Release Management

Introduction and Objectives

The complex interactions between all the components making up the IT infrastructure make implementing any changes a delicate task.

Change Management is responsible for approving and supervising the process as a whole. However, Release Management has the specific task of designing, testing and installing pre-defined changes in the live environment.

This all requires careful planning and coordination with other processes associated with IT services management.

The main objectives of Release Management include:

• Establishing a policy for implementing new versions of hardware and software.
• Implementing new versions of hardware and software on the live environment after verifying them in a realistic test environment.
• Ensuring that the change process meets the specifications of the relevant RFC.
• Ensuring, in cooperation with Change Management and Configuration Management, that all the changes are correctly entered on the CMDB.
• Archiving (identical) copies of the live software, and all their associated documentation, in the Definitive Software Library (DSL).
• Keeping the Definitive Hardware Storage (DHS) up-to-date.

The benefits of correct Release Management may be summarised as:

• Changes are made without deterioration of the quality of service.
• New releases meet the proposed objectives.
• The number of incidents caused by incompatibilities with other installed hardware or software is reduced.
• The related testing processes not only allows the quality of the hardware and software due to be installed to be tested, but also elicits the opinions of users on the functionality and usability of the new versions.
• Keeping the DSL properly maintained will prevent the loss of (valuable) copies of the source files.
• The number of illegal software copies is reduced.
• Control of the software and hardware deployed is centralised.
• Protection against viruses and other problems associated with uncontrolled software versions is improved.

The main activities difficulties Release Management tends to meet are:

• There is a lack of a clear assignment of responsibilities and/or the IT organisation does not accept the dominant role of Release Management in the process of implementing the change.
• There is no suitable test environment where new versions of software and hardware can be tested realistically.
• There is resistance in the various departments to the centralisation of change processes. It is common for there to be a reluctance to adopt standardised systems across the whole organisation, particularly when this has not been its traditional policy.
• Changes are made without consulting with Release Management, on the grounds that they are the responsibility of a specific work group or that they were too urgent.
• There is resistance to accepting possible back-out plans. Some live environments may choose to ignore problems that a new release may cause for other areas and resist a return to the last stable version.
• The synchronised implementation of releases across highly distributed environments.

Solving these problems involves:

• A firm commitment to Release Management and its managers by the organisation.
• An appropriate communication plan informing all the IT organisation's users and managers of the advantages of managing the whole change process correctly.