# Release Planning > Structures release scope, timeline, dependencies, and rollout strategy. Identifies critical path, risk mitigation, and communication checkpoints. Returns release checklist, timeline, and go/no-go criteria. - Skill: `uitbreidenos/release-planning` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add uitbreidenos/release-planning` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/uitbreidenos/release-planning/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: UitbreidenOS (https://skillmd.com/u/uitbreidenos) - Updated: 2026-09-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/uitbreidenos/release-planning --- # Release Planning ## When to activate 2–4 weeks before a planned product release. You have a finalized feature list, team capacity, and a target launch date. Activation requires feature specs, engineering estimates, customer communication needs, and rollout strategy (phased vs. all-at-once). ## When NOT to use Not for real-time incident response or hotfixes. Not without clear scope definition (use this when scope is locked). Not for ongoing product iteration (this is for discrete releases). Not for managing day-to-day engineering tasks. Not without customer communication planning. ## Release Planning Framework **Core Components:** 1. **Scope lock:** List of features, fixes, improvements included 2. **Timeline:** Development, testing, approval, deployment windows 3. **Dependencies:** Features blocking other features, infrastructure readiness 4. **Testing strategy:** QA, user acceptance testing, staging validation 5. **Rollout plan:** Phased, canary, all-at-once, or feature flags 6. **Communication:** Customer communication, support prep, marketing alignment 7. **Risk mitigation:** Known risks, mitigation steps, rollback plan **Go/No-Go Checklist:** - Engineering: All features complete and tested - Product: All requirements met, customer feedback positive - QA: All critical bugs resolved, P1 blockers cleared - Support/CS: Documentation ready, team trained - Marketing/Sales: Launch messaging ready, customer comms scheduled - Infrastructure: Deployment infrastructure validated, rollback tested - Executive: Business approval, customer success sign-off ## Planning Checklist 1. **Define scope** — List features, fixes, improvements; confirm this is everything 2. **Estimate effort** — Get engineering time estimates per feature; flag dependencies 3. **Identify critical path** — Which features block others? Sequence accordingly 4. **Map timeline** — Dev complete date, QA window, staging validation, deployment window 5. **Define success metrics** — What indicates successful release? (uptime, adoption, performance) 6. **Plan communication** — When/how do customers learn about this? Beta? Announcement? Docs update? 7. **Document rollback plan** — If something breaks, how do we revert? 8. **Identify risks** — What could go wrong? Dependencies on external systems? Scaling risks? 9. **Plan testing strategy** — QA coverage, user acceptance testing, performance testing 10. **Create approval gates** — Who signs off at each stage? What's required for sign-off? ## Output Format ```markdown # Release Plan: [Release Name / Version] **Target Launch Date:** [Date] **Release Manager:** [Name] **Status:** [In Planning / In Development / In QA / Ready to Deploy] --- ## Scope Summary **New Features:** - [Feature 1] — [Brief description, engineering estimate] - [Feature 2] — [Brief description, engineering estimate] **Bug Fixes & Improvements:** - [Fix 1] — [Brief description] - [Improvement 1] — [Brief description] **Total Scope:** [X features, Y fixes, Z improvements] · **Est. Effort:** [X engineer-weeks] --- ## Timeline | Phase | Start Date | End Date | Owner | Status | |---|---|---|---|---| | Feature Development | [Date] | [Date] | Engineering | [IN PROGRESS / COMPLETE / BLOCKED] | | Code Review & QA | [Date] | [Date] | Engineering + QA | [IN PROGRESS / COMPLETE / BLOCKED] | | Staging Validation | [Date] | [Date] | QA + Product | [IN PROGRESS / COMPLETE / BLOCKED] | | Documentation | [Date] | [Date] | Product + Tech Writer | [IN PROGRESS / COMPLETE / BLOCKED] | | Customer Communication | [Date] | [Date] | Marketing + CS | [IN PROGRESS / COMPLETE / BLOCKED] | | Final Approval Gate | [Date] | [Date] | Executive + Product Lead | [IN PROGRESS / PENDING / APPROVED] | | Deployment | [Date] | [Date] | Engineering + DevOps | [SCHEDULED / IN PROGRESS / COMPLETE] | **Critical Path:** [Which feature/phase is most time-sensitive?] --- ## Dependencies & Blocking Risks | Dependency | Blocker? | Status | Mitigation | |---|---|---|---| | [Feature A depends on Feature B] | YES / NO | On track / At risk / Blocked | [Plan B if blocked] | | [Infrastructure readiness] | YES / NO | Ready / In progress | [Fallback plan] | | [Third-party API / service] | YES / NO | Validated / Pending | [Contingency] | --- ## Testing Strategy **QA Coverage:** - Functional testing: All new features + impacted existing features - Regression testing: [Scope of regression tests] - Performance testing: Load test on [X concurrent users], validate response times <[Xms] - Mobile testing (if applicable): iOS + Android devices - Accessibility testing (if applicable): WCAG 2.1 AA compliance **User Acceptance Testing (UAT):** - Beta customers: [List or count] - Duration: [X days] - Success criteria: [What indicates UAT passes?] **Staging Validation:** - Deployment to staging by [Date] - Full environment testing [Date] - Sign-off by Product + CS [Date] --- ## Rollout Strategy **Type:** [Phased / Canary / All-at-once / Feature Flag] ### Phased Rollout (if applicable) **Wave 1 (Day 0):** [X% of users / specific segment] — [Date/time] **Wave 2 (Day X):** [X% of users / specific segment] — [Date/time] **Wave 3 (Day X):** [100% of users] — [Date/time] **Success criteria per wave:** [What % adoption/engagement signals "OK to proceed"?] ### Feature Flags (if applicable) - Feature flag: [Enabled for X% / specific segment] - Monitoring window: [X hours] - Rollout pace: [Increase by X% every X hours] --- ## Communication Plan **Internal (Team & Leadership):** - Engineering + QA standup [Date, time] - Stakeholder go/no-go meeting [Date, time] - Post-launch retro [Date, time] **Customer-Facing:** - Email announcement to [segment]: [Date] - In-app notification: [Date/time] - Changelog entry: [Live date] - Blog post (if major): [Published date] - Support documentation updated: [Date] **Support & CS Prep:** - Training session for support team: [Date] - FAQ / Known issues doc: [Link] - Escalation plan for early issues: [Process] --- ## Deployment & Infrastructure **Deployment Environment:** [AWS / GCP / Heroku / On-prem / Other] **Database Migrations:** [If any; planned downtime?] **CDN / Cache Invalidation:** [Strategy] **Monitoring:** [Key metrics to watch post-deployment] **Rollback Plan:** [How do we revert if critical issue emerges?] --- ## Go / No-Go Checklist **24 Hours Before Deployment:** - [ ] All feature development complete and code-reviewed - [ ] QA: All P0 & P1 bugs resolved; P2 bugs triaged - [ ] Staging validation passed; no critical issues - [ ] Database migrations tested and reversible - [ ] Documentation complete and reviewed - [ ] Support team trained; FAQ/escalation plan ready - [ ] Customer communication drafted and approved - [ ] Rollback plan documented and tested - [ ] Monitoring dashboards configured - [ ] On-call support assigned for deployment window - [ ] Product lead: Final feature sign-off - [ ] Engineering lead: Technical readiness sign-off - [ ] VP/Executive: Business approval to proceed **Go/No-Go Decision:** [APPROVED TO DEPLOY / HOLD / BLOCKED BY: [reason]] --- ## Risk Mitigation | Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation | |---|---|---|---| | [Critical bug in new feature emerges post-launch] | [HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW] | [HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW] | [Test plan, feature flag to disable quickly] | | [Database migration fails] | [MEDIUM] | [HIGH] | [Rollback tested, data backup taken] | | [Performance degradation] | [MEDIUM] | [HIGH] | [Load test pre-launch, monitoring alarms] | **Escalation Contact:** [Name, phone number for on-call during deployment] --- ## Success Metrics **Technical:** - Deployment time: <[X] minutes - Zero data loss or corruption - Uptime maintained >99.9% **Adoption:** - [Feature adoption rate]: Target [X]% of eligible users in first week - [Feature engagement]: Target [X] uses per session **Customer Sentiment:** - Support ticket volume related to release: <[X] in first 48h - Customer satisfaction score: >=[X]/10 --- ## Post-Launch Checklist - [ ] Monitor error logs & performance metrics for 48 hours - [ ] Gather customer feedback & support tickets - [ ] Triage any issues discovered; create follow-up bugs - [ ] Publish launch report (metrics, learnings, next steps) - [ ] Schedule retro meeting to capture lessons learned - [ ] Plan follow-up features/improvements based on feedback --- ``` ## Example # Release Plan: Product Operations Stack v1.2 **Target Launch Date:** June 30, 2026 **Release Manager:** Alice (VP Product) **Status:** In QA --- ## Scope Summary **New Features:** - Stakeholder mapper skill — [5 engineer-weeks] - Metrics analyzer dashboard — [3 engineer-weeks] - RACI template generator — [2 engineer-weeks] **Bug Fixes:** - Fix roadmap prioritizer sorting issue - Improve session-log performance **Total Scope:** 3 features · 2 bug fixes · **Est. Effort:** 10 engineer-weeks --- ## Timeline | Phase | Start | End | Owner | Status | |---|---|---|---|---| | Feature Development | Jun 3 | Jun 17 | Engineering | COMPLETE | | Code Review & QA | Jun 18 | Jun 24 | Engineering + QA | IN PROGRESS | | Staging Validation | Jun 25 | Jun 28 | QA + Product | SCHEDULED | | Documentation | Jun 20 | Jun 28 | Tech Writer | IN PROGRESS | | Deployment | Jun 30 | Jun 30 | DevOps | SCHEDULED | --- ## Go/No-Go Checklist **Status:** 9/12 items complete - [x] Feature development complete - [x] Code reviewed - [ ] QA: All P0/P1 bugs resolved - [x] Documentation draft complete - [x] Support team trained - [ ] Staging validation passed - [x] Rollback plan documented - [x] Monitoring configured - [ ] Product lead sign-off (pending QA completion) - [x] Engineering lead sign-off - [ ] Executive approval (pending product sign-off) ---