
Merging Defect Fixes into the Development Codeline
Address
Michael Sayko mss@acm.org
Michael Sayko – November 2003
No matter what type of software you develop, from internal IT applications to web applications to commercial software packages, fixing bugs following a release is part of the software development lifecycle. If your software development process is mature you carefully control the changes made to released code. If your software application is of modest size and complexity you probably have a separate team devoted to maintenance. Realistically, software maintenance can be a project by itself. However, the process of merging production fixes into the development codeline is an equally significant effort. Unfortunately, the effort required to merge production fixes into the development codeline can be grossly underestimated and improperly staffed even by organizations that practice otherwise good software development.
No matter what type of software you develop, from internal IT applications to web applications to commercial software packages, fixing bugs following a release is part of the software development lifecycle. If your software development process is mature you carefully control the changes made to released code. If your software application is of modest size and complexity you probably have a separate team devoted to maintenance. Realistically, software maintenance can be a project by itself. However, the process of merging production fixes into the development codeline is an equally significant effort. Unfortunately, the effort required to merge production fixes into the development codeline can be grossly underestimated and improperly staffed even by organizations that practice otherwise good software development.
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