The Year Ahead promises to provide us with challenges and opportunities that will certainly result in a bumpy ride for anyone working in the field of technology, especially large scale software and systems development. The year behind us was certainly challenging although CM gurus still found themselves being called for positions that were considered essential to running the organization. No doubt salaries and consulting rates were depressed and many technology professionals found themselves unemployed or at least under-employed. 2009 was a tough year for many and 2010 may be just as challenging. So how exactly do you position yourself for the year ahead in terms of both the opportunities and the challenges? Read on if you are ready to take 2010 by storm and succeed in the field of Configuration Management.

Cutbacks, Layoffs and Cancelled Projects
Many technology professionals received pink slips with large organizations laying off thousands of workers and cancelling projects. Some corporations went out of business or were acquired, often laying off “redundant” personnel. Contractors found that that many projects came to a grinding halt with many planned and approved projects postponed or cancelled altogether. In all, 2009 was a tough market for many with budget cutbacks, widespread layoffs and cancelled projects. How can anyone cope in this situation?

The Challenge
The Challenge for any technology professional was to show that he or she was an “essential” member of team and that the organization could not survive without his or her services. The best way to stay employed is to show that you have broad flexible skills and can adapt to the changing environment. Employers, in turn, found that it was challenging to hire qualified personnel as many technology professionals were unemployed for extended periods of time and – go figure – their skills were rusty. The challenge for all of us was showing value within the limited budget available to maintain essential services.

Web Based Services
Despite the poor economy, most organizations relied upon technology to keep them operating at any level at all. Consumers expected Web based services to be accessible and reliable even in the face of other challenges. That meant that build and release engineers were essential personnel or that developers had to act as CM engineers. In many industries there is a required (by industry regulations) separation of duties, not to mention that a few failed releases meant that CM engineers found themselves called in to provide control and sanity to the release process. I know of one large bank that failed and was acquired during the past year. While thousands of employees were being laid off, this bank had to hire build engineers because the Office of the Currency (OCC) had ascertained that they had failed to maintain a separation of duties as required by industry regulations.   As a CM guru, your skills position you as essential personnel in many organizations.

Budgets and Cut-Backs
Still in 2009 budgets were extremely tight and many engineers found themselves having to settle for lower paychecks or else unemployment. In addition, they were asked to do more with less. I expect that the Year ahead will be just as challenging as 2009 and perhaps more so. Many companies are indeed hiring again, but budgets are tight and most organizations are being selective – looking for professionals with the top skills. So how do you cope with these challenges in such a difficult environment?.

Stepping Up and Raising the Bar!
We been this way before (in previous recessions) and the solution is simply to improve our skills and meet these challenges with flexibility, expertise and hard work. CM Professionals are no stranger to challenge and this is certainly a time when we will be challenged to provide top skills and cope with difficult environments. It is also a time to take pride in what we do and enjoy the ride.

Adding Value and Meeting the Challenge
Configuration Management helps the entire team improve productivity as well as quality. These two factors are often at odds as they compete for the same resources. But Configuration Management helps the entire team accomplish rapid iterative development and improve quality at the same time. There is no magic here, but lots of hard work and strong expertise. Make sure that your focus is on adding value to the team and meeting the challenge wherever that takes you. Being flexible and willing to “stretch” will always be the key traits of top technology professionals.

Get Ready to Sharpen Your Saw
The Year Ahead promises to require CM gurus to work long hours and handle increasing responsibilities. We will be expected to do more with less and meet a growing set of challenges. 2010 will be a tough, but exciting year for CM. Expect to play a wider role and be called upon for duties that were not considered to normally be within the scope of CM. Make sure that you keep your focus on what you can learn next. Don’t forget the importance of “people skills” such as hands-on management along with communications and negotiating for success.

Visibility and Accountability
Expect to be required to show more visibility and accountability in all of your duties. Senior Management needs information to evaluate risks and make key decisions. CM gurus have the “keys to the Kingdom”, because they can build, package and deploy the entire application. Don’t be surprised when you are asked for more information on a regular basis along with having to help out with testing, QA and production support.

Conclusion
As tough as 2009 was, you can expect 2010 to be a lot tougher. Many organizations will have tight budgets and huge requirements. The risks will be great, although the rewards may even be greater. CM experts on the top of their game are and will be in strong demand. If you are looking for a new opportunity, make sure that you post your resume in the newly re-architected CM Crossroads Jobs Section. Get active in our online groups and forums to learn the latest in CM technology and don’t forget our excellent online resources including webcasts and podcasts. Most of all make sure that you fasten your seatbelts and look forward to a wild and exciting ride.

2010! – game on let’s go!

Bob Aiello is the Editor-in-Chief for CM Crossroads and a Software Engineer specializing in Software Process Improvement including Software Configuration and Release Management. Mr. Aiello has over 25 years experience as a technical manager in several top NYC Financial Services firms where he had had company-wide responsibility for CM, often providing hands-on technical support for enterprise Source Code Management tools, SOX/Cobit compliance, build engineering, continuous integration and automated application deployment. Bob is the Vice Chair of the IEEE 828 Standards working group (CM Planning) and is a member of the IEEE Software and Systems Engineering Standards Committee (S2ESC) Management Board. He is a long standing member of the Steering Committee of the NYC Software Process Improvement Network (CitySPIN), where he serves as the chair of the CM SIG. Mr. Aiello holds a Masters in Industrial Psychology from NYU and a B.S. in Computer Science and Math from Hofstra University. You may contact Mr. Aiello at raiello@acm.org or link with him at http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobaiello

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