Benefits

• Timely delivery of complete, accurate software releases achieved
• Release cycle cut by 75%; teams can work continuously with test system
• Teams in different countries now able to work together efficiently

Challenge

Chronic logistical and quality problems regularly prevented a financial network management company's IT department from delivering an accurate software release on time.

The release took eight days to process. The IT department had no specific knowledge of its contents, so the simultaneous release of multiple fixes wasn't feasible. Also, the release often was missing fixes and new features. This situation complicated the activities of two development teams located in different countries, and the inadvertent overlaying and loss of source code by these groups created confusion, caused rework, and delayed the release cycles.

The client required a solution that would: consistently deliver timely, high-quality releases for its customers; and enable the development groups to work effectively together.

Stratagem's Solution

A Stratagem Enterprise Change & Configuration Management (ECCM) consultant identified a key senior management sponsor who recognized the value of a timely and reliable software release.

The consultant conducted an ECCM survey to identify those problem areas that caused the software release failures. He improved the client's in-house ECCM process to eliminate developer problems and provide an accurate repository for each release.

With input from the sponsor, Stratagem implemented a daily build process that gave the developers a current test system every morning. A production build process was also implemented for client releases. Stratagem's ECCM consultant created a cross-platform release area that enabled the teams to retrieve data automatically from a common area to their respective Windows and Unix platforms. The consultant then trained current and new employees in the use of the new ECCM development and release processes.

Result

Stratagem's ECCM solution enabled the client to a create timely and reliable release consistently for its clients. Stratagem's efforts led to a significant reduction of the release cycle -- from eight weeks to two. The development groups can now work from their respective countries without interfering with each other's labors, and they can easily coordinate their work into each release.