ReleaseZeitraums

ReleaseZeitraums is a planning concept used in software development and IT project management to define a fixed time window during which a release is scheduled and delivered. The term combines English "release" with the German "Zeitraum" (time period), and in practice it denotes an agreed interval—often with a start date, end date, and cadence—within which new features, fixes, and capabilities are released to users or customers.

Definition and scope: A ReleaseZeitraum typically specifies the release's scope, quality gates, deployment window, and rollback options. It may include benchmarks for readiness, such as completed features, test coverage, and performance criteria, as well as constraints such as regulatory approvals or maintenance windows. The concept helps differentiate between the timing of releases and the content included in them, alongside related concepts like a release calendar or release trains.

Process: Planning involves product management, development, QA, and IT operations, coordinating across teams to agree on dates, dependencies, and resource availability. Risk and capacity planning are used to determine feasible windows. After a release within a ReleaseZeitraum, post-release monitoring and a retrospective are common.

Benefits and challenges: Benefits include predictable delivery, improved coordination, and clearer expectations for customers and stakeholders. Challenges include shifting priorities, multi-team dependencies, and compliance constraints in regulated environments.

Variants and related concepts: Continuous delivery often interacts with ReleaseZeitraums by defining optional or opt-out deployment windows. Related terms include release calendar, release train, and governance framework.

See also: Release calendar, Release train, Continuous delivery.