Release Management @UIT
Release Management in UIT
As UIT has implemented and continues to improve the Change Management process, we now move to Release Management. When we started to introduce Release Management, there were a number of questions raised. We want to answer these questions for you.
What is Release Management?
Release Management is the process of planning, building, testing and deploying hardware and software. Its purpose is to ensure that a consistent method of deployment is followed.
Why implement Release Management?
Release Management is proactive technical support focused on the planning and preparation of new services. Some of the benefits are:
· A structured approach to rolling out all new software or hardware.
· Testing before rollout; this minimizes incidents affecting users and requires less reactive support.
· Training in advance of rollout; this means that users do not experience system downtime while learning new features.
What will Release Management affect?
· Large or critical hardware or software rollouts, especially when there is a dependency on a related software change in the business systems.
· Major software rollouts, especially initial instances of new applications along with accompanying software distribution and support procedures for subsequent use if required.
What is the future of Release Management?
We are working with various teams to develop a release policy that is simple and effective for UIT and ITS. With your help and suggestions we will continue to refine and improve the release processes for future roll outs. There are going to be pilots of Release Management with various groups to gather input and feedback.
As we begin implementing Release Management, we move forward with the goal of establishing consistency and confidence in our roll outs to our customers.
If you have any comments or suggestions please feel free to contact me (Joe Bernhard, joe.bernhard@hsc.utah.edu). For more information about the release process or any of the ITIL processes, visit our web site at http://itil.it.utah.edu.