productreleases

A product release is the public introduction of a new or updated product to the market or to a defined audience. Releases can apply to software, hardware, services, or mixed offerings and typically follow internal development cycles that culminate in customer-facing delivery.

Common release types include major releases that add significant features or architectural changes, minor releases that introduce smaller enhancements, and patches or hotfixes that address issues. Releases may occur in stages such as alpha, beta, and general availability, or as controlled internal distributions.

Release management covers planning, coordination, packaging, and distribution. It involves product managers, engineers, quality assurance, DevOps, and marketing to ensure release readiness, accurate release notes, and coordinated deployment. Post-release monitoring records performance and user feedback.

Versioning schemes, notably semantic versioning, help communicate impact: MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH. Release channels include app stores, direct downloads, partner portals, or hardware update mechanisms. Deployment strategies may use phased rollouts, canary releases, or feature flags to limit risk.

Documentation and compliance are integral, with changelogs, compatibility notices, security disclosures, and localization considerations. Rollback plans and deprecation schedules mitigate risk when a release introduces issues or when support ends for older versions.

Organizations often maintain a formal release calendar and governance process to coordinate across teams, track metrics such as adoption, stability, and support impact, and align releases with business objectives. The term product release thus encompasses planning, delivery, and ongoing support.