UCM Overview

Unified "Change" Management (UCM) is Configuration Management that formally integrates artefact and activity management. 

Despite UCM being coined by Rational Software, the concepts are generally well established and used across the industry. 

From Rational's perspective, The primary activities of the UCM can be described as follows:

• Software artefacts are organised into components

• Project Managers create projects (& teams) to work on these components

• Developers work on assigned project activities (tasks, defects, change requests)

• Changes (files, directories etc) are logically grouped into change sets.

• Change sets (once complete) are integrated back into a project integration area

• New component baselines are created, tested and promoted

• Component baselines are assembled into system

• Systems are tested and released

One would see a complete UCM solution being created through integration between a version/build control tool (e.g. ClearCase) and a Change Request/Defect Tracking tool (e.g. ClearQuest). Note: Other vendor tools could be applied to achieve similar goals.

Note: For  a more concise overview of Rational's angle on UCM go to http://www.rational.com or read the following cool paper by Brian White The Power of UCM.

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