Implementation of Source Code Management Does Not Guarantee On–Time Software Releases : Seapine Software Quality-Ready Survey Results Show that Integrating SCM with Other ALM Tools is Essential for Quality

According to results from the Seapine Software Quality-Ready Assessment (QRA), adoption of source code management (SCM) tools is nearly universal. Eight-one percent of software development professionals indicated that their companies have an SCM application.

MASON, Ohio (Business Wire EON) August 26, 2008 -- Results from the survey also show that companies with SCM in place scored higher in all other application lifecycle management (ALM) competency areas. When evaluated on issue tracking criteria, companies that used a change management system scored 62 percent higher than companies without one.

Yet organizations still struggle to release software on time. More than one-third of the individuals surveyed said their organizations release on time and on budget less than 75 percent of the time.

"Organizations often lack the traceability and efficiency benefits of an integrated solution," says Richard Riccetti, president and CEO, Seapine Software. "While most companies use a source code management application, few integrate it with their issue management tool to create a complete change management solution."

According to the QRA, only 15 percent of organizations have integrated change and issue management systems. As a result, correlating code changes with defects is often a time-consuming, manual process. Poor integration between systems also hinders regulatory compliance and increases risk.

To increase the positive impact of change management, Riccetti recommends the following:

Expand the use of change management to all areas of the enterprise. Store all information resources in the source code management tool. The benefits of versioning and branching are just as valuable for other documents as they are for source code. Integrate change management with your issue and test case management systems. This integration lets you see relationships between the code and issues and results in better planning and more realistic deadlines. About Seapine Software

With over 8,500 customers worldwide, Seapine Software, Inc. is the leading provider of quality-centric application lifecycle management solutions. Headquartered in Mason, Ohio, with offices in Europe and Asia-Pacific, Seapine solutions help companies reliably and efficiently develop quality software applications. Seapine's products support best practices, integrate into all popular development environments, and run on Microsoft Windows®, Linux®, Sun Solaris®, and Apple Macintosh® platforms.