Software Configuration Management Patterns

by Stephen P. Berczuk and Brad Appleton

I knew this book would be different from the use of “Teamwork” in its subtitle. Many of the configuration managers with whom I’ve worked through the years demonstrated an attitude that was about anything but teamwork. They viewed their job as protecting the source code (and other assets) of a project to the point of getting in the way of the developers. So based on its subtitle, I had very high hopes for this book. I was not let down. This book is excellent.

The book starts with a couple of introductory chapters and then devotes a chapter to each of 16 patterns. I really like that the book devotes a full chapter to each pattern (and therefore covers substantial patterns) rather than covering each in two pages as is often the case in patterns books.

As a coach and trainer of agile software development teams, I am often asked by these teams how they handle the software configuration management with such fast–moving processes. These excellent and highly readable book has collected a wonderful set of practices and will become a part of the standard canon I recommend to clients.