Configuration management

When working as a team, coordination and synchronization can be optimized to improve efficiency. Tracking and controlling the development life cycle smoothens the development flow, cutting down time and costs. The most important tools known to help manage the software life cycle are:

• Revision control
• Issue tracking
• Code reviews
• Continuous integration

Different options exist for the four categories. The source code is synchronized among developers through a revision control system. Issue tracking systems (ITSs) usually consist of web platforms that keep track of the activities and known bugs of the system. Code reviews can be encouraged with specific web-based tools, and enforced through rules on the revision control systems.

Continuous integration tools ensure that build and test execution tasks are scheduled to automatically execute, periodically or upon changes in the code, collecting test results, and notifying the developers about regressions.