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Release Plan Review

Why do we have Release Plans?

For any platforms without a fully automated release process, delivery teams are required to create a Release Plan and make sure care and consideration is taken in reducing downtime and releasing the BLI as safely as possible.

Who can approve a release?

All Senior Software Engineers and Tech Leads can approve Release Plans.

Warning

A reviewer cannot sign-off a Release Plan they've had a hand in writing.

What does a review entail?

The following is a checklist an engineer should use when performing a Release Plan review.

  • Are all sections filled in?
  • Do links to external resources
    • Go somewhere?
    • Go to the correct place?
  • Understand the complexity of the release.
  • Given the evident complexity?
    • Are there risks that have not been identified?
    • Have identified risks been mitigated sufficiently for the given probability and impact?
    • Are release steps (and rollback steps) detailed enough?
    • If multiple components are to be released, do they need to be deployed (and rolled back) in any particular order?
    • Is there sufficient Smoke Testing?
  • If there is low automated e2e test coverage for a given scenario, would a greater level of smoke testing be required?
  • Is there an agreed communication plan?
    • Have timelines been clearly and explicitly shared?
    • Are identified risks and mitigations being communicated appropriately?