2.7 Making a New Baseline

To ensure that developers stay in sync with each other's work, make new baselines regularly. A new baseline includes the work developers have delivered to the integration stream since the last baseline. If your project uses feature-specific development streams, perform this task on those streams as well as on the integration stream. In some environments, the lead developer working on a feature may assume the role of integrator for a feature-specific development stream. To make a new baseline:

1. Make sure that the integration stream is locked to prevent developers from delivering work while you create the baseline. Developers can continue to work on activities in their development streams.

2. Verify the stability of the project by testing its components.

3. Make the baseline.

4. Unlock the integration stream so that developers can deliver work.

After your team of software quality engineers tests the new baseline more extensively and determines that it is stable, make the baseline the recommended baseline. Developers then update their work areas with the new baseline by performing a rebase operation, which merges files and directories from the integration stream or feature-specific development stream to their development streams.

Figure 6 illustrates a rebase operation from baseline BL1 to BL2. For details on making baselines, see Creating a New Baseline.

Figure 6 Rebase Operation