1. Info-Tech Research Group1 Info-Tech Research Group, Inc. Is a global leader in providing IT research and advice. Info-Tech’s products and services combine actionable insight and relevant advice with ready-to-use tools and templates that cover the full spectrum of IT concerns. © 1997-2014 Info-Tech Research Group Inc. V3.1 Establish a Right-Sized Release and Deployment Management Process Improve the speed and success rate of your deployments. Info-Tech's products and services combine actionable insight and relevant advice with ready-to-use tools and templates that cover the full spectrum of IT concerns.© 1997 - 2014 Info-Tech Research Group

2. Info-Tech Research Group2 A right-sized release and deployment management process will enable rapid successful deployments of software into the production environment. Introduction Infrastructure managers and release process owners who want to establish a formal release and deployment management process. Infrastructure managers and release process owners who want to re-evaluate their current release and deployment process because of: Lack of clear hand-off between change and release activities Deployments that require too much manual effort High frequency of deployments Too many failed deployments, or deployments that require re-work Low user satisfaction with deployments Identify a right-sized release and deployment management process Assess current state and identify critical gaps Track and measure process improvement Address process gaps by establishing and documenting a right-sized release and deployment process Deploy less frequently by bundling related changes more effectively Ensure that deployments are more successful through better release planning, designing, building, and testing Develop a comprehensive release and deployment management standard operating procedure This Research Is Designed For:This Research Will Help You:

3. Info-Tech Research Group3 Executive Summary Software deployments frequently fail due to insufficient planning and testing of the release package. This results in significant rework and can cause service-impacting incidents. Without a formal process in place to bundle related changes into release packages, deployments will be too frequent, wasting resources, and posing a higher risk to the infrastructure. Automation of certain process steps is certainly a critical success factor, but a high level of investment is not always necessary. While ITIL provides a good process framework, it is difficult to apply, and is more appropriate for large organizations who frequently deploy major releases. ITIL does not provide tactical guidance regarding the integration of release and deployment management with change management, and this cooperation is critical to release success. A good release and deployment process will be right-sized to organizational need, and applicable to both small releases (one or several changes), and major releases (significant upgrades or new software). This project will assist in establishing such a process through completion of the following steps: 1.Define your target state: Given your release and deployment needs, what level of process automation and investment should you aim for? 2.Perform a gap analysis: What is the magnitude of the gap between your current execution of release and deployment management and your desired execution of release and deployment management. 3.Address gaps via process improvement: Document the right-sized process in a standard operating procedure (SOP). 4.Create a roadmap: Develop an action plan for implementing the improved process to maximize value. a.Prioritize action items with maximum value and minimum effort. b.Use metrics to measure progress and success of process improvement.

4. Info-Tech Research Group4 Enroll in a GI for your project. Email guidedimplementations@infotech.com Or call 1-888-670-8889 and ask for the GI Coordinator. How to use this blueprint We recommend that you supplement the Best Practices Toolkit with a Guided Implementation. Guided Implementations are included in most advisory membership seats. Our expert analysts will provide telephone assistance to you and your team at key project milestones to review your materials, answer your questions, and explain our methodology. Info-Tech Research Group’s expert analysts will come onsite to help you work through our project methodology in a 2-5 day project accelerator workshop. We take you through every phase of the project and ensure that you have a road map in place to complete your project successfully. In some cases, we can even complete the project while we are onsite. Book your workshop now! Email workshopbooking@infotech.com to get started.workshopbooking@infotech.com Leverage each of the tools in this blueprint to complete the optimization of this project. Do-It-Yourself Implementation Use this Best-Practice Blueprint to help you complete your project. The slides in this Blueprint will walk you step-by-step through every phase of your project with supporting tools and templates ready for you to use. You can also use this Best-Practice Blueprint to facilitate your own project accelerator workshop within your organization using the workshop slides and facilitation instructions provided in the Appendix. Do-It-Yourself Best-Practice Toolkit OnsiteWorkshops Free Guided Implementation

5. Info-Tech Research Group5 Guided Implementation points in the release and deployment management project Book a Guided Implementation Today: Info-Tech is just a phone call away and can assist you with your project. Our expert Analysts can guide you to successful project completion. Here are the suggested Guided Implementation points in the release and deployment management project: Section 2: Interpret and act on the results of the gap analysis Get off to a productive start: Discuss your process pain points, review the Info-Tech release and deployment process, and interpret the results of your Gap Analysis and Maturity Assessment. Section 3: Develop SOPs for planning and building releases Address your gaps: Define roles and responsibilities, and discuss both integration with change management and the planning phase of the release and deployment process. Decide how you will use automation to design and build releases. Section 4&5: Develop SOPs for testing and deploying releases Address your gaps: Discuss ways to improve your testing processes and achieve more accurate test results and more successful deployments. Decide whether you should procure software distribution tools to automate software deployments. Section 6: Develop an action plan to fill your gaps and achieve your target state Finalize a roadmap: Discuss an action plan for addressing all the gaps identified in Section 1 in order to achieve your target state and reach the highest level of process maturity. Discuss common roadblocks to successful implementation and ways to resolve them. To enroll, send an email to GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com or call 1-888-670-8889 and ask for the Guided Implementation Coordinator.GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com This symbol signifies when you’ve reached a Guided Implementation point in your project.

6. Info-Tech Research Group6 What’s in this Section:Sections: Make the Case Perform a Gap Analysis Plan and Build Better Releases Standardize a Right-Sized Testing Process Execute Sound Deployment Build an Action Plan Workshop Release and deployment pain points Process value and overview How to use this blueprint

7. Info-Tech Research Group7 An ineffective release and deployment management process will lead to lost productivity, disruptions to service, and slow deployments. Avoid the pains of poor release and deployment management Deployments are not successful and have to be backed out and then re- worked to resolve issues with the installation. Deployments fail or rework is required Deployments result in service-impacting incidents When new releases are deployed, they create problems with related systems or applications. Deployments require too much manual effort A lack of automation results in high resource costs for deployments. Human error is likely, which adds to the risk of a failed deployment. Deployments are too frequent The need for frequent deployments results in reduced availability of critical business applications.

8. Info-Tech Research Group8 Is the organization suffering from these pain points? These pains will get worse as the number of applications, users, and servers increases. Deployments can be difficult. There are too many processes and we are in need of automation. – Eric Renkey, Senior Director of IT, EQT Corporation We only recognize dependencies after deployment. Had one failed deployment last year- it is still 1 too many! – Dale Avis, CIO, Crawford and Company Average revenue cost of an unplanned application outage is roughly US$2.8 million dollars per hour. 59% of Fortune 500 companies experience a minimum of 1.6 hours of downtime per week. 80% of unplanned outages are due to ill- planned changes made by administrators or developers. Businesses lose between $84,000 and $108,000 (US) for every hour of IT system downtime. www.evolven.com/blog/costs-and-scope-of-unplanned-outages.html Average revenue cost of an unplanned application outage is roughly US$2.8 million dollars per hour. 59% of Fortune 500 companies experience a minimum of 1.6 hours of downtime per week. 80% of unplanned outages are due to ill- planned changes made by administrators or developers. Businesses lose between $84,000 and $108,000 (US) for every hour of IT system downtime. www.evolven.com/blog/costs-and-scope-of-unplanned-outages.html Don’t be a statistic

9. Info-Tech Research Group9 Don’t cut corners – release validation and verification is a MUST. Case Study: Little mistakes creating big losses Knight Capital reported a $440 million loss from a computer-trading glitch, blaming software that was installed earlier in the week for causing the brokerage firm to enter millions of faulty trades in less than an hour. As a result of strict deadlines, the IT department was forced to cut corners and failed to obtain adequate verification for the software deployment. The problem was likely caused by poor software design or a lack of testing. As IT systems and platforms become more complex, so do releases and deployment. More dependencies arise, which calls for extensive and rigorous testing. In the future, release management teams need to reduce the risk of deployment and gain certainty. “By assuring integrity in environments, providing visibility into the release content and ensuring that the release is transitioned as expected, release validation and verification software brings certainty to releases and reduces the high-impact risks associated with them.” (Source: Evolven, Little Mistake at Knight Capital Causes a $440 Million Trading Loss, 2013)

10. Info-Tech Research Group10 Establish a right-sized release and deployment management process to enable faster, better quality, and lower-cost releases Planning Automation Testing Success criteria for release and deployment management: Speed Quality Cost Achieve operational excellence by optimizing your planning, testing, and automation practices. Faster Higher Quality Lower Cost Operational Excellence

11. Info-Tech Research Group11 Planning: Improve deployment time and efficiency by optimizing the planning processes Bundle changes, faster turnaround time Avoid problems by understanding dependencies Fewer deployments, less rework Faster Better Quality Lower Cost

12. Info-Tech Research Group12 Info-Tech Research Group Helps IT Professionals To: Sign up for free trial membership to get practical solutions for your IT challenges www.infotech.com Quickly get up to speed with new technologies Make the right technology purchasing decisions – fast Deliver critical IT projects, on time and within budget Manage business expectations Justify IT spending and prove the value of IT Train IT staff and effectively manage an IT department “Info-Tech helps me to be proactive instead of reactive – a cardinal rule in a stable and leading edge IT environment. - ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co., LP Toll Free: 1-888-670-8889