Benefits

• Complete, accurate sales software releases delivered in timely fashion
• Simultaneous work on current, next, and future releases now possible
• Tool bridges work process gaps that once made inefficiencies inevitable

Challenge

A major insurer's IT department had to deliver timely releases of business applications to an internal unit. But the two software teams (technical and development) responsible for delivering the releases to their internal client followed different development practices. They had difficulty coordinating their efforts to package their work into the correct application releases.

The technical team provided development teams with files that integrate their business applications with hardware and other software (e.g., printers and print drivers). The correct versions of technical files had to be packaged with the consolidated releases of business applications.

The client required a solution that would enable the technical team to work concurrently on current, next, and future software releases, and function independently from the development team. This had to be achieved without affecting either team's work schedules or the software development timing and coordination between the two teams.

Stratagem's Solution

A Stratagem Software Configuration Management (SCM) consultant worked with the technical team to define its software development and deployment processes. A key point was producing accurate business releases at the same time that developers were working on current, next, and future releases.

Stratagem's consultant defined a method that allowed concurrent development for multiple releases. He also provided an accurate process to deploy software for the current and next releases. Using the client's SCM tool, he brought the entire set of technical files under SCM control. The technical team used the tool and its archive repository for development activities.

The consultant introduced a three-stage work cycle via the SCM tool: develop, release, production. The work-cycle plan enabled the technical team to work independently on all application releases. Both teams' work schedules were kept intact.

Stratagem transferred the release process to the client's SCM team, which used the tool to select the files (marked 'release' by the technical team) and, from them, create the executable software files for production.

Result

Stratagem's SCM solution gave the client's technical team freedom to develop software for the current, next, and future releases simultaneously. The two teams can continue to work in a manner that they prefer, but the SCM tool keeps their work synchronized and coordinated. The correct versions of the software files are packaged with the various releases for reference purposes.