Channels ▼   SCM: Continuous vs. Controlled Integration
Controlled Integration Cycle  To this point, I have introduced
the concept of controlled integration, but how does it really
happen? The answer is simple -- once a day, a week, or at most
every couple of weeks, depending on the working volume, the
stack of finished tasks gets integrated by the integrator, a new
release is created, tested, and then marked as the baseline for
the next iteration. Figure 11 shows the full cycle. Notice that
testing (unit testing, automated GUI testing, manual checks, and
so on) plays a key role in the process. If there were no tests,
the cycle would make no sense.  [Click image to view at full
size] Figure 11: Controlled integration cycle.  Are there any
drawbacks in the controlled integration cycle? Of course, no
method is perfect, but the following ones are worth noticing:
• If no build and test server is in place (something quite
extended when continuous integration is present), developers run
the test suites on their