Release management: 6 essential phases for success

The moment an app or software update goes live is always tense. Are there any bugs? Will it work? Will users love it? Luckily, a robust release management strategy can take some of the unknowns out of this equation. Let’s take a closer look at this crucial stage in the product life cycle. 

What’s a release in software engineering?

A release is essentially your software’s big debut. It’s when all that work getting an app or update ready comes to an end, and it’s ready for use. 

It can be a major overhaul of an app, where you debut new features and changes. Or it can be smaller, like an incremental update, a bug fix, or a patch. 

Essentially, it’s the culmination of the development cycle, where new code and changes are bundled together and deployed in a production environment (where users interact with it). 

The bottom line? Releases are the tangible result of the dev team’s efforts. They’re also checkpoints where teams can gather feedback and monitor the performance of their creation.

And release management?

Release management is the process of overseeing it all. The goal is to make sure new features and apps get delivered smoothly and on time. 

Release management: a glossary

You’ll need to understand some key terms before we plunge into the rest of this article. 

• Development environment: This is where developers build and test new features and fixes prior to deployment. It’s separate from the production stage.

• Production environment: This is the live place where software is made available to end users. In other words, it’s the real-world setting where the software operates.

• Deployment: This is the process of moving software from a development environment.
  
• Documentation: Keeping detailed records of changes and test results helps the team stay organized. It also makes troubleshooting much easier.
  
• Change control: This is about managing software changes in an orderly way. It involves coding as well as reviewing, approving, and documenting every change to make sure they’re absolutely necessary and support the wider goals.
  
• Continuous integration (CI): CI is a practice where developers regularly integrate code changes into a shared repository. Each integration gets verified by automated tests so the dev team can pinpoint problems early.

• Continuous deployment (CD): CD is the practice of automatically deploying every change that passes all stages of the production pipeline. It keeps production moving swiftly.
  
• Automation Automating tasks like testing and deploying software saves time and cuts human error out of the equation.

• Version control, or versioning: This is about tracking code changes over time. It means multiple developers can work on the same codebase without conflicts while giving you a checkable history of every tweak.

• Rollback: The process of reverting to a previous version of software. It’s a worse-case scenario when a new release has too many problems. 

• Release candidate: A version that’s tested to make sure there are no big issues before launch.

• Feature toggle: A technique used to enable or disable features in the software without deploying new code. It means teams can control new feature exposure and manage releases. 

• Staging environment: Think of this as being like a dress rehearsal. This is a pre-production space where the stage is set and everything’s set up to mimic the production environment as closely as possible. Developers run the software here for those final tests before full rollout. 

• Change management: As the name suggests, this is about managing changes to software in a controlled way to keep disruption to a minimum. Not to be confused with release management! 

• Service-level agreement (SLA): This is a contract between a service provider and a customer. It sets out the working relationship, including metrics like uptime, performance, and response times.

• Patch: A patch is a small update to software that fixes specific issues like bugs or security vulnerabilities without introducing new features.
  
• Release planning: A roadmap for your updates. It involves deciding which features and fixes will go into a release. Good planning helps you prioritize tasks and set doable deadlines.
  
• Testing and quality assurance (QA): Crucial before any release. This means running tests to catch and fix bugs before users get bitten by them. The goal is to provide a smooth user experience.
  
• Monitoring and feedback: Key to the process. Monitoring tools track how the software performs in the real world, and user feedback helps you spot areas for improvement. This continuous loop of feedback forms the bedrock of continuous improvement.
  
• Risk management: Every release comes with risk, whether that’s new bugs or downtime. Good risk management involves spotting them, assessing impact, and mitigating as many as possible.
  
• Code management: Using version control systems to manage changes means multiple developers can work on the same project at once. It also helps you track changes and revert to earlier versions if needed.

How release management works

Release management follows a tried-and-tested (no pun intended) process. Each step works to make the development process as smooth as possible. Here’s a closer look at how it operates.

Phase 1: Planning

All good projects start with a plan. You’ll want to articulate the scope of the release first, defining exactly what and what isn’t included. 

Next comes goal setting, identifying which resources you’ll need, timeline creation, and task-setting. And to coordinate all of this, you’ll need good communication skills.

Phase 2: Development

Developers spring into action, adding new features and fixing bugs, using the release scope as their parameters. 

This phase involves writing and reviewing code and then integrating changes into the main codebase. 

Top tip: use continuous integration tools to streamline the process by automating the reviewing and integrating phases. 

Phase 3: Testing

Software goes through the testing process (by developers and/or testing software) so the team can spot and fix issues. 

This might include unit tests, integration tests, system tests, user acceptance tests, or all of the above. The goal is to make sure the software is stable and performs as expected in a production setting.

Phase 4: Deployment 

Once the software’s ready, it enters the deployment phase. This involves moving it from a testing environment to a production one where it’s ready for use.  

Phase 5: Monitoring and feedback 

Once the software’s out in the wild, it’s time to see how it performs. Keep an eye out for bugs or problems missed during the testing phase, and gather user feedback, both good and bad. This data helps you refine the product and gives you tips for future releases.

Phase 6: Documentation and review 

Record any changes, issues encountered, and any further tests. After the release, the team runs a review to evaluate the process and find new areas for improvement.

What are the goals of release management?

Why go through all the hassle of release management? Can’t we just build the software and push it out as soon as it’s done? 

We don’t recommend it, and here’s why. 

The goals of release management revolve around making software releases smooth, efficient, and successful. Here are the primary objectives:

• Delivering high-quality software: Structured testing and bug fixes guarantee a smoother process and better quality product.
• Minimizing risks: Deployments have lots of moving parts, and therefore lots of risks. A structured approach to planning helps you anticipate and mitigate them.
• Delivering on time: Good management means a structured schedule with deadlines to hit.
• Coordinating among teams: With a blend of stakeholders and cross-functional teams, good collaboration keeps everyone aligned.
• Keeping things stable: It’s important to keep the existing software stable while all these changes are going on. Release management preserves a reliable user experience.
• Making customers happy: Delivering high-quality, stable updates keeps these VIPs happy.
• Continuous improvement: Regular reviews help teams spot areas for improvement and maintain best practices.
• Reducing chaos: Imagine different teams working on various parts of the project without clear coordination. Chaos! Release management brings order by providing a clear plan and process for everyone to follow.

Deploy, release, and ship explained

You might hear the terms ‘deploy,’ ‘release,’ and ‘ship’ thrown around in software development. Let’s break them down.

Deploy

We’ve already covered this in the glossary, so let’s keep it brief. Deployment is the process of moving your software from a development environment to a production environment. Think of it as pushing the launch button. You’re not necessarily making it available to users just yet; you’re just putting it in a place where it can go live.

Release

Time for lift-off! Releasing is when you actually make the deployed software available to users. It can be a big fanfare event with lots of new features. Or it can be a small update with a few tweaks and fixes.

Ship

It’s time to wrap up all that hard work! Shipping refers to the moment you deliver the software to its intended users. Together, ‘deploy, release, and ship’ encompasses three main phases of the cycle. 

Release management, DevOps, and Agile: how they work together

When it comes to modern software development, you’ll often hear about release management, DevOps, and Agile (and sometimes Waterfall). These three approaches work together to make the process run smoothly.

Agile

Agile is an approach to work that’s focused on flexibility and, well, agility. It works by breaking the development cycle into small chunks called Sprints. Each one usually lasts a couple of weeks with the end goal of delivering a piece of the project for review, after which it’ll go back to the dev team for further tweaks.

DevOps

DevOps is a portmanteau of development (Dev) and operations (Ops). It refers to the uniting of these two powerhouse teams, with the goal of dissolving solos and making the coding-to-deployment process streamlined and more reliable.

Release management

Release management sits at the intersection of Agile/Waterfall and DevOps. It uses the iterative, flexible approach of the former and the collaborative, automated practices of the latter for fast, efficient releases. 

How they work together

1. Planning and development: Agile methods guide the planning and development stages. Teams work in Sprints, focusing on small improvements. This approach means regular feedback gets incorporated early, allowing for timely adjustments. This keeps the product focused on user needs.
2. Continuous integration and deployment: DevOps practices kick in here. Automated tools and continuous integration pipelines help merge code changes and deploy them seamlessly. This reduces the time between writing code and getting it into production.
3. Release coordination: Release management oversees the entire process, coordinating between Agile teams and DevOps workflows. It means each release is properly tested and documented. Release management also handles the timing and communication aspects, including notifying users of any recent updates. 
4. Feedback and improvement: After a release, the team gathers feedback from users via monitoring tools. This feedback loops back into the Agile process, informing the next sprint and helping teams continually improve the software.

How does the release deployment process work?

The goal here is to make software usable in a live environment. It involves planning, building and packaging the software, then running pre-deployment tests in a staging environment. 

Once ready, it’s launch time. The software gets deployed to production using rolling, blue-green, or canary deployments. Next, post-deployment monitoring keeps everything running smoothly, and a rollback plan is put in place for any issues. 

Finally, the product manager documents the process and reviews it to scout improvements for future releases.

Release management metrics and KPIs you need to know

When it comes to release management, tracking the right metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is a must. These help you understand how well your process is performing, plus identify areas for improvement. It’s a little like an Olympic athlete measuring stats to stay on their A-game. Let’s look at some of the most important ones.

Deployment frequency

Deployment frequency measures how often you release new versions of your software. High frequency indicates an efficient release process, where you’re delivering updates and improvements to users quickly.

Lead time for changes

Lead time refers to the time it takes to go from code change to deployment. Shorter lead times suggest a more efficient process, where new features and fixes are flowing out nicely. 

Change failure rate

This metric indicates the percentage of deployments that result in failures, e.g. bugs or downtime. A lower change failure rate points to a more stable and reliable release process.

Mean time to recovery (MTTR)

MTTR measures how quickly you can recover after a production failure. A shorter MTTR shows that your team can handle issues like pros, keeping downtime to a minimum. 

Percentage of automated deployments

Tracking this helps you figure out how much of your process is automated vs. how much is manual. With this knowledge, you can spot opportunities to hand over some of the repetitive stuff to the machines, reducing manual errors and speeding up releases.

User feedback and satisfaction

Users sit at the heart of this, and their voice is important. Collecting and analyzing their feedback post-release gives insights into how well the new version meets their needs. High user satisfaction equals successful releases and helps guide future improvements.

What does a release manager do?

A release manager oversees the release process, making sure it’s smooth and efficient.  

They’re heavily involved in the planning stage. They define the scope, set deadlines, and coordinate various teams. They also monitor progress and quality, keeping processes efficient and software bug-free. After the release, they do a review to see what went well and where things could do with a tweak here and there. 

In terms of skills, they need to be organized and detail-oriented to keep track of all the moving parts. Great communication is a must because of all the coordination. They also need to be problem-solvers, and they’ve got to stay calm under pressure, since (let’s be honest), plans rarely go ahead without hiccups.

The top trends in release management to have on your radar

These trends are all about transforming release management, making it faster, more reliable, and more secure than ever before. 

Continuous delivery and deployment

Continuous delivery and deployment is the new best standard in software development. Automation tools automate much of the process, helping the dev team deploy more regularly and reliably.

DevOps integration

DevOps is another big focus in release management in 2024. By bringing the development and operations teams together, silos disappear, and releases happen faster.

Microservices architecture

Microservices architecture is a way to make software easier to manage. Instead of one giant, monolithic app, microservices break the software into smaller, independently run components. This means teams can release updates to specific bits without a knock-on effect to the rest of the system. 

Increased automation

Automation continues to be a massive trend, with more tools and tech popping up to help automate various parts of the release process. From automated testing to deployment scripts, it cuts human error and speeds up the entire process. 

Focus on security

With cyber threats on the rise, there’s a growing emphasis on incorporating security into the release process to make it water-tight. This means making sure each release is secure against attacks, as well as fully functional. These days, cybersecurity is a built-in part of the release pipeline, rather than an afterthought.

Data-driven decision making

Why rely on guesswork when you can use facts? More and more, release management is being driven by data. Collecting and analyzing metrics throughout the release cycle means teams can make informed, verifiable decisions about where to focus their efforts.

How to master the release management process 

Here are some tips for boosting the quality and speed of your releases and generally upping your game.

Embrace automation

Don’t waste your time on repetitive admin. Automated testing, continuous integration (CI), and continuous deployment (CD) do a lot of the heavy lifting. This means fewer human mistakes, and more speed, which frees you and the team up to focus on the complex bits.

Welcome collaboration

Using DevOps practices can help break down silos and keep everyone pulling in the same direction. Regular meetings and a range of open communication channels can make a huge difference. Working together, you’ll reach your release destination faster and more smoothly.

Set up continuous feedback loops

Keep those important insights rolling in! User feedback helps you understand what’s working and what’s not, while internal feedback can help you refine your processes. Review regularly and use the insights to make data-driven improvements. 

Standardize processes

Standardizing your release processes brings consistency and reliability. Use templates, document procedures, and establish best practices to streamline the workflow. This way, everyone knows what to do and how to do it.

Measure everything

Track key performance indicators (KPIs) to help you understand how well your release process is performing and where there might be room for improvement.

Invest in training and tools

Tools aren’t a magic wand, but they do make the job a whole lot easier. Use project management software for task tracking, metric measuring, and automatic notifications.

Product management tools for seamless release management

With Backlog, developers can track their work, pull tasks through, and receive and send automatic notifications whenever there’s a change. Best of all, you get all this in one easy-to-use platform, so everyone’s on the same page.

Backlog integrates with Git and SVN, too, which means the team can set up private repositories, compare code changes, and leave in-line comments. Meanwhile, managers can access progress reports that give a detailed view of your team’s (and organization’s) performance. It’s your secret weapon for timely, high-quality software releases every time. Try it for free today!