"I wrote that the first edition of this book "communicates much of the experience, wisdom, and insight that was acquired along the way to discovering what SCM best practices are and how to implement/deploy them." The second edition is full of even more practical experience! It not only refines and expands upon earlier strategies and best practices, it also contains even more concrete "how-to" information about implementing and deploying them."

—Brad Appleton co-author of Software Configuration Management Patterns: Effective Teamwork, Practical Integration

"Read this book when you're getting started with configuration management (CM); read it again in six months and once more two years later. Software Configuration Management Strategies and IBM Rational ClearCase goes beyond the basics to provide a coherent review of CM strategies for projects of all sizes and complexities."

—Jennie Brown, CM Specialist IBM Corporation

"This book covers practical software configuration management (SCM), ClearCase UCM and ClearCase use for project teams. Every project lead and SCM specialist should (re)read this book before starting a project."

—Roger Jarrett, Senior Software Engineer IBM Rational Software

"This second edition captures vital Unified Change Management (UCM) features and concepts. It brings the entire UCM feature set full circle and lays the ground work for a successful UCM implementation; Bellagio and Milligan continue where the first edition left off. The inclusion of composite baseline concepts, single stream development, performance tuning, and other features and concepts make this the core of any old or new Unified Change Management implementation.

It is rare that a second edition of a book can hold your interest like the first. This publication does just that...this continues to be the standard for users interested in Unified Change Management deployment."

—Adam Levensohn, Manager IBM Rational Software

Software Configuration Management (SCM) can help even the largest, most complex project teams manage change, so they can deliver higher quality products faster. The First Edition of Software Configuration Management Strategies and Rational ClearCase established itself as the definitive single source for guidance on both SCM best practices and the market's leading product, IBM Rational ClearCase. This fully updated Second Edition systematically addresses the latest ClearCase and ClearQuest® innovations, while offering even deeper insight into SCM strategy and management.

The authors each draw on more than 15 years of SCM experience, and the knowledge of working with IBM Rational field teams in customer engagements worldwide. They systematically cover SCM planning and deployment, and SCM's use throughout the entire project lifecycle: development, integration, building, baselining, release deployment, and beyond. They offer practical guidance on addressing challenges that arise as projects grow in size and complexity, from managing geographically distributed teams to tracking change requests.

Coverage includes

• Understanding basic SCM concepts, and the role, value, and components of SCM systems

• Mastering IBM Rational's Unified Change Management (UCM) model—including today's most effective usage models, strategies, and policy configurations

• Creating ClearCase repositories and establishing UCM environments, step-by-step

• Working as a project manager in the ClearCase environment

• Leveraging new ClearCase MultiSite and ClearQuest technologies to full advantage

• Using the new ClearCase Remote Client to access centralized repositories across WANs

• Monitoring ClearCase and tuning it for maximum performance

This book is valuable for everyone concerned with SCM: developers who wantSCM to be as intuitive and convenient as possible; project managers and technical leaders who must efficiently manage change; tools engineers; even IT managersevaluating SCM technologies.

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 4 Ratings

Excellent Second Edition - lots of new information - 2005-08-08
Reviewer Rating:
As a long-time ClearCase user, consultant, Rational field rep, and all-around proponent of SCM, I found this book to be a wonderful update of Brian White's first edition. Tom and Dave have an extremely readable style of writing that you don't often find in technical publications. For the uninitiated, this book will serve as a great introduction to SCM concepts, ClearCase and the Unified Change Management process. For the experienced SCM administrator, this book is full of tips and practical "how-to" based on Tom and Dave's decades of experience in the SCM field.

Must have for SCM practitioners with ClearCase UCM - 2005-08-19
Reviewer Rating:
Was the first edition mostly a repeat of the UCM manual that comes with the installation, this second edition brings more valuable, strategic information about SCM and ClearCase UCM. It is a must-read for SCM practitioners working with UCM or considering a step towards UCM. In fact, the SCM strategies covered in this book are a must-read for any SCM practitioner. Issues like quality promotion, parallel development and composite configurations are becoming quite common to modern software development organizations.
Subjects that I am missing are activity management (as part of project management), reporting and audit trails, customizations (e.g. role based permissions, automation, triggers) and integration with other development tools (e.g. requirements and test assets).

It is very difficult to find just the right book about SCM, with the right balance between theory and practice. Well, this book is it for Unified Change Management.

Just the right info, just the right time - 2007-01-11
Reviewer Rating:
I purchased this book as a new Configuration Manager to the Rational suite of tools. I have used other 'big' CM tools in the past, but was unfamiliar with ClearCase. The book is very well laid out, has very good information and definitions that I have used in other presentations as I prepare to roll out a ClearCase solution to my team. After reading the first 1/2 of the book, I felt very versed on the tool, and was able to refer to my knowledge in conversations with other team members about how ClearCase is to work. I recommend that if you are new or even experienced with ClearCase, that you purchase this book for yourself. You will find in no time that you will mark many pages with yellow sticky's and highlight passages that you'll refer to many times!

Mixed, but good. - 2007-02-15
Reviewer Rating:
I've a long history with CC, and SWCM. This is a good book for simpler projects, and it has some good tips I had learned, but hadn't seen in print. I wish it worked a bit more on the successful patterns that scale to really big projects, but that's not where the market is for books, right?

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