Releases

In project management, a Release is a new version of software made available to users. The new version may represent a set of new features, enhancements, updates, and issue fixes. The release is considered stable and tested with the planned changes and fixes which are packaged and delivered to be available for end-users. Release is an essential part of the software development cycle and iterative development process which incrementally delivers value to customers.

Release Management Process

Release management in project management is the process of software release to the production environment on time and within budget while maintaining the existing production environment’s integrity. This process requires a complete collaboration among development, testing, and operations teams for error-free, reliable, and stable deliverables for the end users.

The Release Management process consists of the below key steps:

1. Planning the release: The initial stage is release planning, where the entire process is structured from development to deployment.
2. Feature and Code Freeze: The development part of the release process involves coding as per requirements and it is as specified in the release plan. The feature freeze is ensured to make sure only the specified changes are done and code freeze is implemented by restricting the changes to the code base except what is needed for the changes planned for the release.
3. Testing Process: Once development is completed for the release, thorough testing is done to identify any bugs and errors. The QA team carries out different testing processes like unit testing, integration testing, and system testing to verify error-free release.
4. Release Candidate: A release candidate, a version of the code base ready for release is created and deployed for User Acceptance testing
5. User Acceptance Testing: User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is conducted by select users and stakeholders to verify if the changes in the planned release meet the expectations and if all the existing features are not disturbed.
6. Deploying the Release: Once UAT is approved and signed off, the planned release is deployed to the production environment.

After deployment to the production environment, the final testing is done and made available for the live environment. Monitoring the software in a live environment to ensure everything works as expected. In case anything goes wrong, a Rollback plan is kept in place to allow you to return to the previous version. Communication and release notes are shared with users if everything works as expected and planned.

Release Notes

After the Release, the Release document is shared with users to inform the end users of what’s new, what is changed, and the improvements applied from the previous version. This is also called changelog which contains all features and changes done from the first version of the software.

Post-Release Support and Feedback

After the release, ongoing post-release support is provided to users for any issues, queries, or concerns regarding the changes applied. Also, feedback is collected from end users and analyzed to improve the release process.

In Product development and management using Agile Scrum methodologies several key aspects, scrum ceremonies, and key events mark the complete life cycle of a product. In this article, we will discuss 3 key terms from the development process, Product Backlog, Product Releases, and MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and their purpose and uses.