Software Quality

Chapter 22Software Change Control Processes

22.1 Introduction

The software development process is inevitably characterized by a constant flow of change requests from customers and sometimes other parties involved in the software project. Carrying out a change during the software development process involves investing additional resources; their quantity varies according to the nature of the request, and the development stage of the project. The need to cope with software changes throughout the software life cycle is one of the more important and onerous tasks of the software development and maintenance teams. Moreover, performing changes usually under time constraints is one of the processes more susceptible to software errors.

The process of examining change requests; selecting which should be rejected and which approved, along with scheduling of the implementation of approved changes is the software change control (SCC) process. The SCC function in the development organization performs the following tasks:

1. Examination of requested or suggested changes.
2. Approval of implementation of only those changes which are worthy and necessary, while all remaining are rejected.
3. Scheduling of the implementation of each of the approved changes.
4. Follow-up of the approved changes.

Following change control processes correctly throughout the software life cycle is key to the effective and efficient performance of software development and maintenance.

The importance of SCC is stressed in Section ...