ServiceNow Release Management
Release management is the process of coordinating software releases for new products and services. It’s one of the main processes under the Service Transition section of ITIL.
As separate project teams introduce changes to the production environment, release management strives to align them with unified processes, policies and guidelines. It also helps ensure that any subsequent changes follow a prescribed, standardized sequence of tasks.
Identifying Change Requests
Identifying change requests is an important step in the release process. ServiceNow Release Management makes it easy to track change requests and manage their status as they move through the pipeline.
The Change Request form displays an overview of the current state and schedule of a change request. You can add additional information to the form as necessary.
In addition to providing a clear view of current and future changes, the change calendar and timeline display planned changes, conflicts, blackouts, or maintenance schedules.
These tools help you avoid scheduling conflict and make change planning easier. They also assist you in determining the impact of a proposed change on IT, business services, and configuration items.
Standard or emergency changes follow a prescriptive process that requires two levels of approval before being implemented and reviewed. These types of changes require a full range of assessments and authorizations, including peer or technical approval and Change Advisory Board (CAB) authorization to ensure completeness, accuracy, and the least possible disruption to service.
Planning the Release
A well-planned release process is essential for successful change management and delivering applications and upgrades in the production environment. Without it, changes are released ad-hoc causing production issues or held far too long as release managers laboriously sort through the details.
ITIL-based release management is a structured framework that facilitates the planning, design, development, testing, and deployment of software releases. Using it, enterprises can streamline their SDLCs and deliver the business outcomes they need with lower risk.
Managing multiple projects at once can be difficult, but with the right tools, teams can coordinate effectively and efficiently. ServiceNow Release Management brings powerful automation to the release management process, reducing bottlenecks and keeping developers on track.
In addition to providing the foundation for planning and execution of releases, Release Management provides a robust change-tracking feature that helps agencies monitor and manage all pending changes. Additionally, it includes a Change Advisory Board Workbench that makes it easy to meet with stakeholders to discuss complex changes and approve them.
Executing the Release
The Release Management process is a critical aspect of software development. It ensures that software releases are delivered with high quality, speed and efficiency.
Its goal is to align the different project teams involved in a release with unified processes, policies and guidelines throughout the entire lifecycle of the software update. The end result is a standardized, repeatable sequence that increases the likelihood of a successful launch.
ServiceNow Release Management takes this process a step further, automating essential steps and tasks to help you optimize your workflows and operational costs. This can save your team time and money, and free them up to focus on the activities that require their unique skill sets.
ServiceNow Release Management also supports change requests during the release process. You can execute change requests by using the ServiceNow Change Management pre-deployment gate in your release pipeline.
Monitoring the Release
The release management process is essential to ITIL and ensures that all changes are planned, built and tested prior to deploying them to production. It is also a key component of the DevOps model.
ServiceNow Release Management takes the complexity out of implementing a change management process by automating approvals and governance to minimize bottlenecks and keep development moving forward. It also uses advanced automation to assess risk and detect conflict, reducing change failure and speeding up the entire process.
It also includes a built-in Change Advisory Board Workbench that provides a location for teams to meet with change decision makers and get feedback from them. This improves collaboration between development and IT and helps prevent failed changes.
