Software Configuration Management Process

When somebody talks about the Software Configuration Process, what is exactly that they are referring to ? For those people still learning about this area, the whole process can seem a bit complicated, and many would question as to why you need such a process. Well, a properly defined SCM Process goes a long way in ensuring that your development process is smooth (link):

Software Configuration Management Process :
A process defines the steps by which you perform a specific task or set of tasks. An SCM process is the way SCM is performed on your project—specifically, how an SCM tool is applied to accomplish a set of tasks.
- Identification of Artefacts
Early identification and change control of artefacts and work products is integral to the project. The configuration manager needs to fully identify and control changes to all the elements that are required to recreate and maintain the software product.

Learn software concepts - Software Configuration Management - Baselines

Learn about what the baselines are, and what does this mean. A baseline is used to specify a point of comparison, in the sense that you measure the current state, and measure future progress against such a baseline. Read the complete article (link):

In terms of software engineering, a baseline is a milestone in the development of software. A baseline is marked by the delivery of one or more software configuration items that have been approved as a consequence of a formal technical review. Software engineering tasks produce one or more software configuration items (SCIs). After SCIs are reviewed and approved, they are placed in a project database. When a member of a software team wants to make a modification to a baselined SCI, it is copied from the project database into the engineer's private
workspace. However, this extracted SCI can be modified only if SCM controls are followed.

Learn software concepts - Software Configuration Management (SCM)

What is Software Configuration Management ? Learn about the reasons and the need for Software Configuration Management (SCM) in this article (link):

Configuration management(CM)is the discipline of controlling the evolution of complex systems; software configuration management (SCM) is its specialization for computer programs and associated documents. SCM differs from general CM in the following two ways. First, software is easier to change than hardware, and it therefore changes faster. Even relatively small software systems, developed by a single team, can experience a significant rate of change, and in large systems, such as telecommunications systems, the update activities can totally overwhelm manual configuration management procedures.

Learn software concepts - Overview of Change Management - Software configuration management

Software configuration management is a very important activity, critical for any software project. Learn Software processes (link to article) has a post that gives an overview of software configuration management:

Software configuration management is an umbrella activity that is applied throughout the software process. SCM identifies, controls, audits, and reports modifications that invariably occur while software is being developed and after it has been released to a customer. All information produced as part of software engineering becomes part of a software configuration. The configuration is organized in a manner that enables orderly management of change.
The configuration audit is a SQA activity that helps to ensure that quality is maintained as changes are made. Status reporting provides information about each change to those with a need to know. Configuration management for Web engineering is similar in most respects to SCM for conventional software. However, each of the core SCM tasks should be streamlined to make it as lean as possible, and special provisions for content management must be implemented.