Why talk about releasing software? • We all do it • It's on the border between technical & non-technical skills • We don't talk about it very often • It's something I've gotten wrong countless times 5 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Why !? • A convenient name for the software at one point in time • A convenient time to market • A concrete end point for the current work in progress • A chance to get the most recent work onto our users' devices 7 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Why !? A convenient name for the software at one point in time • semver • "Are you using 2.5.1? Please update to 2.6.0, it fixes that bug" 8 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Why !? A convenient time to market • "Update now to version 2.0 !" • "Only $5 for all these great new features!" • "Please remember my app exists and buy it if you like it "" 9 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Why !? A concrete end point for the current work in progress • We want to ship this refactor, fix the bad crash, and add the improved signup screen by the end of the month • After this release, I'm going to take a ! 10 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Why !? A chance to get the most recent work onto our users' devices • New ways to make money • Fixing bugs so users are happy again • Stay in sync with what other teams are doing 11 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Why !? These are the business reasons for doing software releases. They guide the choices we make around release schedules, the tools and processes we employ, and how we evaluate our success as engineers. 12 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Popular Release Strategies • Never • When the boss feels like it • When amount of work has been done • Every years / months / weeks • Continuously 15 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Release Strategies Never ResearchKit has the best release date ever. ! vs. "# - Fight! (@NeoNacho) April 12, 2015 16 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Release Strategies Never • Software you don't release is software you don't have to support • No extra work required! • But you can never announce it, never be paid for it, and never call it "done" 17 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Release Strategies When the boss feels like it • No predictability • No pressure to do a release if you don't want to • In general: ¯\_(ϑ)_/¯ 18 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Release Strategies When amount of work has been done • Every release contains the right amount of changes • Enough to market / be proud of / warrant the effort • Not too much • Users can trust that upgrading is worthwhile • On a small / mature product, the gap between releases can get large 19 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Release Strategies Every years / months / weeks We bring you an update to the app store every 2 weeks to improve your experience using app. Please leave a review. Every major iOS app for the past 2 years 20 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Release Strategies Every years / months / weeks Thanks for using clothes, Brian! To make clothing better for you, clothes are released every two weeks. Every update of clothes includes improvements for style and comfort. As new clothes become available we will be highlighting those for you in your closet. @luisobo 21 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Release Strategies Every years / months / weeks • Predictable timelines • A regular and comfortable cadence for engineers • Practice doing releases • The amount of changes in each release might vary • Requires tooling to handle in-progress work 22 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Release Strategies Continuous Delivery • The new popular thing for web • The product the user sees is the same as what the developer is working on • A single release becomes a non-event • Revert problematic changes before new work builds upon them 23 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Release Strategies Continuous Delivery • How do you report a bug without a version? • All changes have to be 100% self-contained 24 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Release Strategies How to choose? • Respect the user. Always. • How much developer time do you have to devote to release engineering? • How fast is the rest of your company moving? 25 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
! For Software Releases Steps for a successful release: • Determine what it is you're releasing • Pick a version number 1. If you do that sort of thing • Decide who will get the release 1. Is it a staged rollout? 2. Do users need to download a new app? Buy something new? 3. What is it compatible with? 31 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
! For Software Releases Steps for a successful release: • Decide how you're announcing the release 1. Does it get special press / marketing? 2. What changes do you want users to focus on? • Pick a date 1. Are there things that need to be done by that date? 2. Under what circumstances will the date change? 32 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
! For Software Releases Steps for a successful release: • Settle upon a success metric • Warn all stakeholders that a release is happening • Remember to release 33 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Handling A Bad Release • Communicate that something went wrong • Explain what happened, and why • Come up with a plan to avoid it happening again • Implement & automate that plan 36 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
Modern Releases • Use tooling to automate error-prone processes • Happen on a predictable schedule • Minimize disruption to the user's workflow 38 Release Strategies, @segiddins, Mobile Optimized 2017
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