The GNU Make Standard Library (GMSL) is a SourceForge-hosted, open source project that I started to capture many of the common functions that Makefile authors end up writing over and over again. The GMSL is designed to prevent Makefile writers from reinventing the wheel by implementing such common functions as list reverse, upper case a string, or map a function across every element of a list.

Imagine trying to build a house without a set of plans. Anyone who has ever added so much as a single room to their home will tell you that the plans must be detailed and reviewed or else the project will likely fail. Build engineering a major Java SOA system can be just as complex and creating a CM Plan is an essential requirement  for your success. Read on to see what you should include in your CM Plan.

There are several reasons why we may need to merge two modified versions of a file:  When using "edit-merge-commit" (sometimes called "optimistic locking"), it is possible for two developers to edit the same file at the same time. Even if we use "checkout-edit-checkin," we may allow multiple checkouts, resulting once again in the possibility of two developers editing the same file. When merging between branches, we may have a situation where the f...

The theme of Project versus Product is all about determining the scope of effort involved with CM. Should we focus narrowly on the project at hand or take a wider view of the overall product requirements? Most CM experts will tell you that they work under tight deadlines with builds and releases coming in quick succession. I can remember times when I was doing two or more complicated releases per day with little or no time available to work on improving the release management process it...

Waist deep in the Big Muddy And the big fool says to push on. Waist deep in the Big Muddy And the big fool says to push on. Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a Tall man'll be over his head, we're Waist deep in the Big Muddy! And the big fool says to push on!                 - Pete Seeger, 1967 Most companies blame project failures on poor planning and development practices.  As...

Products and Projects - before we get into any SCM discussions, we need to classify these beasts - what are their distinguishing marks?! The Lean Development Mailing List had a pertinent discussion on this. Mary Poppendieck commented: Products are development efforts that are (usually) funded incrementally. They start with a concept and end with a product launch. Along the way, they are funded incrementally as they progress through stages such as feasibility, test market, comm...

A CM strategy must deal with product development from both a Product and from a Project perspective.  The former deals with the state of a product, the requirements, features, problems, quality, etc.  The latter deals with managing the tasks that will take the product through its many milestones.  Dashboard technology can help to clarify the perspectives and simplify the management functions, especially from an information perspective.

Download a PDF version of this Product Review >>  Technology managers need to define repeatable processes to meet the business and technology demands of any Application Lifecycle effort.  Deadlines, budgets and emerging technologies make both large and small development efforts challenging for even the most skilled and experienced professionals. Requirements tracking, including user driven specifications, is so challenging that an entire development movement has ari...

Configuration Management (CM) provides organizations with a level of control over the changes that occur in the engineering space.  It can help protect the valuable code assets of the revenue generating products within the organization.  CM provides the capability for products to manage the pieces therein that change at different rates, exposes the changes that are occurring, and establishes knowledge of the baseline of the product which then improves integrity and minimizes p...

Everyone knows the difference between Products and Projects – right? I mean, doesn’t everyone understand what these terms mean and what functions Software Configuration Management (SCM) provides to them? Maybe so, but not in my personal experience. The tasks associated with Product Management and Project Management vary as much as their definitions. In the following sections, I will give a few definitions and show how SCM supports the various stages in both...