how do i manage a release in jira

by Mr. Edmond Quigley Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

6 steps to better release management in Jira Software

Define changes with Jira issues. What constitutes a change? Is it a single commit? Or is it multiple commits? A...
Set up your Jira release management workflow. Out of the box, a Jira workflow doesn’t include release management...
Configure your agile boards. Once you have the new workflow, go into each...

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Full Answer

How do I create a release in Jira?

Release your version in Jira Software

Define your vision.
Rank the product backlog.
Hold a release planning meeting.
Finalize and share product release calendar.

How to create a release in Jira?

To create release notes for a version in your project:

Go to your project and click Project settings .
Select Versions in the project sidebar. ...
Select the Version whose release notes you wish to generate.
Click Release Notes.
Select the layout and the issue types.
Click Regenerate notes to create or reset the release notes. ...
Click anywhere on the release notes to add your own notes using the editor.

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How to mark a version as released in Jira?

Step 1: Create a version in Jira Software

Navigate to your project.
In the project menu, click on Releases.
Select the Version name text box, enter a name, and click Add. Version names are typically numeric, for example, 1.0 or 2.1.1. You could also consider using an internal codename.

How do I create cross-project release/version in Jira?

Create cross-project releases by following these steps:

Go to your plan > Releases > + Create release.
Select the release name, choose Cross-project release.
Click Add and select the projects that will be sharing this releases
etc

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How do I use release management in Jira?

To manage releases in Jira, the first step is to create a version. To do so, click on 'Releases' as can be seen in the image above, where you will be prompted to create name, start & end dates and description. You can then assign any issue type to the releases to track their statuses throughout their life cycle.

How do I edit a release in Jira?

Edit a release Navigate to the Releases view and select > Edit on the release you'd like to edit. Make the changes you want and then select Save changes to update the release details in your plan.

How do I manage release notes in Jira?

Create release notesGo to your project and click Project settings.Select Versions in the project sidebar. ... Select the Version you want to generate release notes for.Click Release Notes.Select the layout and the issue types you want to include.Click Regenerate notes to create or reset the release notes.More items...

How do I manage releases in Jira cloud?

Releasing via a Kanban board in a company-managed projectGo to the project that your version is in.Click Kanban board.Click the Release menu to view a list of your project's unreleased versions. ... Select the version you want to release. ... Enter the details for the release, then click Release.

Who can edit releases in Jira?

project admin permissionsYou must have project admin permissions to create or edit a version. In Jira Software, each release is called a version. There are two ways to create versions in your project.

How do Releases Work in Jira?

Releases represent points in time for your project. They can be used to schedule how features are rolled out to your customers, or as a way to organize work that has been completed for the project. In Jira Software, each release is called a version.

How do I track a release in Jira?

The Releases tab Next to each release, you'll see the status, progress bar (issue count), start and release dates, and any cross-project releases it's included in, as demonstrated below: From this view, you can get further detail about each release by viewing the release on your roadmap or viewing it in Jira Software.

How do I track release notes in Jira?

Select your project from the list, or select View all projects and navigate to your project. Select Versions in the project sidebar (if you're using Jira Software, select Releases in the project sidebar). Select the Version whose release notes you wish to generate by clicking on it. Select Release Notes.

How do you automate release notes in Jira?

Automated Release Notes for JiraRelease Notes in Multiple Formats. Create release notes templates for email, PDF, Confluence, Markdown, JSON & HTML formats. ... Pages & Widgets for Customer Engagement. Engage with your customers directly with dedicated Release pages & in-app widgets. ... Rules & Actions for Release Notes.

What is the difference between release and build and release in Jira?

A release is created from a single build. If you have connected JIRA Software to Bamboo, you can automatically run a Bamboo build when you release a version. Otherwise, if you haven't connected JIRA Software to Bamboo, or you are using a different build tool, you will need to run your builds independently.

What is a release management tool?

Software release management tools help dev teams plan, develop, test, and deploy software releases. They are essential for agile teams who need to release continuous updates at speed. They do this by streamlining the process and automating time-consuming tasks.

How do I add a task to a release in Jira?

How to add issues to the release from Jira's issue detailIn Jira open issue detail (for example by clicking on the issue card on kanban board)On the left side of the issue detail click on Show more fields.In the Fix version field select release you want this issue to be linked to and save.

How do I add issues to a release in Jira?

How do I see releases in Jira?

How do I add a release in Jira?

To create a project release:In the releases view of the plan, go to the project for which you want to create a release.Click Create release next to the project name. ... Give the new release a name. ... Add a description for the new release.For the start date, choose from one of the following options, and then set the date:More items...•

What is build and release in Jira?

How to deploy a release in Jira?

To deploy a release, you would typically release the version in Jira Software, build the release, then deploy the release to the required environment.

How to change the version of a project?

Go to the project that your version is in, and then click Releases > your desired version.

What to do if there are unresolved issues?

If there are unresolved issues, you can choose to ignore these issues and proceed with the release, or move them to a later version.

When is a version created in Scrum?

In a Scrum project, a version is created when you start work on the project. Issues are assigned to the version throughout development. Releasing the version is just a matter of marking the version as released.

Can you deploy Bamboo to different environments?

You may do a few deployments to different environments (e.g. test, staging, etc) before releasing it to your customers. If you are using Bamboo, deployment projects make it simple for you to deploy your artifacts to different environments. Otherwise, you will need to manually copy the files across environments.

Can you run a release on Bamboo?

A release is created from a single build. If you have connected Jira Software to Bamboo, you can automatically run a Bamboo build when you release a version. Otherwise, if you haven't connected Jira Software to Bamboo, or you are using a different build tool, you will need to run your builds independently. Learn more: Running a Bamboo build ...

What is advanced roadmap in Jira?

Advanced Roadmaps in Jira loads your Jira issues into your plan and suggests releases you can work with, allowing you to track the progress of your releases and determine if they’ll be completed on time.

What is Jira used for?

When it comes to product management, Jira can be used to build roadmaps for each project allowing teams to track and share their progress for the roadmap.

Why use Jira for feature flags?

Using Jira for feature flags has many advantages, primarily allowing teams full visibility over what features have been released or in the process of being released, all from a single place . Thus, it fosters collaborations so that teams can work together efficiently.

What is product manager?

As we’ve seen in our release management guide, the product manager is the one who plans releases and will oversee the feature or product as it moves through the different stages of the software development life cycle.

What is a feature flag?

Feature flags at their simplest level are if/else statements that allow you to decouple deployment from release giving you more control over the release process so that you can ship changes in code confidently and safely.

Why is a roadmap important?

Thus, a roadmap will help illustrate your team’s strategic vision to all relevant stakeholders. It gives your team a single, shared source of truth that outlines the direction and progress of a product or team over time to ease cross-team communication and help release more predictably.

Which software can contribute to better, more efficient releases?

One such software is the Jira platform that can contribute to better, more efficient releases.

What is release view?

The releases view shows you the list of releases that exist in your plan. In this view, you can perform the following tasks:

Can you edit a project release in Jira?

View a release in the roadmap of your plan, or in Jira ( only for project releases).

What is release in Jira?

Within your SDLC projects in Jira Software, create a new Issue Type called, "Release." This lets the organization know that, while code is complete, there are additional items that need to be fostered through the process. These may include documentation, release notes, a hardening sprint, or anything that can foster work from code complete to Production. The additional items can be managed as Sub-Tasks of the Release to understand the scope of work needed to move it through the process.

What does "release" mean in QA?

For a team, "Release" may mean the code has been deployed to a QA environment. For Operations, "Release" may mean deployment to Production. In the example above, "Done" and "Release" meant the same thing among the teams, QA, and Release Management, but not Operations. Nor did it mean the same thing across the organization.

What are the four definitions of "done"?

In one organization, they had four definitions of done: Done, Done-Done, Done-Done-Done, and Done-Done-Done-Done. In reality, they were defining the QA, deployment, and Production Release processes with the four separate definitions of "Done". This was also directly related to their use of Jira Software and how to demonstrate success to management.

What does "done" mean in Scrum?

As you may already know, in Scrum, "Done" is when the Product Owner accepts the story as complete, meeting all acceptance criteria, and packaged into a potentially shippable increment. While I agree with this definition, at the same time I challenge the phrase, "potentially shippable." This is where you, your teams, your operations teams, and your product managers need to have a conversation. Does "Done" and "Released" mean the same thing across your organization?

Can Bitbucket pipelines be created per environment?

But where Bitbucket Pipelines really shine is everything that happens after code is merged. Separate Pipelines can be created per environment. For example, if you need to manually deploy to production, a Pipeline can automate the process through build and deploy to a staging environment after it passes all checks.

Does Bitbucket require a release?

Using Bitbucket Pipelines still requires your organization to have a conversation defining "Done" and "Release". However, the entities that support these definitions are different when integrating Jira Software and Bitbucket Pipelines. The Release is managed through the Pipeline and requires little human intervention.

Why use releases in Jira?

Overall, using releases in Jira can vastly improve your tracking, projecting, and reporting when you are working in the Jira environment. With just a little extra work, you can have much better planning and coordination of all of all the releases in your projects.

Why is communication important in software development?

This can be beneficial to help prepare training and support teams for post-rollout. Also, it can help sales to prospect new clients and close existing ones with new features. Even within the IT organization, it enables better cross-team coordination and DevOps planning. In all, communicating and planning releases should be a core part of your software development lifecycle.

How to manage releases in Jira?

The first step in managing releases in Jira is to create a version . To create a version, click on Releases in the left navigation your project (in older Jira versions, it is a ship icon) . You should see a screen like the following:

How to assign a release to a Jira issue?

Once you have created a release, you can assign it to any issue type in Jira by setting the fix version /s field to that version. When you start typing, it will prompt with matching releases, and even show whether they are released or unreleased.

What is planning and communicating release?

Planning, managing and communicating releases is often done as an afterthought. You release the functionality that is done at the end of the sprint, or you release whatever is ready when you hit your milestone. As for planning, well that is the result of numerous meetings, scrum board watching, and hand wrenching.

How many pie charts are there for project issues?

Four pie charts breaking up the project issues by status, priority, component and issue type with real data

What is a status report in Confluence?

A status report will give you some graphical elements that enable you to report progress on a release. The change log will be used for the final release notes. Reporting options in Confluence. For either option, you can then choose a project, a release and give a title for the report you are going to generate: Create report options.

Use high-level estimates

Use high-level time estimates for your Jira epics or stories that would end up connecting tasks later on; it’s basically like a family tree that starts with say, your great grandparents: versions and epics.

Research and deal with the difficulties first

Finish research and the harder tasks at first, during earlier sprints, so that you have enough time to handle them later on if anything comes up; and that’s usually the case.

Revise your estimates

Clarify and revise the estimates of every ticket before a sprint begins, so that developers know what’s really required of them. Developers are no crystal ball readers, they need clear instructions.

Work on your statuses

Project status reports are a great way to keep track of a project's progress, plus, they help you see ahead when it comes to risks and other challenges. If you want clean, real-time data to look into, you’re going to have to work on your statuses and update them when needed.

MMM, THINK AGAIN

Many people (especially scrum masters :P) make the mistake of expecting the release to be completed when they see that the majority of tickets are done. They end up leaving out post-ticket stages such as testing, bug fixing, production support, documentation and so on.

MAKE USE OF THE FEATURES

Jira has many features to manage and track releases. In this section, I'm including images of Swanly features specifically; Swanly being a Jira portfolio roadmap plugin for Cloud. The Swanly app adds a lot of functionality to existing Jira features and introduces new features all together; which is why I’m including it here.

Use the portfolio roadmap view

The portfolio-level view allows you to seamlessly create and synchronize activities across multiple projects, releases and teams. You can view the release as a roadmap to understand what's happening with pending issues. As for projects, you can access every Jira release alongside a list of all the issues assigned to that release. Lovely, isn’t it?

What is version in JIRA?

Version is JIRA's equivalent of releases. When you see the "release" action, it is done on the JIRA version. A project admin can create the versions. Users will see those versions in their scrum boards and while editing a story. You can also create a release and move the stories to it directly from a Kanban board.

Can you create a release on Kanban?

You can also create a release and move the stories to it directly from a Kanban board.