Tom's Column - SPLA

Welcome to the first entry in a new piece on the Go2Group Blog entitled "Tom's Column". In this first column, I'll introduce the term Software Production Line Automation, a central theme in Go2Group's services and product offerings.

Automation is both a goal and a means to establish a Software Production Line. The mindset can be described as ERP meets the SDLC. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a term used to describe a variety of integrated systems that provide a comprehensive view of a business's overall operations. This term is traditionally applied to inventory management and Supply Change Management (what we in the Software Configuration Management field refer to as, "the other SCM").

When applied to the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) or simply the PLC (Product Life Cycle), one can envision a suite of integrated software development systems that can provide a comprehensive view of the software development process.

In practical terms, a software production line provides quick answers to questions like:

• Was Bug-2343 fixed in Build 409?
• What compiler version, flags, and platform were used in Build 9041?
• Where is the Bill of Materials for Gizmo-3.2.0.1114?
• Were the changes for Feature 324 promoted to Integration Testing?
• Did only CCB-approved changes go into the build?
• What bug or request spawned the change in file foo.c#26?
• What changes occurred between Build 401 and Build 404, what requirements were addressed?
  

SPLA represents the culmination of decades of industry experience, implemented using the best tools and infrastructure on the market today. For more detail on SPLA, visit the Go2Group website and keep an eye on this blog.

In the next column, I'll offer a few integrated software systems that can be used to build a modern production line.

Cheers!

-- Tom