Independent resource / launchdev.com
The release preparation record.
A practical sequence for making a digital project release understandable before, during and after the decision. Use the project’s actual process and responsibilities.
1. Define what belongs to the change
Write the intended behaviour, the places it affects and the reason for the change. Identify the source of the request and the person who can clarify the intended outcome.
Record what is outside the scope. A boundary helps you choose checks and distinguish a relevant finding from a separate question.
2. Identify the questions that matter
List the assumptions and unknowns that could affect the release decision. Keep the questions specific enough that someone can investigate them.
Name the source or person for each clarification. A general readiness label should not conceal a material point that remains unresolved.
3. Plan checks around the behaviour
Choose checks that address the intended outcome and relevant surrounding paths. Include the conditions needed to understand the check rather than describing only the action taken.
A planned check is not an observed result. Keep those states separate and record unexpected findings in the same place as the intended outcome.
4. Collect a useful evidence record
For each completed check, save what was examined, the relevant conditions and the observed result in the format appropriate to the project. Connect the evidence to the defined change.
Keep the record proportionate. It should let another authorised person understand the decision without becoming a collection of unrelated screenshots or logs.
5. State the decision and its conditions
Use the responsible people and process for the actual project. Record whether the change proceeds, is held or is revised, together with the reason and any conditions.
If the scope changes, revisit the relevant checks. Do not leave a release record describing a plan that is no longer the one being executed.
6. Prepare the follow-through
Identify how the intended outcome will be reviewed after release and who handles unexpected findings. Use the project’s actual observation and response arrangements.
Keep relevant operational instructions in their proper source. The notebook can point to that source without pretending to replace the project’s runbook.
7. Close with the remaining work visible
Record what was observed and where further work is tracked. Distinguish a resolved point, a deferred task and an unresolved question.
Leave a handover that identifies the next responsible person and the record supporting the decision already made. An understandable ending is part of the release.