The Copy- Modify- Merge Approach
1. All developers checkout a working copy from the repository.
2. They modify the files they need to change to make their enhancements or bug fix.
3. They update their working copy with other developer's changes regularly.
4. They commit their own changes to the repository.
5. CVS merges their changes into the existing code.
6. If an area the developer changed was also changed by someone else, a conflict is declared and the changes are not put into the repository. Instead the developer's working copy is modified to show both sets of changes. The conflict is shown with easily findable codes (e.g. ">>>>>").