Release Management Best Practices - Defining What a Release Is

Release Management Best Practices

Chapter 3. Defining What a Release Is

Defining What a Release Is — Release Management Best Practices

Authored and Published By: The International Foundation for Information Technology (IF4IT), LLC

Executive Summary: Chapter Overview

IF4IT

The Bottom Line

A Release is a titled, versioned Change Set — one or more changes to one or more governed Assets — that is coordinated and moved, in a governed and sequenced manner, across one or more IT Operating Environments toward its intended target Environment, most commonly, but not always, Production. Once it successfully reaches that target Environment, the same identifier is referred to as a Version.

Core Concepts

ConceptDefinition & Strategic Role
Change SetThe bundle of one or more changes to one or more governed Assets that a Release carries.
Governed AssetSomething the enterprise owns, operates, or depends on that a Release delivers changes to; Assets are hierarchical/compositional.
Target EnvironmentWhere a Release is coordinated and moved toward, most commonly Production, though not always.

Quick Q&A

Question: Can a Release contain changes to more than one Asset?

Answer: Yes — a Release can represent one or a bundled set of Assets, since Assets are themselves hierarchical/compositional.

Question: Does a Release always end up in Production?

Answer: Most commonly, but not always — a Release’s intended target Environment is whichever Environment it is governed to reach.

Read More Below

Overview

A Release is a titled, versioned Change Set — one or more changes to one or more governed Assets (something the enterprise owns, operates, or depends on that is important enough to govern, such as a Product, Service, Application, Platform, or other Technical Asset) bundled together and correlated to a specific version identifier (e.g., “Product X – Release 1.0,” “Service Y – Release 2.3,” “Platform Z – Release 5.0”).

A Release is coordinated and moved, in a governed and sequenced manner, across one or more IT Operating Environments (a.k.a. IT Environments, a.k.a. Environments) toward its intended target Environment — most commonly, but not always, Production — where critical stakeholders depend on it for normal business operations.

Once a Release reaches its intended target Environment and becomes the current operating state of the Asset(s) it contains, it is commonly referred to as a Version rather than as a Release. Both terms refer to the same governed Change Set, but “Release” emphasizes its movement and governance across Environments, while “Version” emphasizes its resulting state once deployed.

Defining What a Release Is — Anatomy of a Release
Anatomy of a Release — A Release is a titled, versioned Change Set containing one or more changes to one or more governed Assets. It moves across applicable IT Operating Environments toward its intended target Environment—most commonly, but not always, Production—and becomes a Version when it successfully reaches that target Environment.

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