1. Release Management – Ship It!
Phyllis Kaiden
Release Infrastructure Manager
The Cobalt Group, Inc.
December 6, 2004

2. Outline What is Release Management? Why does it matter?
How does it work?
Would you ship it?
What did we learn?
December 6, 2004

3. What is Release Management?
Release Management Definition
Release Management Responsibilities
What is Configuration Management?
Product and Project Management
December 6, 2004

4. Release Management Definition
The process by which a product is made ready for distribution to customers. Release management is the coordination of all the activities leading to and including product release to customers.
The purpose of release management is to ensure products are ready when promised.
Focus on software release management but basics apply to all product releases.
December 6, 2004

5. It’s Like Baking Recipe – the set of activities in order
Ingredients – quality components
Variations – Icing? Nuts?
Mixing – executing the recipe steps
Baking time – varies based on desired outcome
Is it done? – knowing when it’s just right
Final product – presentation, consumption
December 6, 2004

6. Baking & Releasing Recipe – the set of activities in order (the plan)
Ingredients – quality components (content, schedule, resources)
Variations – Icing? Nuts? (special considerations)
Mixing – executing the recipe steps (do the plan)
Baking time – varies based on desired outcome (priority of time to market, features, quality)
Is it done? – knowing when it’s just right (assess readiness against measurable criteria)
Final product – presentation, consumption (packaging and distribution)
December 6, 2004

7. What is a release?
Delivery of a “system” from a supplier to a customer.
The “system” consists of a set of authorized and integrated components.
The supplier is usually the development organization.
The customer is the internal or external recipient of the system.
December 6, 2004

8. Key Practices Release Planning: Manage and publish release schedule
Define deliverables included in a release
Build and Version the integrated release package
Manage dependencies across components
Coordinate activities across company
Control changes that would impact the release schedule
Establish release criteria
Assess release readiness
December 6, 2004

9. Key Principle: Define “Done”
Deliverables
Dependencies
Avoid scope creep but allow change
Release criteria
Objective
Quantifiable
Cross-functional
December 6, 2004

10. Components of a release
Golden Build (software): CD-ROM, files
Documentation and Help
Training materials
Marketing collateral
Internal documents
Customer Notification
Release Notes
December 6, 2004

11. Types of Products
Consumer: shrink-wrapped, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS), e.g. MS Word
Open-source: download as needed, e.g. MySQL
Hosted: Application Service Provider (ASP), e.g. Yahoo mail
Corporate: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), e.g. Oracle Financials
Corporate desktop: enterprise distribution of desktop applications, e.g. MS Office
Operating system: core tools for IT, e.g. Sun Solaris
December 6, 2004

12. Attributes by Product Type
Consumer
Open-Source
Hosted
Corporate
Corporate Desktop
Operating System
Installed by
Self
Self or IT
Vendor IT
Distribution
Pull
Push
Cost $ $$
$$$
Training No
Maybe
Yes
Support
Multiple supported versions
December 6, 2004

13. What is Configuration Management?
The process of building the product, tracking its components, and managing change.
The purpose of configuration management is to guarantee reproducibility of the product and traceability of all changes.
Release Management and Configuration Management are often the same group.
December 6, 2004

14. Common Responsibilities of CM
Source Code and Version Control
Reproducible – components of the release
Traceable – what changed in this release
Definitive Software Library: Baseline + delta
baseline
delta
delta
Version 1.0
1.1
1.2
branch
baseline
merge
Version 2.0
December 6, 2004

15. Product and Project Management
“ABCs of Release Management” by Mario Moreira. CM Crossroads, Aug
December 6, 2004

16. Why does Release Management matter?
Common Release Problems
Benefits of Release Management
Who Cares?
December 6, 2004

17. A Story – Timeliness, Quality
Three companies decide independently to develop appointment scheduling software. They all have the knowledge and funding to create a good product.
Company A releases on time with 100 known issues and is a success.
Company B releases on time with 50 known issues and fails.
Company C releases late with 10 known issues but fails because Company A had already captured the market.
December 6, 2004

18. Common Release Problems
Take too long – impacts revenue
Unpredictable – impacts dependent plans
Poor quality – impacts support
Not useful – impacts revenue
Contents unplanned – impacts integrity
Contents uncontrolled – impacts reliability
Overlooked distribution/installation – impacts support
Cowham, Robert. “Release Management – Making it Lean and Agile” CM Crossroads, Aug 16,
December 6, 2004

19. The Challenge Time to Market vs Features vs Quality Time to Market
Only one top priority
Balance – don’t ignore the other two
Release criteria reflect priorities
Product development methodology supports priorities: concurrent engineering, test-first development, prototyping
Time to Market
Features
Quality
December 6, 2004

20. Benefits of Release Management
More successful releases
Consistent release process
Predictability
Integration
Completeness
Quality
Communication
December 6, 2004

21. Commitments to
Customers, Stockholders, Employees
Legal Considerations
Return on Investment
Worth installing?
Installable
Usable
Supported
Budget
Timing
Ready to sell?
Demo updated
Trained sales force
Pricing
Order Fulfillment
Contracts ready
Documentation ready
Training materials
Trained support staff
Release Notes
Known Problems
FAQ, Knowledge Base
Implementation impact
Dependencies managed
Meets requirements
Minimize merging
No “death march”
Next project
Well-defined scope
Resources to support
Predictable schedule
Sufficient test time
Meets requirements
Dependable Installation
Resources to support
Predictable schedule
Configuration Options
Technical Documentation
Stability, Scalability, Reliability
Product Management
Market position
Product Roadmap
Project Management
Project delivery on-time
Program Management
Program meets expectations
December 6, 2004

22. Software Development Life Cycle
How does it work?
Types of Releases
Software Development Life Cycle
Release Process
December 6, 2004

23. Types of Releases
Major = significant new features, product launch, planned, pull, annual
Minor = small new features, backwards compatible, planned, pull, semi-annual
Patch = collection of bug fixes, planned, pull, quarterly
Emergency = Urgent bug fix, harmful if not fixed, unplanned, push, as needed
December 6, 2004

24. Attributes by Release Type
Features/Functions
Bugs
Cost
Urgent
Scheduled
Pull
Backwards Compatible
Major Y
(new)
Minor
Y (upgrade)
Patch
Fix
December 6, 2004

25. Release Management in the Software Development Life Cycle
December 6, 2004

26. Activity Distribution
Release activities account for
10% of effort and 15% of schedule.
McConnell, Steve. Software Project Survival Guide. Microsoft Press, 1998.
December 6, 2004

27. December 6, 2004

28. Release Process Define Content Assign Version Plan Release Build
Package
Deploy
Test
Control Change
Assess Readiness
Release
Iterate
December 6, 2004

29. 1. Define Content Golden Build (software) Documentation
Training materials
Marketing collateral
Internal documents
Customer Notification
Release Notes
December 6, 2004

30. 1. Define Content: Must and Nice
Disp ID
Severity
Pri
Description
Nice
41928
enhancement P3
Performance - Publish: loadSiteLite() to replace loadSite()
59439
trivial P4
Misalignment of Editable site and Proof site sections on Manage site screen once the actor checks Lock-site checkbox.
59929
minor P5
Error message:Get A Quote form:The listed items in error message may need some order; by logical or by alphabetic
57954
major P2
Only Ford Make is displayed in 'Quick Quote Form' : GM Design
59368
Masthead descenders are being chopped off in Klamath_B_Dst design
57019
Can't tell mouse over selection from current page selection in nav
59726
Design Celandine: Titles (Header) for static pages are not bold as those for dynamic pages
60108
Misalignment of footer in Hours and directions page-Celandine designs
Must
64793
create new Saab luxury design and homepage
64796
create new Land Rover luxury design and homepage
December 6, 2004

31. 2. Assign version
Version is a unique identifier for the product state as of a certain point in time. Not all versions are released. Versions are sequential.
Versioning Schemes relate to release types, product management, and configuration management:
Major.Minor.Patch.Fix, e.g. 1.0, 1.1, 1.1.2,
Major.Feature.Patch, e.g. 1.0, 1.1, 1.1.2
Major.Feature.Patch.Build, e.g
December 6, 2004

32. 3. Plan Release Dependencies Customer commitments Revenue recognition
Resource availability: people, environments
Introducing too much change at once
Stabilizing between releases
Organizational capability
December 6, 2004

33. 3. Plan Release: Milestones
Scope Freeze
9/7
COMPLETE
Functional Freeze
9/17
Functional Test Complete
9/30
Code Freeze
10/1
Regression Test Complete
10/13
Golden Build
10/8
Performance Test Complete
Mock Deployment
10/12
FAILED
10/14
Deployment Plan Review
10/15
Go/No-Go
COMPLETE – GO
Executive Approval
COMPLETE-APPROVED
RELEASE
December 6, 2004

34. 4. Build Build (What) Visibility (Who) Frequency (When) Purpose (Why)
Private System Build
Individual Developer
One or more times per change task
Provide feedback to the developer of the changes just implemented in the private workspace.
Integration Build
Whole Development Team
After each change task and/or one or more times per day (e.g. Nightly)
Integrates the latest changes in the repository and runs automated tests against the release providing feedback to the development team.
Release Build
Independent Test (QA or V&V) Team and Customers
At the end of each iteration/release
Packages release for distribution to the development team’s customer.
Appleton, Brad. “Agile Build Promotion: Navigating the Ocean of Promotion Notions”, CM Crossroads, September
December 6, 2004

35. 5. Package
Create the release package containing all release deliverables
File: tar, .zip, .exe, .ear
Medium: CD-ROM, tape, file server
Bill of Materials lists what’s in the package
Final release package is “golden build”
December 6, 2004

36. 6. Deploy Deployment Plan Install Team Deployment Plan Review
Mock Deploy
Mock Rollback
Contact List
December 6, 2004

37. 6. Deploy: Sample Steps December 6, 2004 1
Nitra "Version 2.3.3" Deployment 2
WLS 8.1 on SMTP servers
Thomas 4
Verify router updates in env file 5
Verify UPSShip updates in Env File 9
Validate receipt of Nitra, LMCC Tar Balls and Mapping Loader script
Claus 10
Add Scion Altercast fonts (Bug 61506) 11
Prep-Outage Tasks
1 hr
Steven 12
Hot Backup Nitra DB
55 min
9:00 PM
9:55 PM 13
Check 3rd Party Services (Chrome, AIC, Vicinity)
10 mins
9:30 PM
9:45 PM
Jeff M 14
Team Check-In
5 mins
9:50 PM
Team 15
Check CDC design flag to true 16
Outage 17
NO DEALER ACCESS
9:50 AM
9:55 AM 18
NO CONSUMER ACCESS
10:00 PM 22
Shutdown Servers
40 mins 23
Disable Nitra Monitoring
3 mins
10:05 PM
10:08 PM 24
Disable Incoming Leads (no consumer access)
2 mins
10:10 PM 25
Allow Existing leads to pass (Big IP)
10:12 PM 26
Bring down WLS (Nitra and LM)
30 mins
10:42 PM 27
Snapshot net-app (back up file system)
10:44 PM 28
Deployment time noted (for rollback purposes)
1 mins
10:45 PM 29
Database Modifications 31
LMCC DB Script
10 min
10:55 PM
11:05 PM 32
Run script for Mapping loader
11:15 PM 33
Code Deployment (LM and Nitra Clusters)
December 6, 2004

38. 7. Test Plan ahead for test environments Execute Test Plan
Functional test: does it function as required?
Regression test: did old bugs reappear?
Performance test: does it perform within acceptable limits?
Reliability test: does it function consistently over time?
Stress test: does it function consistently under volume?
December 6, 2004

39. 8. Control Change Baseline scope, requirements, design
Accommodate controlled change
Avoid scope creep
Allow change, it’s reality
Change requests
Change request decision (approve, reject, defer)
Change Control Board (CCB)
Cross-functional representation
Impact analysis
Business drivers
December 6, 2004

40. 9. Assess Readiness Release Criteria define “done”
Defined Deliverables
Features: Must Have vs Nice to Have
Quality: test results, metrics
Schedule: time-to-market criteria
Objective, quantifiable criteria preferred
Organizational Readiness
Support, Training, Marketing, Sales
Acceptable Risk
December 6, 2004

41. 9. Assess Readiness: Release Criteria
Quality
Testing Complete (functional, regression, performance, reliability, stress)
Successful Mock Deployment
Successful Mock Rollback
"Golden" Build in Hand
Features
All “must have” features complete
Documentation and Help updated
Release Notes Accepted by Customer Support
Schedule
Schedule Clearance (no conflict)
Outage Notification Processed
Release Package Delivered to IT
Acceptable Deployment Night Coverage
Acceptable Post-Deployment Coverage
Go/No Go Meeting yields Go decision. Punch List completed.
December 6, 2004

42. Assess Readiness: Metrics
Common metrics: fix rate, find rate, defect density, rate of change
Example: find rate vs fix rate
Stability reached at week 35 of testing, when defects fixed exceeds defects opened.
December 6, 2004

43. 9. Assess Readiness: Go/No-Go
Release Readiness Assessment
Are all release criteria equal?
Can any criteria be waived?
Go/No-Go
Formal sign-off by stakeholders
Meeting, vote
Recommendation by Release Manager
Go with Punch List
Executive Approval
December 6, 2004

44. 10. Release Formal release by Configuration Mgmt
Deploy to Production or Distribute to Customer
December 6, 2004

45. 10. Release Programs Alpha = test by in-house department
Beta = test by small group of customers
Pilot
Early Adopters
General Availability (GA) = all customers
December 6, 2004

46. Would you ship it? Situations Is it ready? Would you ship it?
December 6, 2004

47. Situation #1: Class registration
Criteria
Zero priority-one defects
Ready in time for class registration on April 1
Data
One priority-one defect affecting 100 music majors out of 3,000 students.
Fix estimate is 3 days.
Today is March 15.
Ship it? More data?
December 6, 2004

48. Situation #1: Other Factors
Cost: Penalty for late delivery?
Confidence: accurate estimate? Complexity?
Quality: Danger of breaking something else? How much testing is needed?
Schedule: Holidays? Vacation? Customer availability? Hard deadline?
Relationship: Unhappy customer? Reference site?
Workaround: Manual? Send staff on site?
December 6, 2004

49. Situation #2: Java web search tool
Criteria
Acceptable performance: + 10% current
Backwards compatibility
Data
Performance on page load is 5% better
Performance on search is 20% worse
Fix will require customer to download new Java Virtual Machine (JVM)
Ship it? More data?
December 6, 2004

50. Situation #2: Other Factors
Quantify: How much loss? < second?
Accuracy: performance test environment?
Alternatives: Optional download? Automatic download?
Support: Ease of download? Increased support load?
Competition: Market leader? Slipping?
Usability: lose customers if slow?
December 6, 2004

51. What did we learn? Release Management Definition Key Practices
Key Principle
Release Process
Features, Quality, Time to Market
December 6, 2004

52. Release Management Definition
The process by which a product is made ready for distribution to customers. Release management is the coordination of all the activities leading to and including product release to customers.
The purpose of release management is to ensure products are ready when promised.
December 6, 2004

53. Key Practices Release Planning: Manage and publish release schedule
Define deliverables included in a release
Manage dependencies across components and activities in the release
Coordinate activities across company
Control changes that would impact the release schedule
Establish release criteria
Assess release readiness
December 6, 2004

54. Key Principle: Define “Done”
Deliverables
Dependencies
Avoid scope creep but allow change
Release criteria
Objective
Quantifiable
Cross-functional
December 6, 2004

55. Release Process Define Content Assign Version Plan Release Build
Package
Deploy
Test
Control Change
Assess Readiness
Release
Iterate
December 6, 2004

56. The Challenge Time to Market vs Features vs Quality Time to Market
Only one top priority
Balance – don’t ignore the other two
Release criteria reflect priorities
Product development methodology supports priorities: concurrent engineering, test-first development, prototyping
Time to Market
Features
Quality
December 6, 2004

57. Q & A
THANK YOU!
December 6, 2004