Implement and document your change control practices in a Release Management Checklist
Why use a Release Management Checklist?
The Release Management Checklist ensures key pre-release activities are performed that align to the Change Management Policy. This ensures each stakeholder group are informed, engaged in the right way, and changes go through the right steps to ensure they are effective and approved prior to release.
How to implement your Checklist:
Confluence: Page templates include “ITSM change management” for a general release management plan.
Knowledge Hub Software: Track the templates and completed release management checklists with links to related documentation and resources.
An example Release Management Checklist is below.
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Task |
Owner |
Status |
Comments |
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Product Management |
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Backlog and sprint plan agreed |
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User stories defined |
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Acceptance criteria defined |
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Release plan agreed |
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Development |
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Design work |
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Design work review |
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Development |
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Peer review |
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Unit testing |
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Development team sign off |
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Testing |
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QA Plan and tests defined |
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Testing complete |
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Bugs logged |
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Defect resolution plan agreed |
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All defects resolved or signed off |
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QA team approval |
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Services & Internal Operations |
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Impact assessment completed |
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Impacted users advanced notification |
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User guides, training materials updated |
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Internal system documentation updated |
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Communications plan agreed |
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Internal teams notified, trained |
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Release Management |
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All changes tested and approved |
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Roll-back plan defined |
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Operations team approval |
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Released to production |
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Release notes sent |
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Post-implementation verification |
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