Ever wonder about how to merge changes from a group of Force.com developers into a single app, or what dependencies you need to consider when you migrate metadata from one environment to another? If so, then take a look at the newest addition to the Force.com library: The Development Lifecycle Guide: Enterprise Development on the Force.com Platform.

This new guide describes how an IT organization can plan, build, test, and deploy applications using a combination of Web-based and traditional development practices. It's meant for IT architects, developers, and administrators who want to understand how the development process for a Force.com app is different from the development process of an app on another platform.

Organized by the different stages of the application lifecycle, this guide includes information on:

• Choosing and configuring environments for development, integration, testing, and staging
• Planning the delivery of multiple applications on different schedules
• Using development tools such as the Force.com IDE, Force.com Migration Tool, and Data Loader
• Tracking and synchronizing changes from multiple developers
• Migrating setup data between environments
• Deploying to a production organization

Have ideas for other guides you'd like to see from salesforce.com? If so, post an idea on Force.com Ideas or email us directly at developerforce@salesforce.com.