Management essential for software success

Eighty per cent of software projects are late, over budget, or abandoned due to poor software configuration management, according to the latest report from Ovum.

Lead author of the report, Clive Burrows, said that modern management tools are a proven, reliable means of managing software change and should be 'core technology'.

The report, which costs $2395, advises how to select and implement configuration management systems successfully and avoid expensive organisational and technological risks.

"The fundamental message is that users should not try to build a configuration management system in-house," said Mr Burrows.

"Reliable tools already exist and can be deployed in a matter of weeks; projects can benefit from less bureaucracy, more control, and above all more management information."

Configuration Management is the means of controlling software change. It helps organisations meet time-to-market pressures which might otherwise cause chaotic developments, resulting in poorly tested, error-prone software being inflicted on users.

Ovum's report found that managing Internet, intranet, Java applets and Web pages posed the same problems as traditional software development. The challenge for vendors will not be solving the problems, said the report, but convincing a new breed of buyer that there is a problem and that configuration management is the solution.

Ovum Evaluates: Configuration Management, evaluates 10 leading configuration management tools against nine dimensions to allow direct comparison of the capabilities which are important to users: thee include team support, remote development, configuration management, change management, build and release support, process management, usability, ease of set-up and customisation.