This issue of the CM Journal focuses on the Trends and Outlook for 2011. It is one of my favorite issues as we reflect upon how the industry is changing and what we need to do in order to successfully address the challenges ahead. A few years ago, I created a stir within the Agile community by predicting the death of Agile. A few people actually understood that I was referring to the fact that Agile needed to mature in order to successfully meet the challenges of real world implementations, especially in terms of scalability.  In this article, I will explain why I believe that 2011 will be the year in which we will observe the death of Configuration Management.  Read on if you want to be ready for the inevitable changes in store in the year ahead!

Job Searches and Unemployment
With the unemployment rate at over 9% many professionals are finding themselves unemployed or under employed. I find myself in the job market, as I write this article, with some pretty good data based upon the initial response to my own posted resume. The Job Outlook for 2011 will be challenging for experienced professionals and companies will be seeking candidates with specific knowledge, skills and abilities. Make sure that you sharpen your skills, stay flexible and remain open to doing work that may be outside of your comfort zone..

Where are the Skilled Resources?
Many companies are finding it difficult to locate and retain experts in specific high-demand technologies. I recall when the focus was primarily on offshoring work in order to access more cost effective based services. Today, we see a shift toward identifying qualified resources regardless of where they are located. I have seen positions left open and unstaffed for extended periods of time while companies must decide whether to train an existing resource or pay more for an expert. My own approach has been to focus on training and developing technology professionals.

Where Did CM Go?
Configuration Management is evolving into Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) with a focus on managing the entire software and systems development effort. This is good news for CM as our approach will encompass everything from requirements to deployment and ongoing support (e.g. IT Service Management). I am not suggesting that CM gurus won’t be installing and supporting version control systems (VCS), but there will be a stronger focus on support for the full lifecycle especially with the complex toolchains associated with ALM. I predict that 2011 (and beyond) will see CM evolving into the more robust ALM processes which will benefit the business and technology communities.

Cloud Computing, Virtualization and Your Handheld
Configuration Management, especially the environment configuration function will grow in complexity as Cloud Computing and Virtualization become the new normal. Mobile apps are expected to be as flexible as full blown systems. Configuration Management is essential for handling this scalability. The same is true for Software as a Service (Saas) and related approaches that provide enormous possibilities. Get ready to provide the same rigor to your build and release management approaches whether you are deploying to a Sun Server  or a hand-held mobile device. .

Continous CM
Jezz Humble and David Farley’s excellent book on Continous Delivery puts the focus on the Deployment Pipeline pattern. I have long advocated small iterative deployments as being far less risky the “big bang” – spending your entire weekend approach. My goal has always been to create a one hour build, package and deploy that is completely automated and traceable. Deployments should be non-events that are fast, easy and completely reliable. Configuration Management should be a series of continuous activities that are fully automated, traceable and reliable at each step.

Don’t Forget Your Agile
Scott Ambler has done an amazing job of stressing the importance of Agile process maturity which demonstrates the importance of Agile evolving into a comprehensive and effective methodology with the appropriate level of rigor necessary to get the job done. I am grateful to Scott for also sharing his views in this issue the CM Journal, especially with regard to Agile scalability.

Mario Moreira’s Book on Agile CM
My colleague Mario Moreira’s excellent book on Agile CM led the way in many respects to raise awareness of the importance of Agile practices in Configuration Management. I was pleased to contribute a chapter to Mario’s book in which I discuss the use of industry standards and frameworks to support Agile. I also had the privilege of working with Michael Huetterman on his excellent book on Agile ALM. I expect to be spending a lot more time focused on Agile ALM in 2011.

Don’t Forget the Basic’s.
The year ahead will demand a strong focus on the basics including source code management, build engineering, environment configuration, change control, release engineering and deployment as described in my book on Configuration Management Best Practices. Make sure that you are familiar with and ready handle the basics.

Conclusion
The Trends and Outlook for 2011 are certainly going to be exciting to say the least. This is a year when the focus of CM will need to expand to support the entire ALM sequence. Expect to be challenged and compensated accordingly. You also may need to market your own skills and demonstrate how you add value. This is a fantastic year for CM and ALM. Agile is mainstream now and must be scalable to support the needs of organizations of any size. CM’s metamorphosis promises to be exciting and rewarding and we’re glad that you are joining us here at CM Crossroads as we strive to meet and as well as thrive on the challenges ahead!

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