Holistic view of Continuous Integration & Build (elements of CIB) – Part 2 of 9

In the last episode (e.g., 1 of 9) of this series, I introduced the topic of Continuous Integration and Build (CIB). In this episode, I will introduce the elements of CIB. The key elements involve four areas: a mindset change to thinking more continuously; the entrance criteria that makes the CIB process perform; the components to initiate an effective CIB process; and finally key infrastructure to enable the CIB process. Let us walk through these areas at a high-level.

An Agile mindset merges with the CM mindset. 

• A very interesting cultural shift occurs when the concept of “continuous” is ingrained in the culture and method. Agile embraces a mindset of continuous change where the build process moves from an event-based integration process to a continuous integration process. In other words, no one needs to hold onto large amounts of changes for a major integration effort or declare that builds will occur nightly, weekly, even hourly.

The entrance criteria for an effective and lean continuous integration and build process include:

• The ability to specify the right ‘bite-size’ level of story or requirements tasks that represent changes that allow for granular and frequent code changes. This implies that the Agile team can understand the stories well enough to divide them up in small and consumable tasks which allow the programmer to make changes frequently and incrementally.

The key components to initiate an effective continuous integration and build process include:

• Right-size the branching strategy that reduces risk yet ensures code stability where people can work in a stable workspace without being impact by changes of others on a regular basis.
• Shift in roles and responsibilities of who performs merging and building.
• Minimize the merge process to reduce work for development
• Emphasize building in general and understanding the build levels so it is clear who the target of the build is for. Builds can occur within a private workspace and within shared branches like the mainline or project branches.
• Test with teeth by establishing and conducting unit testing at the individual programmer level and then smoke test after the integration build.

Underneath all of this, there is a need for infrastructure to support a continuous integration and build process. The two primary elements of this include:

• CM version control system that has the capability of establishing the desired branching strategy, has an automated and intelligent merging capability, and can integrate with continuous integration and build tools.
• Continuous integration and build tool that supports an automated build process. There are many continuous integration and build tools on the marketing ranging from vendor products to open source and freeware tools.

Let’s delve deeper into each area. Consider reading the next episode which focuses on the Agile and CM Mindsets (Part 3 of 9) and what this means in an Continuous Integration and Build process.

Note: If you started with this entry (Part 2), consider reading part 1, Holistic view of Continuous Integration & Build – Part 1 of 9

Book released in the US - Adapting Configuration Management for Agile Teams

Exciting news! My book “Adapting Configuration Management for Agile Teams” which is on the world market is available in paperback and now as a Kindle ebook!  It is the first book of its kind that combines discussions on both CM and Agile. Agile is the facilitator of change while CM is the enabler of change. When done properly, CM provides the right level of control for Agile projects to maintain and increase its high level of velocity. CM for Agile can be a very powerful combination when done effectively.

How can it help you? Aimed at all levels of professionals in the Agile, Configuration Management (CM), Project Management, Product Management, and Development fields, this book provides very tangible support for Agile teams. It focuses on how CM with its practices and infrastructure can be adapted and managed in order to directly benefit Agile projects

What are some unique features of this book that can help you?

 • Provides both an Agile Primer and a CM Primer. For those experienced with CM, it provides a solid overview on Agile(or visa-versa on CM) so you can come up to speed. It can be great for someone who wants to learn both. It’s almost like a two-for-the-price-of-one book!

 • Provides insightful and concrete guidance on adapting CM for Agile methods while maintaining CM principles and allowing minimal structure needed for Agile projects to continue to run fast. Adapting CM for Agile doesn't mean throwing out the CM principles of identification, control, audit and report. Instead it means that CM should be adapted to allow the lean nature of Agile. The question is how do we do this? Inside, learn how to adapt:

o Continuous Integration and Build applying notions of bit-size tasks, right-sizing branches, minimizing merging, emphasizing continuous build, and testing with teeth.
o CM Planning (aka CM Vision) moving away from big-effort-up-front (BEUF) to a more evolutionary approach, applying an iteration 0 to get started, adapting CM roles and responsibilities, and using wikis and other CM formats.
o CM to support more effective Refactoring, Pair Programming, and Test Driven Development (TDD), Traceability, Baselines, Problem Management, CM Audit, and CM Reporting and lean metrics.
o CM support for Distributed Development for Agile teams when co-location is not an option by performing a distributed analysis and considering code access solutions, and supporting a Cloud infrastructure option.
o CM infrastructure for Agile thru implementing CM Envisioning for a brand new product following Agile methods or thru CM Refactoring to adapt CM for an existing product line moving to Agile methods.

• Will help you understand how the more modern CM features help with implementing Agile in an effective manner and that CM tools are a strategic Agile partner.
• Will help you understand how to more effectively support Agile when your organization, product, or project must align with standards and frameworks.

Again the book is called “Adapting Configuration Management for Agile Teams” (ISBN-10: 0470746637). This book is available on both the Agile and Wiley websites. Also, if you want the original CM book which people love as a great CM reference book, feel free to consider, “Software Configuration Management Implementation Roadmap” (ISBN-10: 0470862645).

Have a great day!