Why are software configuration audits important?
Imagine that everyone has checked in their software for the week. The build seems to go ok. The executable file is sent to testing. Test gets half way through their 56 hours of test case scripts when suddenly 100’s of defects are popping out everywhere! It turns out that at least one of the modules that was checked in had been given the name of another module by mistake. This could have been prevented if an audit had been performed rather than depending on the build to kick out any problems. The integrity of the configuration baseline should never be assumed. An audit verifies this integrity. Likewise, archives can have problems such as media corruption, files overwritten, natural disasters, and backup mistakes. If a production site needs a new copy of a build and you can’t produce it your configuration management is a big waste of time and money. A periodic audit would let you know if any mistakes or corruptions had occurred.
