Configuration management : the missing link in Web engineering / Susan Dart.

ISBN:

9781580533898

Title:

Author:

Dart, Susan, 1957-

Personal Author:

Dart, Susan, 1957-

Publication Information:

Boston, MA : Artech House, 2000.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvii, 276 pages)

General Note:

"Artech House computing library."

Contents:

The Internet Is a Fabulous Invention, But ... -- The beginnings of maintenance problems -- The Web crisis consequence -- The Web changes everything -- Speed has changed everything -- Companies that embraced the Web created new opportunities -- Companies that ignored the Web are paying the price -- We need Web engineering -- Companies are busy now -- The future and some good advice -- Be proactive and win! -- An outline of each chapter -- Why I wrote this book -- The audience for this book -- The Nature of the World Wide Web -- The Internet rules! -- The beauty and potential of the Web -- The phases of Web acceptance -- Initial focus for companies concerning their Web systems -- Mistakes are made too easily and are very costly -- The Web crisis -- What is driving the Web crisis? -- Web systems can be very complex -- Web system architecture and terminology -- Nine key Web crisis challenges -- Speed of change challenge -- Variant explosion challenge -- Dynamic content challenge -- Process support challenge -- Performance effect challenge -- Scalability challenge -- Outsourcing challenge -- Politics challenge -- Immaturity challenge -- Summary of the nine challenges -- Signs of a crisis point -- The nature of Web programming -- Understanding the Many Views of Configuration Management -- Configuration management is configuration management regardless of object type -- The essence of configuration management: Key notions and terms -- An everyday example -- The old view and the new view of configuration management.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Subject Term:

Web sites -- Management.

Web site development.

Software configuration management.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2000

Publication Information:

Boston, MA : Artech House, 2000.

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
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Summary

An examination of configuration management (CM) from a business value perspective. It discusses CM technology, reveals best practice techniques for selecting and deploying automated CM solutions, explores nine challenges facing e-commerce, and provides advice on avoiding pitfalls.

Author Notes

Susan Dart received her B.Sc. from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, her M.Sc. in Software engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

Dart is currently principal, application lifecycle management at Pretzel Logic. She is a CM evangelist and consultant with 24 years of experience in software tools and development and technology adoption. Her unique experience spans academia and industry and includes positions in software and tool development, sales, research, and executive management for a leading CM tool vendor. A well-known speaker at international seminars and conferences, and the author of an earlier book on CM and more than 60 professional papers. Her background includes seven years at the Software Engineering Institute.

050

Preface	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xvii
The Internet Is a Fabulous Invention, But...	p. 1
The beginnings of maintenance problems	p. 5
The Web crisis consequence	p. 6
The Web changes everything	p. 9
Speed has changed everything	p. 10
Companies that embraced the Web created new opportunities	p. 12
Companies that ignored the Web are paying the price	p. 16
We need Web engineering	p. 18
Companies are busy now	p. 19
The future and some good advice	p. 21
Be proactive and win!	p. 22
An outline of each chapter	p. 22
Why I wrote this book	p. 24
The audience for this book	p. 26
Key messages from this chapter	p. 26
The Nature of the World Wide Web	p. 29
The Internet rules!	p. 30
The beauty and potential of the Web	p. 31
The phases of Web acceptance	p. 34
Initial focus for companies concerning their Web systems	p. 36
Mistakes are made too easily and are very costly	p. 37
The Web crisis	p. 40
What is driving the Web crisis?	p. 42
Web systems can be very complex	p. 44
Web system architecture and terminology	p. 48
Nine key Web crisis challenges	p. 52
Speed of change challenge	p. 52
Variant explosion challenge	p. 54
Dynamic content challenge	p. 56
Process support challenge	p. 58
Performance effect challenge	p. 60
Scalability challenge	p. 61
Outsourcing challenge	p. 61
Politics challenge	p. 62
Immaturity challenge	p. 63
Summary of the nine challenges	p. 64
Signs of a crisis point	p. 65
The nature of Web programming	p. 65
Key messages from this chapter	p. 68
Understanding the Many Views of Configuration Management	p. 73
Configuration management is configuration management regardless of object type	p. 74
The essence of configuration management: Key notions and terms	p. 78
An everyday example	p. 78
The old view and the new view of configuration management	p. 80
Typical software development and maintenance life cycles	p. 81
Software engineering models	p. 82
The value and benefits of configuration management	p. 83
Business and technical benefits	p. 85
Signs of a configuration management problem	p. 87
What drives companies to a configuration management solution	p. 88
How success drives companies to configuration management	p. 89
Unified view of configuration management	p. 93
The eight functional areas of software configuration management	p. 94
Version and configuration control	p. 96
Configuration item structuring	p. 97
Construction of configurations	p. 98
Change management	p. 98
Teamwork support	p. 100
Process management	p. 101
Auditing	p. 101
Status reporting	p. 102
Key decisions companies must make, or mistakes I see too often	p. 102
Key messages from this chapter	p. 103
The Automation of Configuration Management	p. 107
Automated, not manual, configuration management	p. 109
Spectrum of configuration management tools	p. 109
Not all configuration management tools are the same	p. 111
CM for Web teams	p. 112
Lightweight versus heavyweight tools	p. 114
Dynamic content	p. 115
Component library management	p. 116
What the configuration management vendors are doing	p. 116
What is the best configuration management tool?	p. 118
Enterprise-wide solution or project-specific solution?	p. 119
Relationship to other disciplines and tools	p. 121
Concepts, or architectural elements, in configuration management tools	p. 124
Versions	p. 124
Repository	p. 127
Workspaces	p. 127
System models	p. 128
Builds	p. 128
Relationships	p. 128
Change requests	p. 129
Change life cycles	p. 129
Change sets	p. 129
Processes	p. 130
Tasks	p. 130
Audit trail	p. 131
The death and resurrection of the configuration management industry	p. 131
Key messages from this chapter	p. 132
Configuration Management Tool Selection and Deployment	p. 135
Configuration management opens up a can of worms	p. 137
Size matters, but it does not change how adoption is done	p. 137
Quick and dirty adoption or methodical adoption?	p. 138
The good, the bad, and the ugly about adoption	p. 140
Why companies fail at adopting a configuration management solution	p. 141
The model of the configuration management solution	p. 143
Sequence of steps in the configuration management solution	p. 146
Step 1 Select teams	p. 147
Step 2 Create the sponsorship strategy	p. 150
Step 3 Capture the status of configuration management today	p. 151
Step 4 Define the configuration management vision	p. 152
Step 5 Specify the configuration management benefits	p. 152
Step 6 Assess readiness to change	p. 153
Step 7 Define configuration management requirements	p. 154
Step 8 Do risk management	p. 156
Step 9 Define the selection method	p. 157
Step 10 Make the strategic decisions	p. 158
Step 11 Submit the request for proposal to the vendors	p. 158
Step 12 Conduct candidate tool demonstrations	p. 159
Step 13 Pick the finalist tool(s)	p. 160
Step 14 Develop a CM plan or describe CM processes	p. 160
Step 15 Do proof-of-concept pilot(s)	p. 162
Step 16 Pick the CM tool	p. 165
Step 17 Complete risk mitigation	p. 165
Step 18 Schedule roll-out	p. 166
Step 19 Train users	p. 166
Step 20 Prepare the CM tool	p. 167
Step 21 Manage resistance	p. 167
Step 22 Gather lessons learned	p. 171
How long are the tool selection and adoption going to take?	p. 172
ROI and useful metrics	p. 173
How can we recover from tool adoption failure, or turn "shelfware" into "UseWare"?	p. 176
The value of configuration management vendors	p. 177
The big gap regarding standards	p. 180
Should the tool follow the process or should the process follow the tool?	p. 181
Key messages from this chapter	p. 182
Case Studies in Configuration Management Automation of Web Systems	p. 185
What I did	p. 186
The messages and best practices	p. 186
Case study: Carclub.com	p. 189
Its CM system and environment	p. 189
CM process	p. 190
Minimizing mistakes in publishing	p. 191
CM adoption and benefits	p. 191
The evolving CM solution	p. 191
Messages and lessons learned	p. 192
Case study: eCampus.com	p. 192
Configuration management goals	p. 193
Development and maintenance life cycles	p. 193
Managing changes	p. 194
Messages and lessons learned	p. 195
Case study: EDS	p. 196
The nature of the CM solution	p. 197
Creation layer	p. 197
Collection layer	p. 198
CM layer	p. 199
Compilation and distribution layer	p. 199
Deployment layer	p. 199
Configuration items	p. 200
Configuration item life cycle	p. 201
Managing changes to client Web sites	p. 202
Adoption of the CM solution	p. 203
Evolution of its CM solution	p. 203
Messages and lessons learned	p. 203
Case study: Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems	p. 204
The environment and CM goals	p. 204
CM processes	p. 205
Evolution of its CM solution	p. 205
Messages and lessons learned	p. 206
Case study: Lycos	p. 206
Messages and lessons learned	p. 209
Case study: NASD	p. 210
NASD's goals for its CM solution	p. 210
CM infrastructure	p. 210
CM processes	p. 211
Change management	p. 211
Web content support	p. 214
Problems it was having and benefits that CM brought it	p. 215
Further CM evolution	p. 216
Adoption of the CM solution	p. 216
Messages and lessons learned	p. 218
Case study: OneSource Information Services Inc.	p. 219
Problems solved and benefits gained	p. 219
Infrastructure	p. 220
Workflow and change management	p. 220
Deployment	p. 221
Messages and lessons learned	p. 221
Case study: USinternetworking	p. 222
Problems solved and benefits offered by its CM solution	p. 222
Change management	p. 224
Company organizational layout	p. 225
Messages and lessons learned	p. 226
Appendix A	p. 229
A.1 Configuration management questionnaire	p. 230
A.2 Categories of configuration management requirements	p. 240
A.3 Categories of risks	p. 240
A.4 Process description	p. 244
A.5 Types of process or process levels	p. 245
A.6 Example of a CM process model	p. 245
Description of the roles in the states	p. 247
Description of the roles in the transitions	p. 247
Description of the states	p. 247
A.7 Template for configuration management status report	p. 253
Executive summary	p. 253
People's understanding or definition of CM	p. 254
Problems found in our development and maintenance practices and tools	p. 254
Goals or visions people have for a better solution	p. 254
Why CM is important to this company	p. 254
Recommendations regarding CM	p. 254
A.8 Template for risk management plan	p. 255
Executive summary	p. 255
Detailed description of the risks	p. 256
Lessons learned	p. 257
A.9 Template for a pilot project plan	p. 258
Success criteria and expectations	p. 258
Why was this project chosen to be the pilot?	p. 258
Scope of the pilot project	p. 259
Schedule	p. 259
Risks and concerns	p. 259
Process models	p. 259
Training materials	p. 259
Vendor interaction	p. 261
Lessons learned and data captured	p. 261
About the Author	p. 263
Index	p. 265

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Summary

Author Notes

Table of Contents