change happened in the history of a component's development.

• Use current tools more effectively, and decide when to use a manual process.

• Incrementally introduce good practices into individual workspaces and throughout the organization.

• Identify crucial aspects of the software process so that team projects can run smoothly.

• Build and foster a development environment focused on producing optimal teamwork and quality products.

Software Configuration Management Patterns also includes a detailed list of SCM tools and thorough explanations of how they can be used to implement the patterns discussed in the book. These proven techniques will assist readers to improve their processes and motivate their workforce to collaborate in the production of higher quality software.

0201741172B09202002

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 23 Ratings

Very little useful information - 2007-09-11
Reviewer Rating:
I am surprised to apparently be the only person to find this book disappointing. Let me go into the details.

Physical book.
I rarely comment on the physical book but I need to mention the bad printing. Many pictures and graphs in the book are not printed correctly. Instead they appear as gray rectangles.

Content.
The book is divided into three parts: an introduction, the Software Configuration Management (SCM) patterns, and appendices with information on SCM systems.

The introduction does not provide useful information. The author spends time defining generic concepts (such as 'organization') without bringing any insights to configuration management. I assume that part was written to fill in the book. You can safely skip it.

The patterns are the meat of the book. Some of the patterns are useful and nicely presented. For example, the need for a mainline and how to branch before a release are the two that stand out. They are good advice. Unfortunately most patterns are not explained appropriately. For example, the author presents several patterns related to tests (unit tests, smoke tests, regression tests). However the patterns do not properly make the connection to configuration management. For example: what are the best practices to integrate tests with SCM? The answer is not in the book. Overall I felt let down by the patterns. If you have some experience working in a group using a SCM, you won't learn anything new.

The final part about the various SCM systems is again a filler with little usefulness. You will learn a lot more by reading the manual of the SCM you are using.

There are several topics I wish had been included:
- Topology: how best to distribute the SCM system.
- Buddy builds: what are the best practices related to buddy builds, i.e., building before making a check-in.

I was looking forward to reading this book. Now that I have, I feel very much let down. The useful information could be contained in less than 10 pages.

Mileage working with software development teams - 2007-03-21
Reviewer Rating:
Objective, clear and simple. War stories told by a intellectually savvy trooper are not complex. They tell us about complex scenarios in a simple way. Field experience. It's what this book is all about. Not about procedures, but practices based on well known, or not so, patterns, for you to use with your teams to win your battles. It's up to you. Think about them. Use them wisely.
Sorry for the military metaphor but seemed to me appropriate.

Excellent Book - 2009-02-10
Reviewer Rating:
When I first started reading this book, I was like, "This is common sense," but that's only because our lab already does many of the things outlined in this book.

If the project your currently working on is in disarray because of process problems, frequent build breakages, and branching strategies, this book will do wonders for you.

I think the real magic here is when you step back and realize that this book outlines a complete software delivery system in easy to follow patterns (building blocks). You could literally take this book and design a solid development environment from scratch. If you're struggling with an area in your current environment, you can cherry-pick some of the patterns you need.

This book is great because you don't have to re-invent the wheel. These are proven patterns, all you need to do is apply them.

I highly recommend "Ship It! A Practical Guide to Successful Software Projects" along with this book.

Print quality lacking - 2008-12-19
Reviewer Rating:
The book content itself looks great - I've only just received it and started reading. However the print quality looks like it came out of a photo-copier. I have viewed the book online in O'Reilly's safari website and you can clearly see the difference between photo's/diagrams viewed there compared to how they look in the hardcopy. Ie washed out and too dark.
Disappointed - previous Addison Wesley titles haven't suffered some this. Are they or Amazon now using some dodgy POD process these days ?

Real-world SCM for real-world developers - 2007-09-28
Reviewer Rating:
This is an outstanding book for software development teams that see software configuration management as a means to an end, not the end itself. The author immediately establishes credibility with me when he says in the preface "Software configuration management is not what I do. I am not a software configuration management person...I build software systems" Exactly! It's obvious throughout the book that the authors develop software systems and use SCM to effectively support their development effort, not the other way around.

The format of the book is very consistent and thus very easy to read. Each pattern has its own chapter and clearly identifies the problem and the solution in a particular context. It doesn't waste any paper and is a quick read and has been a reference I continue to use on a regular basis. The authors have taken something that can quickly become complex and make it easy to understand.

The authors have a very natural writing style and effectively use sidebars to bring their real-world experiences to the pattern. This book is a must read for software developers. I wish I could give it six stars.

Given my background in CI, I was most drawn to the Mainline, Private Workspace, Repository, Private System Build, Integration Build, Regression Test, and Third Party Codeline patterns. But, there is something for all developers and teams here.

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