Build and Release Management. So, you want to write software? Don't forget that you'll need to build or package it, test it, fix some stuff, test it again, and ultimately release it... somehow. The "somehow" is the art and science of Build and Release Management. Let's get some terms straight. Building software, as any 15-year-old geek knows, is the generic term applied to the compilation or aggregation of sources into a usable utility or application.
Releasing software refers to the process of providing some named (or otherwise uniquely identified) files to others for use. Managing the release means you know: What went into it, Where it went, Why it went there, And how to deal with it when bugs are reported. Why is any of this important? Wrong. The larger and more complex the software project becomes, the greater the need for an extremely well-managed Build and Release function. What characterizes a well-managed Build and Release function? Several features are present, some quite basic. Overnight builds freepository20110. Release Management. Devops Ramblings. If It’s Not on Prod, It Doesn’t Count: The Value of Frequent Releases | shutterbits. At Shutterstock, we like to release code. A lot. We do it about 60 times per week. Frequent code releases have become somewhat of a mantra among today’s fast-moving startups, but the value they bring isn’t always articulated well.
In fact, there are a lot of reasons not to push frequently: you could release shoddy or incomplete software, it might not be thoroughly tested, or you might not like the constant pressure of production deployments. So it’s worth stepping back to look at all the benefits that frequent releases bring: 1) You deliver value to customers more quickly. This is the first principle of the agile manifesto: “Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.” Be sure to relentlessly focus on delivering value to customers. This idea also isn’t about releasing half-baked or hacky code. 2) You learn quickly. 3) It forces you to break big ideas into manageable pieces.
Big projects are risky, complex, and interminable. Principia.