Patent ID: 7844949

Claim:
A computer method for managing software configurations comprising the steps of: using a computer, given a subject software system under development, the subject software system including one or more components and being represented by one or more configurations in a first stream, storing the first stream on a first repository; enabling software development of one component of the subject software system in a working stream stored on a second repository, the working stream having one or more configurations of the one component; for the one component, creating a second stream on the first repository, the second stream having one or more configurations of the one component; creating in the second repository a copy of the second stream; creating in the first repository a copy of the working stream; and when a configuration of the working stream stored on the second repository is of interest to the subject software system, (i) replicating that configuration to the first repository copy of the working stream and (ii) merging resulting copy of the working stream with the second stream on the first repository, when a second stream configuration in the second stream on the first repository is of interest for the development on the second repository, (iii) replicating that second stream configuration to the second repository copy of the second stream; and (iv) merging resulting copy of the second stream with the working stream on the second repository; wherein the steps of replicating and merging further enables merge conflicts to be resolved, and a user to have a choice of which repository to perform software configuration management operations on.