Tracking Change in Rapid and eXtreme Development: A Challenge to SCM-tools?

Software configuration management (SCM) has proved to be an invaluable part of developing and maintaining high quality software. The benefits are not for free however: SCM tool operations often divert your attention from your development task, sometimes you have to endure a long waiting time while the tool does its job, change descriptions must be memorised until your next check-in, etc. This kind of overhead and disruption does not fit well with fast-paced development processes like rapid prototyping, explorative programming, and eXtreme Programming that favour creativity, speed, and communication more than managerial rigour. In the cost/benefit equation the balance may tip in favour of not using any SCM tool or only using a fraction of its potential. We think SCM has something to offer such projects, and present some proposals that may allow SCM tools to better suit the characteristics of fast-paced projects.