Release Management

Goal Primary Objective

To take an holistic (Overall) view of a
Change to an IT service and ensure that all aspects of a release, both technical and non-technical are considered together

Why Release Management

Manage large or critical hardware roll-outs Manage major software roll-outs Bundling or batching related sets of changes Control the release of authorised CIs into the supported environment

Release Policy
A release policy document should be produced to clarify the roles and responsibilities for Release Management. There may be one document per organisation or an umbrella set of guidelines and specific details for each supported service

Responsibilities of Release Management

Development Environment Controlled Test Environment Live Environment

RELEASE MANAGEMENT

Release Policy

Release Planning

Develop or purchase software

Build / configure release

Fit for purpose testing

Release acceptance

Roll out planning

Communication Distribution preparation & & installation training

Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and Definitive Software Library (DSL)

Terminology
Definitive Software Library (DSL)
Definitive Software Library where ALL authorised versions of software are stored and protected. A Physical library or storage repository where master copies of software versions are kept. This one logical store may consist of one or more physical software libraries or file stores. Definitive Hardware Store (DHS) Definitive Hardware Store An area set aside for the secure storage of definitive hardware spares. Types of Release - Delta, Full and Package

Definitions
Release: a collection of authorised Changes to an IT Service

Release Unit: the portion of the IT infrastructure that is

normally released together Roll-out: deliver, install and commission an integrated set of new or changed CIs across logical or physical parts of an organisation
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Types of Release
Delta
Only those CIs that have actually changed since last release are included. Full All components of the Release are built, tested, distributed and implemented together (whether they have changed or not). Package Individual Releases both Full and Delta are grouped together to form a Package for release.

Build Management
Software and Hardware components for release should be

assembled in a controlled, reproducible manner. Build Management becomes the responsibility of Release management from the controlled test environment on wards. Back out plans should be devised and tested as part of the release. Change Management allows CMDB to remain accurate. Without Configuration data change impacts are not accurately assessable. Without Change and Configuration Management, Releases will not be controlable.
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Possible Problems
Resistance from Staff to new procedures Circumvention of procedures Unclear ownership and role acceptance Lack of understanding of release contents Reluctance to back out of a failing release.

Benefits
Improved service quality from greater success rate for
releases and minimal disruption to the business Greater ability to cope with high levels of Change Assurance that hardware and software in live use is of known quality, reducing the chance of illegal, wrong or unauthorised software being in use Better expectation setting for Business and Service staff

RM

Exam Tips
Release is associated with ROLLOUT Urgent Software releases do not require FULL
testing

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Exam Questions
One of Release Managements tasks is to set up a DHS.
Which statement most closely describes the DHS? A A DHS is a number of physical locations where baselines are stored B Before setting up a DHS a tool should first be purchased for releasing the hardware into the environment C A DHS is an area set aside for the secure storage of definitive hardware spares D A DHS is a database in which all definitive hardware Configuration Items are recorded
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Exam Question
The words Delta, Full and Package describe different
types of release. Which one of these following statements is true?
A Package release contains hardware and software Urgent changes are always Delta releases A Delta release is only ever part of a Package release A Full release releases the normal release unit into the live environment

A B C D

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Exam Question
Students at a college can send in their course work from
their home PC via the telephone Network. They can then check their results on their PCs. A student needs an existing set of programs that can be configured for the particular course that the student is following. Which process is responsible for the correct configuring and transmission of the programs?
Release Management Change Management Configuration Management Network Management
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A B C D