Agile Release Planning: How to Create a Release Plan

Agile release planning is a distinct strategy needed to create project schedules that adhere to this concept. It involves teams building and releasing products incrementally rather than all at once. In this post, we will cover the fundamentals of agile release planning, including what it is, how to create an agile release plan,

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Visual PMP Academy
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on
March 15, 2024

Every endeavor requires a plan.  However, even the most well-thought-out plans occasionally require revisions.

Product managers who work with agile teams should assign significant importance to release planning since it links strategy and tactics and guarantees that the product is headed in the right path.  That's the fundamental idea underlying agile project management, which is very well-liked by teams working on software development projects.

Agile release planning is a distinct strategy needed to create project schedules that adhere to this concept.

We will cover the fundamentals of agile release planning in this post, including what it is, and how to create an agile release plan.

What is Agile Release Planning?

Release planning is the process of identifying the intended result of one or more significant releases and optimizing the likelihood of reaching it. 

Agile release planning involves teams building and releasing products incrementally or in iterations rather than all at once or in separate big releases.

The next set of minimal marketable features is determined while preparing a release, along with an impending product launch date that allows the team to mobilize.
Setting the release date and formulating the release objective fall under the purview of the product owner.

After you have established a product roadmap, it is time to start expanding on your product's details. 

How to Create a Release Plan

Agile release planning is an evolving document that outlines the set of tasks you should complete in order to release your finished product on schedule.

The easy stages to building a successful release plan are listed below: 

1. Establish objectives.

A release goal is a general business objective for the features of the product that you are releasing. You and your team should decide on the ultimate objective to be accomplished and make sure the release will remain in line with the overall vision of your product when you're drafting the release plan. A release target is jointly developed by the development team and the product owner.

2. Analyze the backlog of products.

To identify the most important user stories that will help you achieve your release target, read over the product plan and backlog. You must now assess the backlogs and determine where the product is lacking. To generate user stories, evaluate the product priorities and include stakeholder input. Make sure the features that are most important to you are the most feasible and should be released first.

3. Determine the release plan meeting.

Arrange a sprint meeting with your Agile team and stakeholders to go over the suggested release plan and make any necessary changes to the additional requirements. The purpose of the release planning meeting is to make sure that the tasks and the product vision align, taking you closer to your objective. 

During the meeting, you may discuss the follwing points on the agenda:

  • Review Roadmap
  • Examine Product Design
  • Plan and Review Iteration
  • Define Completion

4. Split up releases into several sprints.

Based on the team's velocity and productivity, calculate the approximate number of sprints required. Make sure each of these sprints has an appropriate amount of work; they shouldn't be either excessively or inadequately loaded.  

5. Establish the goal date release.

While some scrum teams base their release dates on the functionality being completed, others may have set deadlines, such as June 9 or September 30, that are particular to a month or year. To meet the release target, the number of teams may need to be adjusted.

6.  Update and improve the plan. 

Keep in mind that plans can vary, therefore you can't follow a strict strategy to develop your product. Instead, you should be flexible with your plans. To guarantee that everything goes according to plan and that a high-caliber release is produced on schedule, be adaptable and make necessary revisions to the plan.

Conclusion

It is preferable to plan releases collaboratively with the development team and stakeholders.  Iterative updates are the foundation of agile release planning, meaning that each release marks both a conclusion and a start. While it's important to celebrate the release, don't forget to begin planning for the next one as soon as possible.

Want to build a successful career in Project Management, Agile and Scrum? Or you need free templates, ITTO Games, or Electronic Books?

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