Each month the CM Journal provides original content articles and regular columns from industry thought leaders and software providers on a wide variety of configuration management and application lifecycle management topics.
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2010 - The Year Ahead
Volume 8 - Number 2 - February 2010
 Enterprise CM is a topic that is covered in many of the articles on CM Crossroads. Most of us have worked in implementing CM in large global organizations with all of the challenges that come with any large scale global endeaver. You might feel that Enterprise CM is really not much different than implementing CM for a bunch of smaller teams and that has often been my own experience indeed. But there are some issues that are unique to implementing CM on an Enterprise level and you have come to the right place to learn how to address the challenges that can impact your Enterprise CM efforts.
Ben Weatherall takes the lead this month with his article on Enterprise SCM - The Road To Nirvana (When is it Time to Take SCM to the Enterprise Level?) - Hey Ben are you into Rock Bands or really suggesting that implementing SCM is eternal bliss? If that wasn't enough then Joe Farah takes us to the Next Generation of Enterprise CM with his article on Tools, Processes and Infrastructure that pushes CM technology into the rest of the organization. Alan S. Koch helps us to understand Quantifying Risk: the Purpose of Testing.
Of course I don't want to be left out so I describe my own experiences with implementing Enterprise CM in my column called Behaviorally Speaking. We also take a look back at Mayank Gupta's article on Continuous Integration and Enterprise Build while Charles Edwards explains his view of What do Enterprise Architecture principles require of Configuration Management. Finally, Scott Lehman tells us What Enterprise SCM is, and What Happens when it is Not and Sean Blanton helps us with Planning Projects for Enterprise CM. This is another excellent packed issue of the CM Journal and I hope that you will share your own Enterprise CM experiences with us in our online discussion groups!
Bob Aiello
Editor in Chief
CM Crossroads
raiello@acm.org
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Enterprise SCM: The Road to Nirvana
by Ben Weatherall
Enterprise SCM is essentially the application of consistent processes, tools and practices across an organization through the application of enough money. Please note that free solutions are not generally acceptable since CxO’s generally believe that you get what you pay for, and what they want to pay for are solutions. This is why I have started to register a new product – Silver Bullet SCM Suite. This will install itself on any platform, always work as desired, come out-of-the-box with an exact model for the process already in place, allow transition to new process models at the drop of a hat while maintaining internal integrity, and require no administration overhead.
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CM: The Next Generation of Enterprise CM
by Joe Farah
When I think of Enterprise CM, three things come to mind: 1. Tools (and processes) that expand CM from a software team to a product team capability, 2. Processes (and standards) that help keep CM consistent across the enterprise, and 3. Infrastructure (and management) that pushes CM technology into the rest of the organization.
Enterprise CM is not a simple feature, process or edict. It the establishment of tools, processes and infrastructure so that management can confidently reap the benefits of CM and ALM across the enterprise.
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Quantifying Risk: The Purpose of Testing
by Alan S. Koch
Testing is such an integral part of our software projects that we often don't stop to think about why we do it. We must do it! What else is there to know?
It is obvious that software that has not been tested is unready for deployment. But as painful experience has taught us, testing does not guarantee that the software is fit to deploy. Even rigorously tested software may still have hidden fatal flaws.
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Behaviorally Speaking – Enterprise CM
by Bob Aiello
Enterprise CM refers to implementing Configuration Management across an entire organization. I have had this responsibility in large global organizations and I can tell you that it can be quite a challenge to implement anything across at an enterprise level. There are many reasons why this is true and you may find that you are confronted with very challenging obstables when implementing CM on an Enterprise level including establishing corporate standards, a global support function and just gaining acceptance among teams that may have their own culture and group dynamics.
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Continuous Integration and Enterprise Build Automation
by Mayank Gupta
How often have you or one of your teammates checked the source code into the code library which then instantly triggered an automated build? How many times did this instant build succeed? Do you have an automated build and release system that ensures your software is built in the same way each and every time? Are deployments to staging environments entirely automated and executed with a single click? While reviewing a defect in a production release, are you able to backtrack through the source code changes and identify the root cause of failure?
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What do Enterprise Architecture principles require of Configuration Management?
by Charles Edwards
We usually think of Configuration Management in the context of a Software Development Project, but CM also exists in the context of an Enterprise, having many projects and existing applications within IT and the Enterprise.
In thinking about Configuration Management best practices, I wondered if taking the 20 principles used for an Enterprise Architecture Framework (TOGAF), we could see just how well Configuration Management stands up to supporting these general Architectural principles in an Enterprise context.
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Planning Projects for Enterprise CM
by Sean Blanton
Effectively planning and setting realistic expectations before you start your CM project can mean the difference between actual and perceived success and failure. Here are some great tips to help you sell the success of your project and avoid costly pitfalls. “CM,” as I use it in this article, may involve security, hardware and operating systems management, production control and deployment, version management, change management and build management. My experience lies primarily with the distributed platforms that have exploded in the last decade in terms of growth and delivery for companies.
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What Enterprise SCM is, and What Happens when it is Not
by Scott Lehman
In the world of corporate information technology the term "Enterprise" means different things to different people. But to me it means products, services, and solutions that are used throughout the entire company in a planned and consistent way to achieve some important strategic goal of the company. The accounting function within almost any company is a good example of this. The company has an important strategic goal to manage their money assets (as mandated by law if nothing else) according to widely accepted accounting principals
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