Release planning

Release planning


Release planning allows you to schedule when and which product increments (versions) will be issued to the market. This method aids your team in adjusting to the unpredictability of software development. It's also an important aspect of the Agile SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle)


Every agile company must choose its own cadence for deploying new features to customers. Some people prefer to release after each sprint. Others combine the outcomes of several sprints into a single release. Others, known as continuous deployment or continuous delivery, release software as soon as each feature is complete. Regardless of the cadence chosen, most organisations find that some longer-term release planning is beneficial.

Replace the phrase "release planning" with "longer-range planning" or "milestone-driven planning" if the term "release planning" does not fit your organization's procedures. Release planning, whatever you want to call it, is a Scrum process that aims for a future state in which essential variables like time, scope, and money must all be balanced. Regardless of the nomenclature, the essential timing, participants, and process remain the same.

In Scrum, there are various actions that make up release planning:

  • Review and revise the scope, schedule, and budget limitations for the release.

  • Grooming the backlog of products.

  • Review and update the minimum features that can be released (MRFs)

  • Make a sprint map (optional)



CONSTRAINTS IN SCRUM RELEASE PLANNING

Scrum release planning aims to identify the most useful future release as well as the desired quality level. The scope, schedule, and financial limits of a release are all critical factors that influence how a company achieves its purpose. During conceptualising, one or more of these constraints will most likely be set as fixed, leaving the remaining constraint(s) flexible. A fixed-date release, for example, has a specified release date that must be fulfilled; but, the scope (and presumably the budget) are adjustable.


Constraints of Scrum Release Planning: Fixed Scope and Deadline

Another ineffective Scrum release planning strategy is to lock down the scope and deadline but leave the money open. There are several flaws in this strategy:

  • Increases in funding are difficult to achieve once development has begun.

  • Locking down these two variables at the same time is nearly hard. When it comes down to it, one of them will cave in.

  • It is assumed that by allocating more resources to teams, they will be able to accomplish more in less time. This is only true in rare occasions, and even then, only up to a point.


Release Planning Patterns

Many businesses have their own schedule for releasing things to their clients. Some people prefer to release after each sprint. Others, as indicated in the diagram below, combine the findings of numerous sprints into a single release. Others, known as continuous deployment or continuous delivery, release software as soon as each feature is complete.



A release plan is a timeline that outlines which features will be added and when they will be completed. Depending on the development method, the release may be driven by functionality, with the goal of delivering a release once a preset set of functionality has been built, or by date, with the release taking place at a planned checkpoint. If the project is feature-driven, the predicted velocity can be divided by the sum of all features in a release. As a result, the number of sprints required to implement the specified feature will be determined.

Why We Need A Release Planning Anyway?


Although, in the agile world, real engagement dates may be less precise in terms of agreed targets. A generic release delivery roadmap, on the other hand, could help your team and other stakeholders build trust and expectations. Releases should also account for all of the additional work that has to be done, such as updating the public website and training the customer support personnel. The following are the primary reasons for including release planning into your Scrum project:

  1. a means of communication

  2. Tool for planning

  3. Validates the cost-benefit ratio.

  4. It establishes the entire context.



How does the Release Planning process work?

Longer-term planning is referred to as release planning. It allows you to answer queries like:

  • When will we be finished?

  • How much will this set you back?

  • Which features will I be able to obtain by the end of the year?


Release planning involves striking a balance between customer value and overall product quality while working under restrictions such as scope, budget, and time. During a product release, each Agile-enabled business must determine its own cadence. This method is known as continuous deployment or continuous delivery. Some businesses elect to release every sprint, while others integrate multiple sprints into one release, and yet others release right after each feature is completed. Let's take a look at the various release cadences, which are made up of numerous sprints and occur multiple times each sprint.


The following are the results of the Release Planning process:

The'release plan' is the result of the Release Planning process. The release plan specifies the level of accuracy, as well as when the product will be completed, what features will be included, and how much it will cost. In addition, the release plan specifies the MRFs that should be used for a particular release.