Release Management

Release Management is the relatively new but rapidly growing discipline within software engineering of managing software releases.

As software systems, software development processes, and resources become more distributed, they invariably become more specialized and complex. Furthermore, software products (especially web applications) are typically in an ongoing cycle of development, testing, and release. Add to this an evolution and growing complexity of the platforms on which these systems run, and it becomes clear there are a lot of moving pieces that must fit together seamlessly to guarantee the success and long-term value of a product or project.

Basic Flow of Release Management

There are various degrees of Release management. These are:

• Patch Management;

• Software Development Lifecycle:

• Quality Assurance:

• There are various others which include, Chnage Management, Software Configuration Management etc.

Getting to Execution

Most organizations are pleased to learn that they are already engaging in some form of Release Management activities. The next section outlines where to look for release information and what key success factors to align with for Release Management activities.Follow a start simple methodology by locating the sources and consumers of releases. The idea here is to go as far "up stream" as possible to find out where a Release may begin. Using this approach enables you to find where processes exist. If you find that your organization is doing well with managing the beginning of a Release then it is best to focus on the design and build areas (often this is the where many organizations struggle).

Finally there are a few tips that you must follow, for  successful release;

• Persistence does payoff; often an organization starts a “Release Management” project as a response to a reoccurring issue or a high profile issue and, even though, programs of this nature usually prove ineffective of their own, if you are persistent you can experience success on a broader approach.
• Chose incremental steps and measured progress, this allows you the ability to select easily consumable goals and establish a baseline to measure from.
• Highlight achievements, don’t allow Release Management to be maligned as non-value or an impediment to promotion to production.
• Place emphasis on time saved and Release measurement be sure to develop a good training and communication plan.
• Don’t forget to post accolades they are sure to come as you provide structure and control where none existed before.

This was something about release management. Please tell me more from your experiences.