Change Management & Release Control

Changes to a live system should not be scary. I use lightweight but disciplined change management practices to ensure new features, fixes and infrastructure changes are deployed safely and can be rolled back if needed.

Release management practices

• Versioned releases with clear change logs
• Use of staging or test environments where appropriate
• Automated or scriptable deployment steps to reduce human error
• Planned deployment windows to limit user disruption
• Rollback plans in case something unexpected happens

Planning changes with the business

• Translating business ideas into clear, scoped changes
• Small, incremental deployments to reduce risk
• Agreeing priorities and timelines with stakeholders
• Coordinating back-end, front-end and database changes