Release readiness note template
A readiness note is a decision aid. It opens with a recommendation and gives the reader only what they need to agree or disagree with it. Counts and links go at the bottom, as supporting evidence.
Copy the template into your wiki or the release ticket and fill it in the day before the go/no-go. Keep it to one page. If a section is empty, write “none” so the reader knows it was considered.
RELEASE READINESS NOTE Release: <number, build, environment verified on, date, author> Recommendation: <ship / wait / ship with conditions> — <one sentence of reason> Changed for users - <what people will notice, in their words; no ticket keys> Surfaces verified - <journey> — <browsers / iOS / Android / API>, <by hand or automated>, <physical device or farm> Open defects (shipping in this build) - <what the user sees> — workaround: <...> — owner: <name> — fix planned: <release> Deferred risk (not verified or not finished) - <what could go wrong, for whom> — accepted by: <name> — review: <date or release> Watch after go-live - <signal> for <how long> — who looks: <name> Support cover - on call: <name> can roll back: <name> Support briefed on: <...> Evidence - checks run / passed / failed: <n / n / n> - open defects by severity: <blocker n, critical n, major n, minor n> - links: <test run, defect filter, build> Decision: <ship / wait> — <name, role, date>
Free to use and adapt. No sign-up, no attribution needed.
How to use it
- Write the recommendation first. If you cannot, the testing is not finished or the scope is unclear, and that is the thing to raise.
- Describe changes the way a user would. “Tenants can attach photos to a request” is useful; a list of ticket keys is not.
- Keep open defects and deferred risk apart. One is a known fault. The other is something nobody has checked.
- Every deferral needs a person who accepted it and a date it will be looked at again.
- State device and browser coverage honestly: which were walked by hand, which ran on a farm, which were not covered.
Terms used here: Release readiness, Go/no-go meeting, Deferred risk.