Components Of The Release Management Process

 

Technical evolution and digitisation have revolutionised software development. So, why stick to the outdated conventional processes that hinder speed, quality and productivity. And that is where the release management process came into play. 

Release management is an advanced solution to the evolved development challenges that application developers, IT operations and project managers face in the current era. 

With frequent demands for updates, increasingly intricate platforms, and the external burden of rapid innovations, this new form of productivity has become a necessity rather than a luxury. 

In this article, we’ll discuss everything you need to understand about the release management process and the benefits it offers. 

Let’s get started! 

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What Is A Release Management Process? 

The release management process can be defined as an evolved discipline in software development used to build new applications and update the existing ones. This advanced application project management approach covers everything from ideation to release. 

Tasks involve project schedule creation, team formation, and delegation, and scheduling different steps.

Software is becoming incredibly popular, and the number of users is increasing rapidly. Therefore, software releases are now getting immediate and consistent feedback. 

Therefore, software engineers need to work on new patches and upgrades at an accelerated pace and on a diverse variety of platforms than before. With such evolution, even seasoned engineers are opting for efficient release management processes. 

In fact, it might be the only effective and efficient solution to modern software development requirements. 

So, how does the release management process function, and what are its components?

Also Read: Everything You Should  Know About Release Management

Components Of The Release Management Process

Developing An IT Release Schedule 

This step involves everything from blackout dates to release dependencies. The step encompasses all the elements and workflows that can push your release schedule forward. 

This includes planning and developing schedules, schedule approval, determining blackout dates, planned PTO, release streams, etc.

Developing A Solution Release Schedule

IT release schedule doesn’t encompass every type of release schedule. Those schedules come under this category.

Delegating Infrastructure-related Functions 

Tasks that maintain the structural integrity of your product and processes, such as hardware tools, licensing, etc., are the fundamental components in this phase.

Your release and operations should function collaboratively for the successful completion of this phase. Pay special attention to prevent any conflicts between active and planned projects. 

Also, you can utilise this phase to figure out the associations between software and hardware to accelerate the ordering and pairing processes in the near future.

Testing The Developed Products 

Testing involves examining the product for quality as well as accessing the readiness of the intended users and stakeholders to adapt to the new features. 

It’s necessary to templatise and standardise this specific stage phase to prevent reinventing the wheel every time you test translate into chaos and quality issues. 

Manage Releases And Discuss Learnings 

Software development is an evolving and continuous process. Therefore, you can always find room for improvement and modifications. 

In this critical phase, application developers, team leaders, and stakeholders must assess various factors, specifically the process, policy, and metrics. 

The release management process keeps evolving consistently. Therefore, investing time to learn and understand each project makes it simpler to perform better next time.