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Here are answers to questions about using IBM Rational change management products, from David Bellagio, co-author with Tom Milligan of Software Configuration Management Strategies and IBM Rational ClearCase: A Practical Introduction, Second Edition. Be sure to read Chapter 8 from the book in this month's issue of The Rational Edge.
Q: Should I have just one PVOB (project meta-data repository) for my Unified Change Management (UCM) deployment?
If you are a small shop, then this might be the best approach. However, most shops have multiple PVOBs that divide along some organizational boundary. One issue in a single PVOB shop is that a PVOB failure will affect every project.
Q: Should I use component VOBs or VOBs that contain sub-vob components?
I like the latter approach for creating VOB containers that store similar types of artifacts. A model VOB container can store multiple model components; a deployment VOB container can store multiple components of deployable assets. And source containers can store components of type source.
Q: Why should I ClearQuest-enable my UCM project?
It can make your work much easier. If you want to model your activity's workflow, then IBM® Rational ClearQuest® is the best tool to use. Also, if you want to implement approval processes, release tracking, and other high-level activity practices, Rational ClearQuest makes these tasks easier.
Q: When I try to deliver an activity from a stream, sometimes UCM complains of a dependency on another activity in the stream. But when I look more deeply, I cannot find a change-set dependency between the activities! Why?
When you deliver an activity from one stream to another, a hidden delivery baseline is created on your behalf in the source stream. UCM requires that all subsequent deliveries from this stream contain this baseline (and all its activities). The problem described above usually occurs when you deliver something from one development stream to another, and then later try to deliver another activity somewhere (without including the first delivery's activities). There are workarounds for this. Appendix A of Software Configuration Management Strategies and IBM Rational ClearCase contains a script that can undo an activity. Or, you can resort to moving the offending change-set to a new activity and deleting the now-empty activity that was causing the dependency.
Q: Should I consider using IBM Rational ClearCase MultiSite®?
You might want to use Rational ClearCase® MultiSite to get faster access to your artifact repositories. Otherwise, you have to rely on the WAN to transfer assets when you need them (i.e., when creating or updating a workspace, etc). You can also use ClearCase MultiSite for such things as backup/recovery, fault tolerance, and one-way sync to restricted environments. It works best for large development centers that can support the server(s) required to host the artifacts. Then, a remote shop with just a few people or a work-at-home person could connect to one of these local development centers. The ClearCase Remote Client may also help you meet your remote development needs.
Q: How do I branch a defect in IBM Rational ClearQuest?
There is no way to create a branch in Rational ClearQuest as you would branch an element in IBM Rational ClearCase (which would require merging of data, etc). Instead, with ClearQuest you can model your schema to allow for child activities. Usually the parent issue is not UCM-enabled, and it flows freely among users. The child activities are UCM-enabled to capture the change-set used to address the issue. This approach allows parallel work on the same parent issue (from the child's perspective). However, updating the parent issue field values will still require serial changes.
Q: When should I use a full baseline versus an incremental baseline?
Use an incremental baseline to get the speed benefits of actually applying the label; it will process the elements added since the last full baseline. Periodically, you will want to either put down full baselines or upgrade your incrementals to full, so that your incremental baselines will not have to process as much data. With respect to access, both baselines function in the same way.
David E. Bellagio, worldwide community of practice leader for enterprise change management at IBM Rational, works with customers and IBM teams to ensure the successful deployment and adoption of Rational SCM solutions. He led the UCM hands-on workshop sessions at the 2003 and 2004 Rational User Conferences. In his 25-year career in software development, Bellagio has worked at CSC, Tandem, ADP, and HP. Before joining Rational in 1998, he spent four years deploying Rational ClearCase to development teams throughout ADP and HP.
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