SCM tools have a profound effect on the day to day life of a developer. These types of systems have either helped or hindered development teams deliver software. SCM systems are like the “hub” of a development team. It’s where teams artifact important work, integrate changes, save important ideas and add features for customers. It’s the center of our development universe!

It’s all about the developers. They need to be free to innovate and get changes out the door quickly. But they can’t if they are stifled by tools that get in the way. Tools need to be able to ENHANCE the software development process. Many people think that source control is just a place to checkin / checkout code. But it’s more than that, it’s where the software development process comes to life. If the SCM system isn’t up to the task of a complex development process, developers can’t innovate.

Sometimes it’s hard to understand that you have a tooling problem, even if it’s staring you in the face. Think of an old pair of trusty sneakers that you have at your house. We all have a pair, they are many years old, beat-up, dirty, torn… but we still wear them. Our feet hurt when we wear them, but for some reason we refuse to get rid of these old sneakers. Until one day (usually after a sprained toe) we decide to buy a brand new pair and after a little breaking in… WOW our feet feel great! Why did I keep the other pair so long?

Software tools are often like this, there is an “if it ain’t broke (too much), don’t fix it” attitude. We often keep tools too long after their expiration date. You’ll hear it from your development team, moaning about the pains of merging code, switching workspaces, checking out … it’s enough to make you cringe. But still we don’t change. Your old SCM is the sneaker, and collectively as a group you and your team have a hard time recognizing when your feet hurt.