Release Management

A release management process involves planning, scheduling, and otherwise controlling the movement of software releases within test and live environments. An effective release management process may apply to multiple software releases and help you handle changes to delivery. 

Release management, also known as software deployment management, is a key process in the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework. It bridges the gap between IT projects and ongoing operations by testing software and making sure updates work properly in a live environment. A release management process is often described as “holistic” because it manages the end-to-end release process and coordinates multiple projects across a composite release. 

It’s common for organizations to have updates on multiple projects; having a single rollout schedule helps ensure different changes and updates work together and can be safely introduced into a live environment.

Release management also supports your organization’s ongoing improvement process. Any problems with release are documented for transparency, giving technicians insight into affected areas and how to resolve problems. Quick resolutions to problems can minimize outages and disruptions related to your IT team’s day-to-day work. By documenting and measuring related metrics, release management increases overall visibility into the update process, making it easy to implement improvements and introduce project release best practices.

Software release management works by coordinating software deployment to achieve the best results with minimal disruption to production environments. 

The release management process combines governance and oversight to ensure new releases are completed efficiently and with minimal disruptions. It involves planning, defining what content will be released and how, building and testing, and live deployment. Release management also ensures project teams receive metrics and feedback to analyze their performance. 

Adopting a clear release management process can help your organization streamline its release schedule and ensure best practices for multiple project delivery. Even when different project teams want to introduce changes to the production environment, release management teams can ensure they follow the same tested processes, policies, and guidelines for deployment. 

Release management teams work with business leaders, IT project teams, and operations staff to ensure technical operations align with strategy and marketing. Because of this, multiple teams can work together to tackle a successful release and ensure they achieve objectives with appropriate levels of due diligence. 

ITIL guidelines define a release or release package as a set of changes to IT service. This can include changes to hardware and software, IT processes, documentation, or any other elements related to IT service. Releases are part of the larger release management process, which can be broken into the following step-by-step best practices: 

1. Release planning: At this stage, projects follow guidelines to define the scope and content of the release. Project managers outline a schedule for building and deploying the release. Planning defines what changes will be part of the release, the potential risks, the intended audience, and the chain of approval.
2. Release build and testing: This stage deals with the development of the release, the necessary work for technicians, deciding what must be acquired from vendors, and testing all updates before they’re introduced into a live environment. 
3. Release deployment: At this stage, release managers determine if the project is ready for deployment, judge how to deploy it with minimal disruptions, and verify the order of deployment for various parts. The release package is then deployed to a live environment and all parties are formally notified. 
4. Early life support: After deployment, the release and software deployment management teams work with the incident management team to minimize operational issues and ensure optimum performance.
5. Release closure: Release activities formally close, and metrics, outcomes, and feedback are sent to project teams to drive future improvements.

Software deployment refers to delivering the software to the client to serve its intended purpose. It’s the completion of the processes required to prepare software applications to run in a live environment. 

Prior to deployment, the software undergoes as many testing and debugging processes as necessary to ensure it can be delivered as error-free as possible to the end users. These processes may include installation, configuration, testing, updates, and other changes. Each of these components can be manual or automated, and they make sure your software is working optimally. 

A robust software deployment management strategy ensures the completion of the software development life cycle and offers a business the following benefits:

1. Enhanced, secure, and organization-specific business practices
2. Insightful metrics to use data effectively
3. A centralized management environment with greater oversight and transparency

SolarWinds^® Service Desk makes it easy to implement a formalized ITIL release process to ensure releases occur on schedule with maximum benefits and minimal disruptions. ITIL release management involves clear planning, building, and testing as well as proper deployment practices and policies. Following best practices can help you achieve successful delivery, and Service Desk can contribute every step of the way. 

Service Desk even aligns your release schedule with your CMDB to minimize the disruptive impact of new deployments. You can integrate similar changes into a single release to minimize impact on production environments. Service Desk helps you keep each stage on track by giving you greater visibility into project changes and release schedules. 

Service Desk helps you maximize the benefits of every release by documenting all changes, updates, and approvals made during the release process. This enables your IT and business teams to evaluate performance, identify opportunities for greater efficiency, and adopt best practices. With clear metrics and comprehensive audit logs from past successes and failures, you can evaluate past issues to drive strategy and planning. Making changes with every release enables teams to improve their strategies for future cycles.