6. Control Changes to Software

Particularly in an iterative development, many work products are often modified. By allowing flexibility in the planning and execution of the development and by allowing the requirements to evolve, iterative development emphasizes the vital issues of keeping track of changes and ensuring that everything and everyone is in sync. Focused closely on the needs of the development organization, change management is a systematic approach to managing changes in requirements, design, and implementation. It also covers the important activities of keeping track of defects, misunderstandings, and project commitments as well as associating these activities with specific artifacts and releases. Change management is tied to configuration management and measurements.