13.3 Programmer

Programmers perform all programming activities, producing source code and related objects, such as system data and build scripts. They also maintain these programming objects during the product's life cycle, producing new versions according to change requests . They may also be responsible for the testing of their own code, such as performing module tests, and possibly also for integration tests.

All configuration management activities must be performed for coding and other activities for which this person is responsible, such as testing. Programmers contribute to the performance of configuration management by

• Identifying relevant configuration items (source code and object files)

• Placing relevant configuration items in storage after due approval

• Producing appropriate event registrations for items used in connection with programming, such as requirement specifications or design

Programmers may also be involved with configuration control boards in connection with evaluating event registrations. Programmers' contribution to laying a good foundation for configuration management should not be underestimated.

Benefits

On top of the benefits of placing their own products under configuration management, programmers may benefit from configuration management by

• Extracting related configuration items as the basis for producing programming objects, such as software requirement specifications and design

• Getting information on the status and history of these items

• Getting trace analysis results toward these items, to ensure that the code and related objects cover at least the design and possibly also explicitly all software requirements

References

More details about relevant subjects may be found in Chapters 16Coding, Integration, and Test, 18Managing Configurations in Different Development Models, and 22 How to Get Started from Nothing.