A maintenance release is a software release that corrects a security flaw or minor bug without altering any core components or adding new features. A maintenance release is a part of the systems operation and support stage of the software release life cycle.
Every software application goes through the software release life cycle. It begins with systems analysis and requirements discovery, a stage in which the data and processes are modeled. Then it goes on to the design stage, the construction stage, the implementation stage, and eventually the operating and support stage. In this phase, the regression testing a type of system testing is performed on the modified system to ensure that no new faults are introduced in the software as a result of the maintenance activity.
The input attribute comprises the updated software documentation, test preparation review report, and the updated system. In the process attribute, various types of testing such as system functional testing, interface testing, and regression testing are performed on the fully integrated system. While in the control attribute, system testing is performed. The system test is conducted with the help of a separate test function. The test function is required to record the output of the system test and determine the status of the criterion that has been established in the test plan for system testing.
This information is essential to proceed to the next phase, which is acceptance testing. The output of this phase is the tested and integrated system and the test report. In this phase, acceptance testing is performed on the fully integrated system by the user or by a third party specified by the user. The objective is to detect errors and verify that the software features are according to the requirements stated in the modification request. The input attribute comprises the fully integrated system, acceptance test plans, acceptance test cases, and acceptance test procedures.
The process attribute includes the procedures for performing acceptance test at the functional level and testing the system to determine its performance and operation. The output of acceptance test phase comprises an FCA report and the acceptance test report. In this phase, the modified or new software system is delivered to the user. In addition, users are provided with a proper documentation consisting of manuals and help files that describe the operation of the software along with its hardware specifications.
The input attribute comprises a fully tested and accepted version of the system. The process attribute of the delivery phase comprises the following steps.
Arranging and documenting a PCA. Allowing users to access system materials. Placing contents of the delivery under SCM control.
Dinesh Thakur is a Freelance Writer who helps different clients from all over the globe. For any type of query or something that you think is missing, please feel free to Contact us. About Dinesh Thakur. Modification request MR. Assign identification number Classify MR into appropriate category Accept or reject change Assign a priority. Uniquely identified modification request Enter process modification request in repository. This test plan template provides space for you to track actions, expected results, actual results, and whether the test passed or failed.
IT service management is a superset of activities that organizations use to design, plan, deliver, operate, and control the IT services that they offer. Among these is a detailed set of practices known as the Information Technology Infrastructure Library. Release management is included in the third of these volumes, the service transition volume, which concerns the delivery of services to operational use.
Organizations that implement ITIL practices can do much more than increase the efficiency of release processes; they can also realize financial gains and increase the business value of the services they offer. Enterprise release management ERM manages the big picture of releases at the organizational level of entities with large or complex software, such as healthcare systems, big companies, universities, and the like.
Why is this important? Imagine an organization that develops complex systems of software. Multiple development groups work on different components of these large systems. This structure makes sense internally because it allows developers to specialize, increase focus, and build components piece by piece. But, ultimately, the pieces must converge in a single, seamlessly integrated system. ERM enables organizations to roll out large software products that work well as an integrated whole, and it helps them to do this efficiently.
ERM efforts typically call for many release managers to work in tandem, so they can synchronize their respective releases. In a paper presented at the Project Management Institute Annual Seminars and Symposium, Franck Aguilh discussed the emerging realization among software development companies that there was a need for a specialized discipline that focuses exclusively on managing releases.
The release manager rather than the project manager would play this role, as the project manager has much more expansive priorities. Aguilh said that successful release management is a process that attains four main objectives: deploying on time, deploying on budget, having negligible impact on existing customers, and meeting the requirements of new customers, all while keeping in mind competitive pressures and technological advancements.
Release management calls for coordination between many departments within an organization, each of which fulfills a specialized role.
QA must perform checks. Operations must manage branches and get the build ready for deployment. But those are just the technical components.
Each organization has different communication preferences. Meetings, a chat channel, a Wiki page, or just email are all good ways to keep people in the loop. These include the main project management process areas: initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing. However, Aguilh also posited nine processes that are specific to release management.
Following are descriptions of these nine processes as well as the order in which they occur:. Aguilh suggested that the processes of release management correspond quite closely to those of project management. For example, FPR and release packaging are basically a consideration of scope and planning, while quality corresponds to documentation, development, change control, and training.
Executing and controlling, in turn, correspond to training, customer testing, customer notification, and deployment. Closing, of course, maps to deployment. It becomes evident, therefore, that useful parallels can be drawn between project management and release management and that an effective release manager needs to possess the same skills as a project manager.
You have seen how release management processes align with core project management processes. There are typically six phases in the SDLC:. During development, managers lay out a release policy , a document that defines the scope, principles, and end goals for the release management process.
To see an example, take a look at the release policies of the Apache Software Foundation, which promotes open source software projects for public good. Release managers draw up release plans based on the release policy. These plans are broad guidelines for deploying multiple releases. During the design phase, the release manager makes sure the hardware and software assets that will support the release are designed and configured.
Then, coding begins. During implementation, the developers build and configure the code. During testing, testers try out the code in an operational environment. During deployment, the staff rolls out a live version of the software, and the quality assurance team conducts a quality review to see that the release meets its stipulated requirements.
If the release passes the quality review, it is validated and slated for production; this seal of approval is referred to as release accepted. If bugs remain, the team will reject the release. An accepted release has a rollout plan that covers the details of deployment, and the company informs clients and end users about the upcoming release. Training may be necessary. The release units are deployed to production for full launch. Some organizations choose to verify the implementation at this stage in order to ascertain whether the release will run smoothly when live.
In the maintenance stage, developers conduct a review of the release and log issues to be resolved for the next release. To make the timeline clear for all your release activities, create a release management schedule. Use this template to track key deliverables and deadlines to keep everyone on the same page.
Excel Word PDF. This deployment may occur on a testing server rather than a production server. A release is the software form of this new version. It is intended for an audience beyond developers, either others in the organization or customers. A release generally carries a version number. When a customer deploys a release, it is generally described as an installation of the software.
Shipping describes the process of getting code through the entire building, testing, and deployment loop. Deployment is a crucial juncture in both the software development life cycle and the release management cycle. Deployment marks the moment when the new software version is available for use and the new release goes live.
Jackson notes that deployment is often problematic: More than 50 percent of commissioned software is not used, mostly because it fails at deployment. Jackson also reports that 80 percent of the spending on commissioned software occurs at and after deployment.
But sometimes, deployment is the problem. Relying on best practices in release management makes these solutions standard operating procedure. The release deployment process is focused on making the software operational in a live environment.
For this to occur, the software must go through testing and be officially accepted by the product owner or another business stakeholder. During the deployment process, users receive training on the software update, and team members conduct an assessment or review of how it is performing and how deployment went.
In release management, best practices are the guidelines created and refined by companies that have already implemented ITIL with success. The guidelines are owned and published by the British Cabinet Office. ITIL release management processes have been used with good outcomes by space programs, health services, banks, and entertainment companies. The guidelines must be modified by organizations to meet their own requirements and capacities. Remember, though: These are a starting framework, not a gospel.
Although release management matters most during the transition from development to production, it starts with the planning of releases during development. Similarly, creating a release process checklist encourages transparency as well as shared understanding of the release management process and how it creates business value. In addition, it helps to have an active senior sponsor. In the medical community, checklists save lives.
To keep track of all your release activities, consider using a checklist. Edit the form to reflect the needs of your project. Word Excel PDF. Some best practices are really just common sense. Continuous integration, for example, improves the quality of the eventual release by catching errors quickly. It is a process to achieve system specification by thoroughly analyzing, understanding the existing system.
This process can be seen as reverse SDLC model, i. An existing system is previously implemented design, about which we know nothing. Designers then do reverse engineering by looking at the code and try to get the design. With design in hand, they try to conclude the specifications. Thus, going in reverse from code to system specification. It is a process to re-structure and re-construct the existing software. It is all about re-arranging the source code, either in same programming language or from one programming language to a different one.
Restructuring can have either source code-restructuring and data-restructuring or both. Re-structuring does not impact the functionality of the software but enhance reliability and maintainability. Program components, which cause errors very frequently can be changed, or updated with re-structuring. Forward engineering is a process of obtaining desired software from the specifications in hand which were brought down by means of reverse engineering.
It assumes that there was some software engineering already done in the past. Forward engineering is same as software engineering process with only one difference — it is carried out always after reverse engineering.
A component is a part of software program code, which executes an independent task in the system. It can be a small module or sub-system itself. The login procedures used on the web can be considered as components, printing system in software can be seen as a component of the software. Components have high cohesion of functionality and lower rate of coupling, i.
In OOP, the objects are designed are very specific to their concern and have fewer chances to be used in some other software. In modular programming, the modules are coded to perform specific tasks which can be used across number of other software programs.
Software components provide interfaces, which can be used to establish communication among different components.
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