alm Questions

Best Agile Release Tool
By BenN - April 19, 20131 Answer

Hi all,

We are currently implementing agile, and have a fully realised development cycle in place.  I have now been tasked with implementing a deployment tech stack.  We are currently running a Subversion repository, feeding in to a Jenkins / Maven continuous integration platform, and an Artefactory Repository for compiled code.  We then have no path out of Artefactory (at the moment, the devs are packaging up complete WARs of the environment and copying manually to the target area).  I want to implement a continuous deployment solution, that can be used by developers for small fixes and by tech leads for large releases.

I have looked around but am struggling to find a tool to realise this that will integrate with our current tech (everything seems to want to replace Jenkins etc with their own agent based build / test / artifact solution).  Does anyone know of software that will allow me to automate the movement of compiled code from our dev platform to  our test environment, then on to prod, setting rules and checks along the way? 

Many thanks in advance,

Ben

Self-registration with ClearQuest
By Mani P - April 12, 20131 Answer

We have some need to allow self-registration with ClearQuest for some database. We have integrated CQ with LDAP. Appreciate your ideas on the same.

One way i thought is too have link in CQ startup screen for self-registration which will get all relevant info from user and via perl create new account in CQ.

Join the CM Wiki Team!
By Bob Aiello - March 10, 20137 Answers

Hi everyone,

my esteemed colleague Marc Bools and I have started working on bringing back the CM Wiki and we want you to help us with the design and requirements of a new CM Wiki!!!

Here is a hight level list of the topics from the old wiki. This is your chance to help!!

Topics you will find in the CM web 

Definitions: 

  • Configuration Management 
  • Software Configuration Management 
  • Build Management 
  • Change Management 

Tools: 

  • CM Tools - Software and tools for Change and Configuration Control - HCM/SCM 
  • CM Integrations - Integration of CM tools with other tools 
  • Frequently Asked Questions 

Concepts and theories: 

  • ConfigurationManagementBodyOfKnowledge (a.k.a. CMBoK ™) 
  • CM versus SCM - Thoughts on the differences between the terms CM and SCM 
  • CM Metrics - What you could gain in time and money when using CM. 
  • CM Metaphors and Analogies -- metaphors and analogies for describing CM 

Processes and practices: 

  • Agile Development and Agile SCM - Ideas on Agile Development and how it affects CM 
  • Configuration Management Process 
  • Change Management Process 
  • Branching and Merging for Parallel Development 
  • CM and Web Engineering 
  • CM and Databases 

Templates and Examples: 

  • CM Templates - Quick templates to help you start implementing a CM solution 

Vendors: 

  • TBD 

Other: 

  • Suite Vs Best Of Breed 
  • SCM Readings - Some recommended SCM books and papers 
  • History of CM 
  • WhosWhoInSCM  

Starting points

  • TBD 

What other topics should we include?? How do we provide more value from our new and improved CM Wiki.

Drop me a line and get involved!

Bob Aiello
Editor in Chief
[email protected]

Future Topics for CM Crossroads!!!
By Bob Aiello - March 8, 20131 Answer

Hi everyone,

as always we love to get YOUR input on which topics we should be covering in the coming months. 
Obviously, DevOps is hot, Cloud & Mobile are essential. We have had many issues dedicated to CM for Small Teams, Process and more process and tips and strategies for Build Engineers.

What topics would you like us to cover? What topics would you like to write about yourself??
(Hint - I will help you! - just contact me directly)

Bob Aiello
Editor in Chief
http://www.linkedin.com/in/BobAiello
[email protected]

Call for Articles - Software and Systems Development including DevOps and ALM !!!
By Bob Aiello - February 20, 20131 Answer

Hi Everyone!

this is a great time to get involved with CM Crossroads by submitting your own articles on software and systems development. CM Crossroads has always had a strong focus on Configuration Management within the full software and systems lifecycle and this means that we are interested in articles on a wide array of topics. Contact me directly to get involved with submitting your own articles and I will help you with getting started, forming your ideas and editing your article for publication.

Common topics include:

  • Build and Release Engineering
  • Source Code Management including branching and streams
  • Deployment Engineering (DevOps)
  • Development in the Cloud
  • Configuration Management (including the CMDB)
  • Continuous Integration and Deployment
  • Environment Management
  • Change Management

    and much more! 

    Bob Aiello
    Editor in Chief
    [email protected]

What is your favorite tool for Windows thick client installs?
By Bob Aiello - February 16, 20131 Answer

Many of us support automated Windows installation. I have used MS Build for some time and most recently got to play with ClickOnce which is great. But what about legacy Windows applications? Do you still use Wise or InstallShield? What are the best practices and best products for supporting legacy windows application installation?

Bob Aiello
Editor in Chief
http://www.linkedin.com/in/BobAiello
twitter: @bobaiello, @cmbestpractices

How does everyone like the new CM Crossroads website?
By Bob Aiello - January 11, 201340 Answers

How does everyone like the new CM Crossroads website?

Bob Aiello
Editor in Chief

Can somebody point me to resources on the internet that deals with best practices for managing IT product releases?
By RamaRaghavendran - March 2, 20122 Answers

We are a small IT company developing a variety of IT products. I want to incorporate best practices into our product lifecycle management (PLM) process

Thanks,
Rama

What are best practices in release management in an agile environment?
By ne02886 - March 23, 20113 Answers

Can anyone shed some light on best practices of when / where/ how to establish the scope of the Release in the Agile Development Lifecycle model?

Our problem seems to be that we can never get to the point when we can nail down what the scope of the release is. When we do, it seems to be last minute and I am sure that this is not the best method for testing.

Meaning of life—a.k.a. The value of Application Lifecycle Management systems
By Marc Girod - February 19, 20117 Answers

I recently assisted a presentation of Rational Team Concert, and I am shocked.

It could have been, I am sure, some other product. I don't intend to bash RTC.

Only, here is a large vendor which spends large amounts of money (I assume) to produce something I believe and I hope can only be a terrible flop. Nobody will buy that, will they?
Only, they won't buy it for the wrong reason: because it costs money, and the market of ...CM/SCM/ALM/whatever has now gone such a way that nobody will anymore pay anything for that. Everybody knows that whatever allegedly useful there might be in that domain has to be free (like beer, not like speech).

No, my problem is elsewhere: this big company must have targeted a potential customer base, and beyond that, well, somewhere *users*. But who would *use* that?

It is the answer to that question which is frightening.

Pseudo-management. People who would be completely helpless faced to software development, yet in a situation of having some hope to survive this obvious fact in the context of some organization.

The kind of tools I am talking about is meant to hide incompetence, by creating a virtual reality from quantifying the activity of others (developers?) without needing to understand anything of what it consists in.

There are several problems bound to this.

This is not only useless, but lethal. It creates a reality made of amounts of resources, of milestones, of names, of tokens of various kinds, of percentages (passed tests ratios, coverage, numbers of lines of code changed, etc.), which takes precedence over the primary reality made of semantics and of symptoms. It eventually makes it impossible to analyze issues, to fix code, to discuss the compatibility of options and the propagation of changes.

The ultimate problem lies in the paradox that organizations which could put such a dangerous amount of power into the hands of structurally irresponsible people do not seem to fear facing quick bankruptcy. Quite on the contrary.

Stalin has come back?

Marc

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