A release is the distribution of the final version or the newest version of a software application. A software release may be public or private and generally signifies the unveiling of a new or upgraded version of the application.
In agile software development, a release is a deployable software package culminating in several iterations and can be made before the end of an iteration.
To be successful, software release management requires careful planning and execution, with customer-centric goals, time and budget efficiency, and minimal negative impact on customers.
There are several stages of the software release lifecycle to consider when planning, including:
In addition to the various stages of the software lifecycle, there are also three types of software releases:
The importance of release management as a critical part of a thoughtful and ultimately successful software development life cycle (SDLC) cannot be overstated.
Additionally, a dedicated release management team is vital to the success and prioritization of release management. The core functions of a release management team may vary slightly from company to company, but in general, teams contain the following roles:
Today, a lot of release management processes and methodologies rely on automation. However, that shouldn't suggest that a release manager is no longer an integral component of successful release management.
Even with automation, the release manager must perform several tasks for new software releases, such as coordinating with team members, scoping, streamlining, release planning and scheduling.
Additionally, while project and product managers are critical to product development from a strategic goals perspective, the release manager brings a critical IT perspective to product planning and can help pinpoint any bottlenecks or oversights occurring on that side of the product.
See also: What is DevOps? The ultimate guide, Agile Project Management (APM) and application lifecycle management (ALM).
17 Mar 2022