How do you apply ANSI EIA 649 principles to agile software development?

1 Align CM with agile values

The first step is to align your CM approach with the agile values and principles, such as customer satisfaction, working software, responding to change, and continuous improvement. This means that you should use CM to support the agile team's goals, not to impose rigid rules or bureaucracy. For example, you can use CM to facilitate frequent integration, testing, and deployment of software, as well as to enable feedback and learning from customers and stakeholders.

2 Adopt CM best practices

The second step is to adopt the CM best practices that are relevant and beneficial for your agile project. These include defining the configuration items (CIs), such as software components, documents, and tools, that need to be managed and tracked; establishing the configuration baseline, which is the agreed-upon version of the CIs at a certain point in time; performing configuration identification, which is the process of assigning unique identifiers and attributes to the CIs; performing configuration control, which is the process of reviewing, approving, and implementing changes to the CIs; performing configuration status accounting, which is the process of recording and reporting the status and history of the CIs; and performing configuration audits, which is the process of verifying that the CIs conform to the requirements and specifications.

3 Use CM tools and techniques

The third step is to use the CM tools and techniques that are suitable and effective for your agile project. These include using version control systems, such as Git or SVN, to manage the source code and other artifacts; using branching and merging strategies, such as feature branches or trunk-based development, to isolate and integrate changes; using configuration management databases (CMDBs), such as Ansible or Chef, to store and manage the configuration data and dependencies of the CIs; using continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) tools, such as Jenkins or Travis CI, to automate the building, testing, and deploying of the software; and using dashboards and reports, such as Jira or Trello, to monitor and communicate the status and progress of the CIs and the changes.

4 Adapt CM to agile context

The fourth step is to adapt your CM approach to the specific context and needs of your agile project. This means that you should tailor your CM processes, roles, and artifacts to fit the scope, scale, and complexity of your project; align your CM activities with the agile ceremonies, such as sprint planning, daily standup, sprint review, and sprint retrospective; and adjust your CM frequency, granularity, and rigor according to the agile iterations, releases, and feedback cycles.

5 Collaborate with CM stakeholders

The fifth step is to collaborate with the CM stakeholders, such as developers, testers, product owners, customers, and auditors, to ensure that your CM approach is aligned with their expectations, requirements, and feedback. This means that you should involve them in the CM planning, decision making, and execution; communicate with them regularly and transparently about the CM status, issues, and risks; and solicit and incorporate their feedback and suggestions for improvement.

6 Evaluate and improve CM performance

The sixth step is to evaluate and improve your CM performance, as part of the agile principle of continuous improvement. This means that you should measure and monitor your CM metrics, such as change frequency, change success rate, change lead time, and change failure rate; identify and analyze your CM problems, such as configuration drift, inconsistency, or conflicts; and implement and verify your CM improvements, such as process optimization, tool enhancement, or skill development.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?