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Title: Practical CM: Best Configuration Management Practices for the 21st Century by David Douglas Lyon ISBN: 0-9661248-4-7 Publisher: Raven Pub Co Pub. Date: 01 January, 1999 Format: Plastic Comb List Price(USD): $55.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.4 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Systems Engineering Approach to CM
Comment: This is a brief, but information-packed, book on configuration management from a systems engineering perspective. If you are seeking a book on software configuration management you would do better with A Guide to Software Configuration Management by Alexis Leon, or my personal favorite (but out-of-print), Configuration Management for Software by Stephen Compton and Guy Conner.
The first chapter is a 1 page summary of change philosophy, followed by a chapter that sets the scope of this book with an in-depth treatment of how CM and engineering development interrelate, with an emphasis on design control. This segues into a chapter on developing a CM plan and tailoring it to your specific requirements. The fourth chapter covers CM basics (in my opinion this should have been chapter 1), and also provides some advanced techniques and approaches. This chapter draws heavily from MIL-STD-973 and the related EIA standard 649, both of which are excellent foundations of a good CM program. A highlight of this chapter is the section on configuration control boards (CCB), which covers in depth roles and responsibilities, as well as key processes such as problem resolution and the change life cycle from the CCB point of view. This section is further augmented by chapter 8, which sets forth the roles, responsibilities and processes of a problem resolution board (PRB). The CCB and PRB are key organizational components of a strong configuration management process and this information makes this book valuable.
Another strong chapter, 5, is devoted to transitioning to production. While this book is not specifically about software configuration management, this chapter provides guidance and techniques with respect to release management that are missing from most books on software configuration management. Chapter 6, which covers production and support, are also as applicable to SCM as it is to system engineering.
The appendices are invaluable. In particular, appendices A (configuration management plan preparation guidelines) and B (questions and answers) provide clarity to some aspects of CM that usually take years of experience to master.
This book will not replace any of my books on SCM, but it nicely augments them. It is definitely must reading for system engineering practitioners, and should also be in the reference libraries of IS/IT production support and data center management professionals.
Rating: 5
Summary: Software needs Confiruration Management to give productivity
Comment: In the past, Configuration Management (CM) shared the dubious distinction, along with cod liver oil and dental fillings, as one of those things you know are "good for you" yet not very pleasant to go through. And whenever anyone raised the topic, the response was, at best, polite smiles or feigned interest and, at worst, open hostility. Ultimately, the concern centered around implementation costs: "how do we reap the benefits of CM without incurring such a dear price".
The answer, as David Douglas Lyon points out in this eminently readable text, lies in automating the CM process with well-adapted software tools. From a clear examination of the conventional, classical CM process in a manufacturing environment, he then proceeds to describe the stepwise implementation of the new CM process using tools such as Product Data Management (PDM) systems. The result builds on best CM practices and, through the use of specific procedures and guidelines, maps out the steps to implement a fully automated CM environment in a cost-effective manner.
This is a practical, "how-to" book written by an experienced practitioner. There is something here for every reader providing food for thought across the spectrum from basic to advanced level. The complete planning, implementation and integration process for a PDM system is clearly laid out in a series of templates and the annex material. As a roadmap and invaluable guide to implementing a configuration management program, Mr. Lyon devotes an entire annex to the development of a Configuration Management Plan and another to tool selection.
In sum, this volume serves as a valuable guide to those seeking to combine powerful, computer-based tools to complement a mature, proven configuration management process. This is recommended reading for those seeking a CM process appropriate to enter the Twenty First Century.
Rating: 5
Summary: Organized, clear, concise, just facts, and best of CM show.
Comment: Practical CM is strong on hardware and heavily flavored with Military Standards and Specifications. Software is not overlooked nor does the author get sidetracked with it either. And, the CALS (or JCALS) interface is nicely presented. With regard to software, Mr. Lyon states, "There are more similarities than differences between hardware and software CM." I fully agree with the author's statement. And he points to the software build process being analogous to the hardware build or production process. Practical CM provides templates and sample plans and forms with many ideas for tailoring them and the overall CM process. The book is an excellent guide and leaves the task of putting meat on the frame to the reader (i.e., CM practitioner). Common traps and pitfalls to be avoided in the CM process are described, but not an exhaustive list; a list would lengthen the book with minimal ROI. Practical CM is a great source of CM process information for the isolated commercial CM practitioner. It will give the commercial side of the village an insight to another whole world of CM they do not know about. And both clans (commercial and military/government) have a lot to offer and learn from the other. State-of-the-art esoteric fluffy CM processes will not be found in Practical CM, but practical, down-to-earth, and useful processes are there for the taking. I hope you enjoy reading and using Practical CM to apply time-tested CM principles as must as I have.
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