Template
Release planning template
Before a release: agree what goes in and what stays out, the order things must land in, the risks to the date, and how you would roll it back.
The agenda, with a time for each part
- What this release is for10 min
- What should a customer be able to do afterwards that they cannot do today?
- What is in, what is out25 min
- Which of these could slip without breaking the promise?
- What did we say yes to that we should cut?
- Order and dependencies15 min
- What has to be finished before anything else can start?
- Risks to the date15 min
- What is the one thing most likely to move the date, and how would we know early?
- How it goes out, and how it comes back15 min
- Who presses the button, who watches, and what makes us roll back?
- Who does what10 min
- Who tells support, sales and customers, and when?
How the notes read afterwards
A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.
For. Customers can pay by bank transfer as well as card.
Out. Saved bank details move to the next release; nothing breaks without them.
Risk. The bank's test account was promised a month ago and has not arrived. Ade chases it daily.
Rollback. If failed payments pass 2% in the first hour, switch the option off.
Running it well
- Write the release in one sentence a customer would understand before anybody lists features. If you cannot, it is two releases.
- Agree the rollback rule before the release, not during it: the number that, if it moves, means you undo it without a meeting.
- Invite support. They know which change will fill their inbox, and they need the date as much as engineering does.
Ways to change it
When to skip it. If you release several times a day behind feature switches, plan the feature, not the release.
Questions
What is release planning?
A meeting before a release where the team agrees what is included, the order the work must land in, the risks to the date, and how the release will be rolled out and, if needed, rolled back.
What is the output of release planning?
A short list of what is in and out, an owner for each dependency, the risks with their early warnings, a launch plan and a rollback rule.
How far ahead should you plan a release?
Far enough to change scope cheaply: for most teams, two to six weeks before the date.
What happens in the room
Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.
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