Software Configuration Management

The output of the software procedure is information which may be separated into 3 huge categories that are:

(1) computer programs both executable forms and source-level

(2) documents which define the computer programs targeted at both technical practitioners and users and

(3) data that contained within the program or external to it The items which comprise all information produced as categorise of the software procedure are communally called a software configuration.

As the software procedure progresses the number of software configuration items grows fast. A system specification spawns a software requirements specification and project plan as well as hardware associated documents. These in turn spawn other documents to create a hierarchy of information. If each SCI easily spawned other SCIs little confusion while result. Unfortunately, another variable enters the process-change. Change may happen at any time for any reason. In fact the 1^st Law of System Engineering [BER80] states that No matter where you are in the system life cycle the system will change and the desire to change it will persist by the life cycle.

What is the reality of these changes? The answer to this question is as varied as the changes themselves. Moreover there are 4 fundamental sources of changes:

1. New business or market conditions which dictate changes in product needs or business rules.
2. New  customer  requirement  which  demand  modification  of  data  produced  through  information  systems functionality delivered through services or products delivered through a computer-based system.
3. Reorganization and /or business downsizing which cause changes in project priorities of software engineering team structure.
4. scheduling or budgetary constraints management is a group of activities which have been established to manage change by the life cycle of computer software. SCM can be seen as a software quality assurance activity which is applied by the software process. In the sections that follow we examine major SCM tasks important concepts that help us to manage change.

Software configuration management is a group of activities which have been established to manage   change by the life cycle of computer software. SCM can be viewed as the software quality assurance activity which is applied by the software process. By the sections which follow we examine major SCM tasks and important concepts that help us to manage change.