Release Verification

TeamRaghunath Soman

Agenda

• Need

• Concept

• Benefits

• Process

• Structure

• Checklist

• FAQ

Need for Release Verification Team

• Release is the most critical milestone in any product cycle.

• A successful release wins over the customer; a haphazard

release endangers customer’s confidence.

• Some releases are meticulously planned; whereas, in some

cases it is all mayhem and chaos.

• Release Verification Team is a proposal to overcome these

differences and ensure a smooth, streamlined, consistently

high-quality releases, across all projects.

What is Release Verification Team?

• A crack team of experts from various disciplines who will

assume the role of the client

• The Release Verification Team (RVT) will:

– Install /Deploy the product

– Test all the deliverables

– Review all the test cases and documentation

– Approve all the deliverables

… prior to the actual release.

Benefits of RVT

• The implementation of a release verification team will:

– Bring consistency across all deliverables from company

– Catch any obvious (and embarrassing) errors

– Avoid errors due to last-minute code changes

– Make project teams more careful in approach to releases

– Reduce the stress level of project team during releases

– Utilize the expertise of specialists beyond their projects

– Enable the company to tout this as added benefit in

project proposals

RVT Process

1. Before the actual release, the project manager will give a

beta release of all deliverables to the Release Verification

Team (RVT), using all the steps that go into making a client

release, i.e. ftp upload, release mail, release note/readme

file, etc.

2. RVT will download, install and deploy the application using

the installation guide or readme file.

3. RVT team will use a comprehensive checklist to test the

application and review the accompanying documentation.

RVT Process

5. RVT team will submit its findings to project manager

(preferably within 2 working days).

6. Project team and RVT will discuss the findings and arrive at

a consensus about the changes to be implemented in the

current release, changes to be implemented in the next

release(s), if any, and rejected changes.

7. After project team incorporates the mutually agreed

changes, the updated release will be approved by the RVT.

8. The approved release will be delivered by the project

manager to the customer.

RVT Process

Beta

Release FindingsRVT

Test

Discussion

All

changes

made?

ApprovalClient

Release

Product

Update

No

Yes

RVT Structure

• RVT will be a multi-disciplinary team, each member an expert

• Proposed RVT core team structure :

– Senior developers, for source code review

– Senior quality analysts to test the product

– Senior technical writer and UX expert for documentation

and usability reviews

– Business analyst

• For complex projects, it would also help to add:

– Legal expert

– Domain expert

RVT Checklist

• RVT will use a comprehensive checklist. Some checkpoints:

– Does product actually meet the customer requirements as

per specifications

– Does installer works properly without any issues

– Code with proper structure and useful comments

– User documentation review, including release notes, read-

me

– Usability: intuitive UI, easy navigation, unambiguous text

• The checklist will be a live document, and will be updated with

each new learning.

FAQ

• Why another QA team required?

– The RVT will focus on the release as a complete product.

It will not perform functional or regression testing on

product. That will be the responsibility of product QA.

• How can project team deliver before project deadlines?

– RVT will work on major, critical releases towards end of a

project. Time for RVT should be considered during

estimation.

• What about NDAs?

– RVT will sign all the NDA documents.

FAQ

• What about Agile, or multiple-release projects?

– RVT will work on the initial sprints/releases, and educate the

project team. The project team will then own up all further

deliverables, using the checklist provided by RVT. RVT may

again come into the picture for the final release.

THANK YOU

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