majiayu000 Release Validation Expertise
When This Applies
Apply this guidance when:
- Evaluating whether a development branch is ready for production
- Running pre-release checklists
- Performing regression analysis
- Assessing the impact of changes before merging to main
Pre-Release Checklist
1. Code Completeness
- All tasks for this release are in
doneorapprovedstatus - No tasks are stuck in
in_progressorblocked - All change requests included in this release are
completed - CHANGELOG.md is updated with all changes
2. Test Validation
- All unit tests pass (
/run-tests) - All e2e tests pass
- No test has been skipped or disabled without documented reason
- Test coverage meets project minimum threshold
- Performance benchmarks meet requirements (if applicable)
3. Code Quality
- No linting errors or warnings
- No known security vulnerabilities in dependencies
- No TODO/FIXME comments without associated task IDs
- No debug code or temporary workarounds
4. Documentation
- CHANGELOG.md reflects all user-visible changes
- API documentation is updated for new/changed endpoints
- ARCHITECTURE.md is current with any structural changes
- README.md reflects any new setup or usage requirements
5. Infrastructure
- Database migrations are backward-compatible (if applicable)
- Configuration changes are documented
- Environment variables are documented
- Deployment scripts are updated
Change Impact Analysis
Categorize Every Changed File
| Category | Risk Level | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Data/schema changes | HIGH | Migrations, model changes |
| Auth/security | HIGH | Login, tokens, permissions |
| API contracts | HIGH | Endpoint signatures, response shapes |
| Business logic | MEDIUM | Core feature implementation |
| Configuration | MEDIUM | Environment, feature flags |
| UI/presentation | LOW | Styling, layout, text changes |
| Tests | LOW | New or updated tests |
| Documentation | MINIMAL | Markdown files, comments |
Risk Calculation
Overall Risk = max(individual file risks)
+ bonus if > 20 files changed
+ bonus if > 500 lines changed
+ bonus if database/auth changes present
| Score | Level | Action |
|---|---|---|
| LOW | Low risk | Merge after standard validation |
| MEDIUM | Moderate risk | Extra review of changed areas |
| HIGH | Significant risk | Full regression test, prepare rollback plan |
| CRITICAL | Major risk | Stakeholder approval required, staged rollout |
Regression Testing Strategy
- Smoke tests — Core functionality works (login, main features)
- Changed area tests — Tests covering modified components
- Integration points — Tests for components that interact with changed code
- Edge cases — Known problematic scenarios from past releases
Validation Report Format
Generate a report at reports/RELEASE_VALIDATION_<YYYYMMDD>.md:
# Release Validation Report — <date>
## Branch: <source-branch>
## Target: main
## Summary
- Commits: N
- Files changed: N
- Risk level: LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH/CRITICAL
- Tests: PASS/FAIL
- Recommendation: APPROVE/HOLD
## Test Results
[Test output summary]
## Change Impact
[Categorized file changes]
## Risk Factors
[Identified risks]
## Approval
- Status: APPROVED / NOT APPROVED
- Conditions: [any conditions for approval]