If you are an online business owner, here’s a reality check – IT release management can make or break a business. Let us explain how by taking some steps back in time. In 1993, CERN released the source code for the first web browser and made the internet accessible to the general public. That moment gave birth to the information age. Ever since then, information and technology (IT) have become increasingly important to our daily lives.
Businesses and services that have a digital presence need to rely on IT release management. It ensures a smooth transition of applications, systems, and services from the development to the production side. It also tests, monitors, and maintains all the necessary updates for business needs. This allows businesses to operate perfectly and flourish.
This blog will help you learn about a solid IT release management process. Reading this complete guide will help you know about the importance, benefits, and other details of IT and software release management.
So, without further delay, let us get started.
What Is IT Release Management?
Before diving into the technical details, let us first look at what our topic is. IT release management is a process within the IT and software development life cycle. It ensures newly developed applications, systems, and updates reach the production side.
IT release management also allows a project to enter the production stage. The process ensures that project management and release management teams release thoroughly tested and approved changes. This maintains the integrity of the production environment and ensures a quality service for consumers.
The Importance of Release Management
So, now we know what IT release management is. But what is its importance?
Well, you can think of release management as a protective net. It delivers the perfect balance between the value and performance of software updates. This ensures system stability, minimizes risk and maintains user satisfaction.
Release Management in ITIL, ITSM, and DevOps
Did you know release management works in several frameworks?
Release management delivers tested and valuable software changes across ITIL, ITSM, and DevOps. Let us take a more detailed look:
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ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library)
ITIL plans, tests, and delivers IT services for software delivery and system stability. The framework uses the management process in two parts: release and deployment. Both parts fall under the ITIL service transition phase. Release rolls out an updated service or component. Deployment integrates it into the live operational environment.
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ITSM (IT Service Management)
ITSM is a broader field that contains the ITIL framework. It uses release management to meet business needs, organizational objectives, user requirements, and service-level agreements.
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DevOps
DevOps is a more modern approach to software development and operations. Release management in DevOps includes frequent and small updates. These releases integrate into the production environment smoothly and ensure speed and reliability. It also improves the collaboration between the development and operations sides.
ITIL Release Management Objectives
Moving on to the objectives of ITIL release management, there are four key goals:
- Planning and scheduling
- Adapting to business evolution
- Controlled deployment
- Safety and effectiveness
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Planning and Scheduling
Planning and scheduling are core parts of a release management process. It ensures that new updates to IT services help the company reach its targets. A release plan prevents new updates from colliding with other business activities. A release schedule can help roll out new updates and services in a timely manner.
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Adapting to Business Evolution
Things can change at any given moment, particularly in IT. A company’s objectives, strategies, and operations can all change over time. Effective release management helps organizations keep track of these evolutions.
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Controlled Deployment
A release manager needs to introduce new updates in a controlled manner instead of just rolling them out whenever they are ready. This prevents abrupt changes that can disrupt the IT environment or confuse users. A controlled release and deployment management process helps with stability.
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Safety and Effectiveness
New changes to IT services should be safe for users and businesses. Release management involves rigorous testing of new updates before deployment. This helps to minimize disruptions and allows businesses to rely on new services after successful release and deployment.
Benefits of Successful Release Management
Efficient release management comes with numerous benefits. Faster delivery, lower risks, and knowledge transfer are all indicators of successful release management.
Have a look at these benefits and some more below:
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Speedier Delivery
IT release management ensures that users can access new updates and features swiftly. This is because they are always being planned, developed, and released into the IT environment as soon as they are ready for deployment.
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Minimized risks
A controlled release process helps with risk management. New updates and features are deployed in such a way that lowers risks of disruptions. This allows users to continue using the IT services without unexpected changes. As a result, you can reduce downtime and improve customer satisfaction.
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Predictable Deployments
Scheduled releases help companies prepare for new updates. For example, businesses can install new updates during off-hours to minimize operation interruptions.
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Meeting Service Requirements
Release teams must meet standards and expectations. This helps to maintain the service quality. Satisfying release policies also helps to stabilize the live IT environment.
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Knowledge Transfer
A software development and release management system ensures everyone can maximize the benefits of new features. For example, companies can organize training sessions to educate staff on new updates and features. This can ensure better alignment between IT services and business goals.
Release Management Use Cases
IT release management plays a part in almost every major industry. For example, it can play an important role in the healthcare industry. Here’s how: Imagine a hospital’s patient management system is getting updated. If the release is deployed without proper management practices, there could be glitches in the system. Patient records, appointment schedules, and medication details can all get affected. This can result in very costly errors.
Similarly, a software development company also relies on a comprehensive release management framework. If new updates and features are not managed before release, bugs might arise. This will result in a faulty product that will hamper customer satisfaction and damage reputation.
These are just two examples. A broader understanding of the release activities can improve service across many more sectors.
What Is Release Life Cycle Management?
With the objectives, benefits, and use cases covered, let us now look at the release management lifecycle. It is the entire handling of a software or IT service from its start to the end of life. This process oversees every phase of a software’s journey and aligns technical requirements with organizational goals.
The primary steps in the release cycle include:
- Planning and design: An initial phase that identifies the need for a new update or release.
- Build: Developing the new update.
- Testing: Quality assurance checking for new changes.
- Deployment: Releasing the changes into the live IT environment.
- Operation: Monitoring the update and its feedback for improvements throughout the release process.
- Retirement: Phasing out the feature if it becomes outdated.
Release and Deployment Management Approaches
According to v3 of ITIL, release management and deployment have a number of approaches. These methods fit different project types and sizes. Companies might use different names, but do not change management focuses.
The approaches of release and deployment management include:
- Big Bang approach: New updates are rolled out to all users simultaneously.
- Phased approach: Updates are dispatched to separate user groups in phases.
- Push approach: Release managers roll out services from a central location to the target audience at a fixed time.
- Automated approach: Updates and changes are introduced into the production environment using automated workflows.
- Manual approach: Updates are manually released.
The Release Management Process
For an IT or software development process, all project management teams must be in sync. The service update or change management process has six stages:
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Release Management Support
This initial stage guides and assists the release process. It also highlights the roles of other stages in the process.
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Release Planning
This step involves the process of planning the update’s scope and content. New changes are included in release packages. The next stages are also scheduled in this step.
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Release Build
The build phase develops all the necessary release components. It includes everything from issuing work and purchase orders to confirming the update is ready for testing.
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Release Deployment
Release managers ensure the new changes are introduced to the live IT environment in this step. User manuals and other relevant documentation are also dispatched at this point.
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Early-life Support
After deploying the update, a critical phase ensues. Incident and configuration management teams work together at this stage to provide necessary support. They also address any issues that might arise after release.
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Release Closure
This is the closing stage of the new release. It ensures all the relevant documents are updated, and user feedback is delivered to the relevant project teams.
Measuring Success of Release Management Initiatives
Rolling out and installing new updates is just a part of the release management process. You also want to make sure the new changes are successful. You can use several metrics to keep track of how things are running:
- Deployment frequency: The regularity at which updates are being deployed.
- Change lead time: The time needed for a change to go live after being approved.
- Change failure rate: The rate at which new changes face issues.
- Mean time to repair (MTTR): The average time needed to address and solve issues.
- Volume of hotfixes: The number of changes needed to fix post-release issues. This helps ensure that the release is successful.
- User feedback and satisfaction: Collecting user reviews to understand their experiences. This can help improve releases.
- Post-release incidents: Checking new releases for operational challenges. This can help fine-tune future releases.
Conclusion
So, there you go – you now have a solid understanding of the release management process flow. It provides the perfect balance between new updates and value. A strong release management and deployment process also helps to improve service and enhance customer satisfaction. The objectives and benefits of release management span several frameworks and help it fit into broader IT strategies. Using its best practices and management tools can contribute to long-term business success.
If you are looking for a tech plan for your peace of mind, contact Crown Computers. Our team of trained and licensed experts can help you with IT release management plans. We also offer expert services for a plethora of technological needs, including cybersecurity, cloud services, and network design.
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