Software Configuration Management in Agile Development

Abstract

Software configuration management (SCM) is an essential part of any software project and its importance is even greater on agile projects because of the frequency of changes. In this chapter, we argue that SCM needs to be done differently and cover more aspects on agile projects. We also explain how SCM processes and tools contribute both directly and indirectly to quality assurance. We give a brief introduction to central SCM principles and define a number of typical agile activities related to SCM. Subsequently, we show that there are general SCM guidelines for how to support and strengthen these typical agile activities. Furthermore, we establish a set of requirements that an agile method must satisfy to benefit the most from SCM. Following our general guidelines, an agile project can adapt the SCM processes and tools to its specific agile method and its particular context.