Software changes are a common aspect in today’s organization and can have extreme consequences if it is not managed well. The rapid changes that are taking place in the modern day business environments, mergers and acquisitions, coupled with the requirement of processing, automating and emerging new technologies, such as web 2.0 and other technological developments indicate that the modifications to the company’s software is a daily and continuous aspect. Hence, the significance of software change management branches from the fact that these changes within the software are in effect changes to the business procedures itself as the software that helps in implementation remains inextricably associated with the business process. What happens in case of failed changes? The absence of appropriate controls for software modifications can result in the loss of confidential and important data, lead to overwriting of essential components, the overlapping of multiple versions of the same code, incompatibility of certain modules as well as several other complexities and confusions. Similarly, sometimes it might become very difficult to retrieve the lost information resulting in the restoration to the older versions, which implies that the changes fail. Without efficient controls put in place, failures of this kind will come in easily even when an individual is entrusted with the job carries it out perfectly. For instance, the discovery of deficiencies that emerge from any failure to map the test maps to apt needs, or even by the applications of an incorrect patch might occur only post implementing the application, resulting in the delay of the resolution. When the impacted process stays too crucial to shut down, the rectification becomes complex and as time passes, complicated problems might crop in that can result in failure of the change. Keeping all these aspects in mind, service providers specializing in agile methodology have come up with software change management solutions that have the following features: • The solution is user friendly • Has a single repository of application lifecycle entities • Links same kind of change items to the change packages • Enables for two-way needs traceability relationship • Has a process-driven methodology Thus it is a fact that changes in the software require are inevitable all through the application lifecycle management system. Unaddressed and unidentified change results in making the application releases risky and sometimes hassles prone. In order to efficiently cater to the challenges, a robust change management solution with reactive and proactive impact analysis is required throughout the software lifecycle. An automated change management process can be executed and enforced for further minimizing the chances of things that go out of hand. Other Links - tfs integration
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agile methodology, change management, application lifecycle, application lifecycle management, tfs integration,
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