Release Verification Team Proposal
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This document proposes establishing a Release Verification Team (RVT) to ensure consistent high quality product releases. The RVT would test releases before client delivery to catch errors, review documentation, and approve releases. Benefits include more consistent deliverables, reduced stress, and expertise beyond individual projects. The RVT process would involve testing beta releases, submitting findings, discussing changes, and approving final releases. The RVT structure would include developers, quality analysts, writers and UX experts. A comprehensive checklist would guide reviews. Frequently asked questions address concerns about additional QA needs, project deadlines, and Agile/multiple release projects.
Release Verification Team Proposal
- 2. Agenda • Need • Concept • Benefits • Process • Structure • Checklist • FAQ
- 3. 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.
- 4. 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.
- 5. 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
- 6. 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.
- 7. 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.
- 9. 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
- 10. 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.
- 11. 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.
- 12. 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.
- 13. THANK YOU Image credits: ShutterStock