Release Management

The Starting Point for the Product Lifecycle After Project Completion – With Integrated Change Management

The success of a newly developed product or service depends to a large amount on how it is made available to users. A Release is more than deployment - Product or service owners want to make sure that users are delighted with the new development, that they can use it instantly and that no issues occur during its implementation. A wide number of different tasks and dependencies should be taken into consideration to achieve this. Release Managers ask themselves when they should start their release activities and how they can seamlessly orchestrate the various service practices.

Change management plays a crucial role in this, ensuring that the rollout is carried out without negatively impacting ongoing operations and that adjustments are strategically integrated. Therefore Release management and Change Enablement work hand in hand to manage the rollout and the lifecycle of the product in a sustainable and controlled manner. In this article, we will explore how these two processes are optimally intertwined and how Atlassian tools support this workflow.

1. The Starting Point: When Does Release Management Begin?

The Release is the final Milestone in a software Development Project. In an agile world, products and their complexity grow during their development, making it more difficult to keep track of this complexity and identify all dependencies. In addition, the release manager wants to have all release activities prepared ready for the release date.

This is why release management starts as soon as the project has committed to the goal of driving a development to delivery. It’s not just about the rollout itself but also about the strategic integration of necessary changes through change management.

Key Questions:

Have all development tasks been successfully completed?
Has the final quality review been successfully completed?
Have all stakeholders been informed and prepared?
Have the necessary change requests been raised, documented and approved in advance?

Change management ensures that any system changes are planned, evaluated, and implemented in such a way that they do not negatively impact ongoing operations. Integrating these changes into the release process is essential to ensure the quality and stability of the IT environment.

2. Planning and Coordination: Release Management Meets Change Management

A controlled rollout requires careful planning. This is where change management comes into play, ensuring that all changes associated with the release have been carefully reviewed and approved.

Key Steps in the Change Management Process:

Change Planning: Every Change requests has been evaluated, scheduled and approved by the responsible authorities.
Risk Assessment: Change requests are assessed in terms of potential risks to the system. Depending on the criticality, measures are defined to mitigate risks.
Communication: All relevant departments must be informed about the upcoming changes and the release schedule to ensure smooth operations.

3. The Actual Rollout: Implementing Change Requests

Once the rollout begins, the change requests take effect. The implementation step includes the actual deployment. It is essential that both release and change management are synchronized to implement changes at the right moment without interrupting operations and make the new Product technically available for users.

Rollout Strategies and Change Management:

Big-Bang Release: A full system change is carried out at once. Here, change management is critical to fully consider the system's impact.
Iterative Releases: Changes and new features are introduced in small increments. Change management helps guide this continuous improvement process.
Feature Toggles: Features are activated gradually, and change management ensures that critical changes are released in a controlled manner.

4. Post-Release: Monitoring and Continuous Change Management

After the rollout, the process isn’t over. Both release and change management must remain active in the post-release phase to monitor the product or feature and drive continuous improvements.

Monitoring and Change Requests:

System Monitoring: After release, changes are monitored to ensure the system remains stable. Any unforeseen impacts are captured through the change management process.
Adjustments: Based on user feedback and system monitoring, further changes may be necessary, which are then implemented through the change management process.

Technological Support: Atlassian Tools for Release and Change Enablement

Jira Software
The Release Hub gathers all relevant activities in one place. It enables teams to plan and track release management activities including quality assurance, communication and change requests. It provides transparency and helps track of release success.
Jira Service Management
This tool offers a native change management function that is integrated into the release process. Change requests are captured, reviewed, and automatically synchronized with the release process once approved. After release, it helps to identify issues related to the release in order to achieve continuous improvement.
Confluence
For documentation and communication of release and change plans, Confluence serves as the central tool, facilitating collaboration between teams. The release hub serves as an interface between jira software and confluence to automate release notes.

Rainer Warmdt, Senior Consultant bei Communardo Software GmbH

Release management and change management are two sides of the same coin. While release management ensures the controlled rollout of a product or feature, change management ensures that all associated changes are implemented in a risk-free and planned manner. With Atlassian tools, companies can effectively manage both processes, ensuring the long-term success of their IT projects.

Rainer Warmdt, Business Line Manager, Work Management