Maven project dependency management process

  softwareengineering

I’m writing what I might refer to as a Maven project dependency management process for a project I work on. Whenever a developer wants or needs to change the version number of an existing Maven dependency or add one or more new dependencies, they must follow the process.

So far, I’ve identified four stages:

  1. Confirmation. Confirm that the benefit provided by the change justifies any cost to the Maven project. Check that the new dependencies or dependency versions do not have any known security vulnerabilities.
  2. Approval. Get approval for the change from the appropriate stakeholders.
  3. Implementation. Make the change to the Maven project.
  4. Verification. Among other things, check the effect of the change on the Maven project. For example, check if the versions of any other existing dependencies changed as a consequence of the change. If they have, are the new versions compatible with the project? Do the new versions have any known security vulnerabilities?

I could probably come up with a reasonable process on my own from previous experience but I’d like input from other developers out there who have devised or are using a similar process.

What important attributes should my dependency management process have?

Thanks

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