The role of Release Management in DevOps

Your mobile app users increasingly rely on their mobile devices to shop, bank, make bookings as well as participate in other digital activities. This behavior and the rapidly evolving landscape of software development means that managing releases efficiently is not just a process—it's essential for staying competitive. With DevOps revolutionizing software deployment, release management + DevOps offers a streamlined pathway to faster and more reliable software releases. This blog post delves into the critical role of release management within the DevOps framework, highlighting its importance, and briefly touches upon the role tools play in enhancing the release management process. Join us as we also explore other vital DevOps concepts in our series.

What to expect in this series:

• What is DevOps? Or Mobile DevOps?
• The role of Release Management in DevOps (you are here)‍
• What is DevSecOps? A look into security and DevOps‍
• The impact of DevOps: Comparing organizations with and without DevOps practices

What is release management?

Release management in software development ensures the smooth transition of software from development to production. It’s like a bridge between development and user experience, which encompasses planning, testing, packaging, scheduling, deployment, and controlling software releases. As a critical part of the software development lifecycle, release management is essential for delivering high-quality mobile applications with minimal defects — ensuring timely releases and high user satisfaction.

What is DevOps?

DevOps, or mobile DevOps, is a blend of practices and tools designed to increase an organization's ability to deliver applications faster. It’s a philosophy or a way of working that emphasizes collaboration, communication, and efficiency between software developers (Dev), IT operations (Ops), and security teams. DevOps bridges the gap between writing code and deploying it to production, which is crucial for rapid and reliable software releases. Where DevOps focuses on software development for web and mobile, Mobile DevOps hones in on software development for mobile only. By embracing Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD), DevOps significantly reduces the time to market and enhances software quality. DevOps can be broken down into three schools of thought including a DevOps philosophy, a DevOps platform, and DevOps tools. These aren’t discussed in this article. 

What is release management in DevOps?

Release management in DevOps, or release management DevOps, becomes more dynamic. It's no longer about scheduling releases at intervals and tracking those intervals but about continuous delivery and quick adaptation to change. Tools like Bitrise, which provide CI/CD capabilities, fit naturally into this paradigm, automating the build, test, and deployment cycle, thus ensuring frequent and reliable releases. Most organizations here opt-in for such tools, as building a release management solution or CI it would be hard to achieve. 

In the deployment DevOps lifecycle phase, those reliable releases’ frequency is enhanced with release automation, transparency to feature releases for all stakeholders involved and a centralized solution that eliminates the confusion of juggling multiple disparate tools during a release. Usually, this is achieved with a release management tool. For developers, effective release management DevOps means less downtime, fewer rollbacks, and a more streamlined workflow, directly impacting the quality and speed of software delivery. 

Key components of Release Management DevOps

Effective release management DevOps comprises several key components, including:

• Continuous Integration (CI): Integrates code changes regularly into the main branch, allowing for early detection of issues.
• Continuous Deployment (CD): Automates the deployment process, ensuring quick and consistent releases.
• Version control: Vital for managing changes and maintaining code integrity. It ensures that everyone is working on the latest version of the code and that changes can be easily rolled back if necessary. 
• Automated testing: Ensures software quality and reduces manual errors. This phase involves compiling the code into a releasable format and running automated tests to ensure that the software is functioning as expected.
• QA and beta testers: Quality assurance (QA) engineers and beta testers play a crucial role in identifying defects and providing feedback on the software before it is released to production. Some release management add-ons automate sending your apps to testers. 
• App Store Optimization (ASO): Optimize your app’s listing on app stores to increase visibility and downloads by inputting fields such as metadata, the release version number, your app's title, and screenshots.
• App submission: This process involves submitting the software to app stores for review and approval. It is important to ensure that the software meets the app store's guidelines and that all required information is provided.
• Release: This is the final stage of the release management process, where the software is made available to end users. It involves deploying the software to production servers, updating app store listings, and communicating with users about the new release. Note that the time it can take from app submission to release varies for App Store Connect and Google Play Console.
• Documentation: Clear and up-to-date documentation is essential for effective release management. It should include information about the software, the release process, and the responsibilities of each team member.

The goal of release management DevOps

The overarching goal of release management DevOps is to:

• Ensure a high-quality release frequency: As DevOps emphasizes automation, streamlined processes, and collaboration, software releases are accelerated, freeing teams from mundane, repetitive tasks and allowing them to reinvest their time into high-value activities that drive innovation.
• Reduce the risk of software defects and outages: CI and automated testing ensure software release scrutiny, resulting in apps meeting the highest quality standards. 
• Improve code and app quality: Rapid and iterative development cycles enable agile responses to evolving requirements and invaluable customer feedback. 
• Reduce time to market: Rapid and iterative development cycles enable agile responses to evolving requirements, market conditions, and customer feedback. 
• Ensure predictable and reliable releases: The ultimate measure of success for release management in DevOps lies in happy users. By consistently delivering high quality software, users will come back to your app. 

You might also be interested in 5 ways the best mobile teams use release trains for increased speed and efficiency.

Challenges and best practices in Release Management

Despite its benefits, release management DevOps presents challenges like managing change and ensuring stakeholder alignment. Best practices like automating as much as possible, implementing CI/CD pipelines, and close monitoring of releases are crucial. Here, tools like Bitrise and its Release Management add-on can significantly streamline these processes, facilitating better collaboration and efficiency.

The types of Release Management

There are several types of release management approaches, of which not all are relevant to DevOps. The choice of release management approach depends on various factors such as your organization's size, complexity of your software, development methodology, and risk tolerance. There are three primary types of release management.

1. Waterfall Release Management

This approach follows a sequential development process, where each phase (requirements gathering, design, development, testing, and deployment) is completed before moving on to the next. Releases are planned and executed at predefined intervals, typically with a longer release cycle. While this approach provides a structured and controlled process, it can be inflexible and slow to adapt to changing requirements.

2. DevOps Release Management

DevOps release management is an iterative and collaborative approach that emphasizes CI/CD. It breaks down the traditional silos between development and operations teams, promoting closer collaboration and automation throughout the software development lifecycle. This approach enables frequent and reliable software releases with a focus on quality and user feedback. Three key things to look out for in release management DevOps is automation, transparency, and centralization of your mobile app releases.

3. Agile Release Management

Agile release management aligns with the Agile development methodology, which emphasizes incremental and iterative development. Releases are planned and executed in short cycles, or sprints, with regular feedback and adaptation based on user feedback. This approach values flexibility, adaptability, and continuous improvement, allowing teams to respond quickly to changing requirements and deliver value to customers more frequently.

Improve your release frequency with DevOps Release Management

Bitrise is the CI/CD Platform built for Mobile DevOps. It currently stands as the only CI/CD solution equipped with integrated release management, streamlining the deployment process and ensuring seamless and efficient release cycles. If you’re a Bitrise user, you can start with Release Management today by adding your 1st release. Not a Bitrise user? Start for free today.

Resources to help you:

• Getting you started: Adding a new release
• How to set up your Apple Service Connection
• How to set up your Google Service account connection

Article concludes

As conclude our exploration the role of Release Management in DevOps, we understand that this topic may prompt further questions. To address this, we've compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) based on inquiries we anticipate from our readers. These FAQs aim to provide deeper insights and practical advice to help you navigate the complexities of managing mobile app releases more effectively.

FAQs follow

How does release management in DevOps differ for large-scale vs. small-scale projects?

DevOps's approach to release management significantly varies between large-scale, enterprise-level applications and smaller, more agile projects. For enterprise applications, the complexity of managing releases is augmented by intricate dependencies, compliance requirements, and a wider array of stakeholders. This necessitates a more structured and meticulous approach to mitigate risks and coordinate across multiple teams. On the other hand, smaller projects can thrive on a more flexible and streamlined release management process, enabling rapid iterations and fostering a closer knit between development and operations teams. The agility afforded to smaller projects facilitates faster feedback loops and adaptability, embodying the core principles of DevOps.

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Can you share examples of successful DevOps release management implementations?

The transformative impact of DevOps release management is best illustrated through the successes experienced by organizations across various industries. For instance, consider a technology firm that managed to shorten its release cycles from months to just a few days by integrating DevOps practices into their workflow. This not only accelerated their time to market but also significantly enhanced their operational efficiency and product quality. Another example is a retail company that, by adopting DevOps release management, saw a dramatic reduction in deployment failures, leading to improved customer satisfaction and a competitive edge in the market. These examples underscore the tangible benefits of DevOps release management, highlighting its capacity to revolutionize software delivery and business outcomes.

What metrics should be tracked to evaluate release management effectiveness in a DevOps environment?

Determining the effectiveness of release management in a DevOps context revolves around monitoring specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that reflect the efficiency and health of the software delivery process. Essential metrics such as deployment frequency, lead time for changes, change failure rate, and mean time to recovery (MTTR) are critical for assessing the performance of the release management strategy. Regularly tracking these metrics allows teams to pinpoint improvement areas, facilitating a continuous DevOps culture. This analytical approach optimizes the release management process and aligns with the DevOps ethos of fostering innovation, collaboration, and high-quality software delivery at an accelerated pace.