The first best-practice, start-to-finish guide for the software build process Managing builds is crucial to the profitable delivery of high-quality software; however, the build process has been one of the least-understood stages of the entire development lifecycle. Now, one of Microsoft's leading software build experts introduces step-by-step best practices for maximizing the reliability, effectiveness, timeliness, quality, and security of every build you create. Drawing on his extensive experience working with Microsoft's enterprise and development customers, Vincent Maraia covers all facets of the build process—introducing techniques that will work on any platform, on projects of any size. Maraia places software builds in context, showing how they integrate with configuration management, setup, and even customer support. Builds powerfully impact every software professional: developers, architects, managers, project leaders, configuration specialists, testers, and release managers. Whatever your role, this book will help you implement a smoother, faster, more effective build process—and use it to deliver better software. QUOTES/REVIEWS "Wow, what can I say? Chapter 4, 'The Build Lab and Personnel,' by itself is enough justification to purchase the book! Vince is obviously a 'Dirty Finger Nails' build meister and there is a lot we can all learn from how he got them dirty! There are so many gems of wisdom throughout this book it's hard to know where to start describing them! It starts where SCM should start, at the end, and works its way forward. This book is a perfect complement to the 'Follow the Files' approach to SCM that I espouse. I will recommend that every software lead and software configuration management person I work with be required to read this book!" —Bob Ventimiglia, autonomic logistics software configuration manager, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics "The Build Master contains some truly new information; most of the chapters discuss points that many people in the industry don't have a full understanding of and need to know. It's written in a way that is easy to read and will help a reader fill holes in their vision regarding software build management. I especially liked Vince's use of Microsoft stories to make his points throughout the book. I will purchase the book and make certain chapters mandatory reading for my build manager consultants." —Steve Konieczka, SCM consultant "Vince does a great job of providing the details of an actual working build process. It can be very useful for those who must tackle this task within their own organization. Also the 'Microsoft Notes' found throughout the book provide a very keen insight into the workings of Microsoft. This alone is worth purchasing this book." —Mario E. Moreira, author of Software Configuration Management Implementation Roadmap and columnist at CM Crossroads ABOUT THE AUTHOR Vincent Maraia has fifteen years' experience at Microsoft, and has helped ship products ranging from Windows NT and Visual Studio to the Microsoft Mouse. For six years, he has been an Application Development Consultant in Microsoft's Premier Services group, helping customers architect and implement effective source code, build, and test processes.