System for relating workflow status to code component status in a software project

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention are directed to a configuration management (CM) system, method, and product adapted to carry out workflow management tasks, which integrates status of software projects and issues, such that software projects may be more easily and reliably tracked and management of software projects may be streamlined. In some embodiments of the invention, a CM system is adapted to maintain records of software projects and/or issues managed by the CM system, the records comprising an indicator of a workflow progress stage for the project/issue. The CM system may be further adapted to update concurrently and automatically, according to an input from a user, both (1) a workflow progress stage value for the project/issue and (2) a record for software code associated with a project/issue, the record for the software code indicating a version and the project/issue in which the version is included.

1 . A method for associating a workflow transition and a version of a software project, the method comprising at least one computer-implemented act of:
 A) accepting a first indication of a workflow transition, said workflow transition to have a version of software components as a source;   B) accepting a second indication of a version of a software project;   C) identifying the version as the source for software components being promoted when the workflow transition is applied and identifying the workflow transition as an action to be taken when a software component is promoted from the version; and   D) storing in a data structure in at least one computer-readable medium information regarding a relationship of the version and the workflow transition, the information at least in part identifying the version as the source.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising accepting from a user an indication of a software project with which the version is associated. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining a workflow for the software project, the workflow comprising a plurality of workflow stages and at least one workflow transition. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first indication and the second indication are accepted from a user. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the first indication and the second indication are accepted from the user via a graphical user interface. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the information stored in the at least one computer-readable medium comprises data accepted from the user as the first indication and the second indication. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the version is implemented as a stream. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information is stored in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information is stored in a database. 
     
     
         10 . A computer-implemented method for promoting an issue in a software project, the method comprising:
 A) identifying at least one software component associated with the issue in a version of the software project;   B) associating in a data structure the at least one software component with another version of the software project;   C) retrieving from a computer-readable medium first information regarding a workflow for the software project, the workflow comprising a plurality of workflow stages and at least one workflow transition, and second information regarding an association between at least one transition of the at least one workflow transition and at least one version of the software project;   D) determining whether the version is one of the at least one versions of the software project indicated by the second information; and   E) if it is determined that the version is one of the at least one versions, transitioning the issue in the workflow.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein transitioning an issue in a workflow comprises writing values to one or more fields of a data structure associated with the issue. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein writing values to one or more fields of a data structure associated with the issue comprises editing a value stored in a field of the one or more fields. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein identifying at least one software component associated with the issue comprises identifying a version for a software component associated with the issue. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the first information and the second information are contained within a single unit of information. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein associating in a data structure the at least one component with the other version of the software project comprises editing at least one software component data structure associated with the at least one software component to indicate that the software component is included in the other version. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein a version is implemented as a stream. 
     
     
         17 . A computer-implemented method for applying a workflow transition to an issue in a workflow for a software project, the workflow comprising a plurality of workflow stages and at least one workflow transition, the method comprising:
 A) retrieving from at least one computer-readable medium first information regarding at least one action to be taken when the workflow transition is applied;   B) performing the at least one action specified by the first information;   C) retrieving from the at least one computer-readable medium second information regarding an association between at least one transition of the at least one workflow transition and at least one version of the software project;   D) determining whether the workflow transition is one of the at least one transitions indicated by the second information; and   E) if it is determined that the workflow transition is one of the at least one workflow transitions in the second information, identifying at least one software component of the issue and promoting the at least one software component.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein promoting the at least one software component comprises associating in a data structure the at least one software component with a version of the software project different from the version associated with the workflow transition. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein associating in a data structure the at least one component with the other version of the software project comprises editing at least one software component data structure associated with the at least one software component to indicate that the software component is included in the other version. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the at least one action comprises prompting a user for a value of a property of the issue.