Strict locking enforces sequential access to files through the use of exclusive locks. Exclusive locks guarantee that the owner of the lock on a given member revision has the right to create the next sequential revision. Developers can commit their changes without needing to merge with other changes. Exclusive locks on a revision are shown in real-time in all Integrity Lifecycle Manager clients that have the applicable Sandbox or project view open. If multiple users have to modify the same file, the next change can start as soon as the previous change is committed.

The strict locking model is useful when an organization wants to minimize the risk of unintended changes to a particular file or project, avoid conflict resolutions that could involves complex merges, or when the likelihood of concurrent development on files is low.