Release Managers get it. They often lead DevOps transformations, acting as "protectors of production" and, in the process, earn the respect of both development and operations. Release Managers have proven that, with the right process and supporting tools, applications teams can integrate, test and deploy with speed and control. Now that continuous delivery has taken hold and teams are releasing multiple times per week (or day), where are the releases that need managing? What is the Release Manager supposed to do?? Join us for a look at how Release Managers have automated themselves out one job and into another. Production still needs protection and the pace of change is faster than ever. The Release Manager no longer needs to spend as much time evaluating each change, but is perfectly equipped to help identify bottlenecks in delivery and correct them while still keeping production safe.

1. From Release Manager to
Value Stream Manager

2. Who are these guys?
Eric Minick
Product Management – IBM DevOps
@EricMinick
Brian Muskoff
Director of Development – HCL DevOps
@BrianMuskoff

3. Release Management Mission
Guide changes from development to production.

4. The path to production could be simple…
Development SCM Build
Package
Repo
DevTest Stage Production

5. In most organizations it’s more like this:
IBM Cloud / © 2018 IBM Corporation
• Applications with many parts
• Applications are coupled
• So we test it all together in ”System
integration Test”
• Diverse technologies
• Coordinate release
One Rule!
If you test it together; release it together.

6. You might be a Release Manager if you..
• Schedule release windows and release events
• Plan “Game Day” for release events
• Enforce all approvals are in place before release
• Check that testing of all elements of the release
is satisfactory before delivery to production
• Identify development teams at risk of not making
a release window
• Support key stakeholders impacted by a release
(makes sure training happens)
I’m the
responsible
adult here

7. Continuous Delivery has changed the game
Classic Release Cycles
Took months and deployments were
infrequent
Continuous Delivery
Accelerates deployment frequency with Elite Performers
releasing 46x more often than low performers (DORA 2018)
Dependencies are broken and many concurrent
releases creates an air traffic controller scenario
Enterprise dependencies are manually
managed across multiple releases

8. Many of these activities change when
delivering many times per week
• Scheduling release windows and release events
• “Game Day” planning for release events
• Ensure all approvals are in place before release
• Ensure testing of all elements of the release is
satisfactory before delivery to production
• Identify development teams at risk of not making
a release window
• Support key stakeholders impacted by a release
(makes sure training happens)
Little releases happen all the time
Eliminated
Eliminated
Must be automatic in pipeline
Only relevant for rare enterprise releases
Ongoing

9. Do Release Managers Have a Future?

10. Three paths forward • Own the pipeline. Build controls in
• Value stream optimization
• Product management

11. Path 1: Own the Pipeline
2) Build in Gates
• Automate the CAB out of existence
• Translate existing controls to
automated checks
• Add approvals if needed
• Champion “building quality in”
1) Setup Coordination
• What still needs to be tested
together?
• Create a “pipeline of
pipelines”
3) Ensure permissions
• Can anyone deploy to Prod? If not who?
• Does everyone see every project?
Skills Needed
✓ Understanding of controls
✓ Translation between existing
control enforcement and new
X Automation engineering

12. Path 2: Value Stream Optimization
Agile Only Accelerated the
Middle of the Delivery Value Stream
Fund Plan Agile Dev & Test Release & Operate
DeliverySpeed
Many wait
states exist
• Agile & Automation have become table
stakes
• Focus now is on streamlining the end to
end process and applying lean practices
• Key to success is eliminating waste,
building quality in and creating reusable
knowledge
Opportunity for the Release Manager
Real-time Visibility to Metrics is Essential
Cycle Time Lead Time Throughput
Meantime to
Resolution
Change
Failure Rates
Deployment
Frequency
Efficiency
Predictive
Analytics
• Release managers are one of the few with visibility
and knowledge across the value stream
• Value stream mapping provides a roadmap for
continuous improvement
• Driving process & tool change will disrupt the culture
• Requires knowledge of lean practices, governance
requirements and delivery best practices

13. Path 3: Product Management
The Product Management Domain
is Comprised of Many Responsibilities
Strategic
• Specialization is often required
• With Continuous Delivery, more focus is on
customer outcomes rather than deployment
execution
• Business and technical operational feedback
loops are essential to continuous
improvement and customer outcomes
Tactical
External Internal
Value
Definition
UX
Design
Project
Management
Dev
& Test
Technical
Support
Operations
Customer
Service
Market
Research
Marketing
Sales
Communications
& Social
Launch &
Release
Opportunity for the Release Manager
• Instead of a command center executing a deployment,
release managers can bring focus to coordinating
teams to realize the business results of the release
• After deployment, operational management requires
similar coordination (i.e. Feature flag management)
• Measuring business results to provide input into the
next cycle often is an organizational weakness
• Requires a strong business acumen and high trust
cross-functional relationships
#ContinuousConsumption

14. Release Management is Transforming….
From
Projects
Planning & Controlling
Predictive Milestones
Status Reporting
Tactical Release Execution
Manual Quality Reviews & Gates
CABs & Checklists
Centralized Decision Making
To
Products
Advising & Enabling
Rolling Roadmaps
Visibility and Analytics
Self-Service & Automation
Automated Enforcement of Quality
Value Stream Optimization
Small, independent release teams
…and will remain critical to the enterprise

15. Enterprise Release Management – Sticks Around
Big Releases Remain
Example: Airline charging for something new
Orchestrate with Feature Flags
Continuous deployments may carry the
capability to production before release
Hide using feature flags
Coordinate ”flipping” the flag to release
Must still test the “System” with the flag flipped
Net: Mostly traditional release management, with a twist.

16. We have products for release managers and
value stream managers
UrbanCode Release
For traditional release management
Ideal for monthly to yearly releases
Handles thousands of manual and automated tasks in
a single release.
UrbanCode Velocity
For continuous delivery releases
Ideal for releases faster than monthly
Analyze delivery performance, find bottlenecks and

17. Q&A

18. Continuous Delivery has changed the game
Accelerate: State of DevOps 2018 Presented by DORA
Classic Release Cycles
Took months and were infrequent
Continuous Delivery
Accelerates deployment frequency with
Elite Performers releasing 46x more
often than low performers
Plan
Jan
Design
Feb
Code
March
Test
June
Release
JulyApril May
Release
Iteration
Jan
Iteration
Feb March
Iteration
Release Release Release
Iteration
April
Iteration
May June
Iteration
Release Release Release
Iteration
July
Release