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Release Notes Management

Overview

This document defines how we communicate releases to both internal teams and customers for our SaaS CRM application.

Release Types

Release Categories

Type Frequency Scope Communication
Major Release Quarterly New features, breaking changes Full announcement
Minor Release Monthly Features, improvements Standard notification
Patch Release As needed Bug fixes, small updates Brief notification
Hotfix Emergency Critical fixes Immediate alert

Internal Communication

Microsoft Teams Channels

Channel Structure

  • #release-planning - Release coordination
  • #release-notes - Draft reviews
  • #release-announcements - Final announcements
  • #post-release - Monitoring and feedback

Internal Release Process

1. Pre-Release (T-7 days)

## Internal Release Preview
**Version**: v2.1.0
**Release Date**: 2025-02-01
**Type**: Minor Release

### Features
- Advanced reporting dashboard
- Bulk import improvements
- API rate limiting

### Bug Fixes
- Fixed login timeout issue
- Resolved export formatting bug

### Known Issues
- Minor UI glitch in Safari (fix in next patch)

### Testing Status
- [ ] QA Complete
- [ ] UAT Complete
- [ ] Performance Testing Complete

### Rollback Plan
[Link to rollback procedure]

2. Release Day Communication

Teams Announcement Template: 

🚀 RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT: v2.1.0

We're deploying version 2.1.0 today at 2:00 PM EST.

**Deployment Window**: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST
**Expected Downtime**: None (zero-downtime deployment)
**Rollback Window**: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST

**Key Features**:
• Advanced reporting dashboard
• Bulk import improvements
• API rate limiting

**Support Team**: Please review the internal knowledge base for new features.
**Sales Team**: New features are now available for demos.

**Monitoring Dashboard**: [Link]
**Release Notes**: [Link]

@channel Please report any issues immediately.

3. Post-Release Update

✅ RELEASE COMPLETE: v2.1.0

Version 2.1.0 has been successfully deployed.

**Status**: Stable
**Performance**: Normal
**Issues**: None reported

Thank you all for your support during this release!

Internal Documentation

Release Checklist

  • Release notes drafted
  • Internal wiki updated
  • Support team trained
  • Sales team briefed
  • Marketing materials updated
  • Customer communication prepared

Customer Communication

Communication Channels

Channel Timing Audience Content
Email 24hrs before All customers Detailed release notes
In-app On release Active users Summary notification
Blog After release Public Feature highlights
Status Page Real-time All System status

Customer Release Notes Template

# Release Notes - Version 2.1.0
*Released: February 1, 2025*

Dear Valued Customer,

We're excited to announce the release of version 2.1.0 of our CRM platform. This update includes new features, improvements, and bug fixes based on your feedback.

## 🎉 New Features

### Advanced Reporting Dashboard
Create custom reports with our new drag-and-drop report builder. Filter, sort, and visualize your data exactly how you need it.
- **Benefits**: Better insights, faster decision-making
- **How to use**: Navigate to Reports > Custom Reports

### Bulk Import Improvements
We've enhanced our bulk import feature to handle larger files and provide better error reporting.
- **What's new**: Support for 100,000+ records, detailed error logs
- **Formats supported**: CSV, Excel, JSON

### API Rate Limiting
To ensure platform stability, we've implemented smart rate limiting on our API.
- **Limits**: 1000 requests/minute per account
- **Headers**: Rate limit info in response headers

## 🔧 Improvements

- **Performance**: 30% faster page load times
- **Search**: Improved search relevance
- **Mobile**: Better responsive design
- **Accessibility**: Enhanced keyboard navigation

## 🐛 Bug Fixes

- Fixed issue where sessions would timeout prematurely
- Resolved export formatting issues with special characters
- Corrected timezone display in activity logs
- Fixed duplicate notification bug

## 📚 Documentation

- [Advanced Reporting Guide](link)
- [Bulk Import Tutorial](link)
- [API Rate Limiting Documentation](link)

## 🔄 Migration Notes

No action required. All changes are backward compatible.

## 📅 Upcoming Features

In our next release (March 2025), we're planning:
- Mobile app v2.0
- Advanced workflow automation
- Enhanced integration marketplace

## 💬 We Want Your Feedback

Your feedback drives our product development. Please share your thoughts:
- [Feature Requests](link)
- [Bug Reports](link)
- [General Feedback](link)

## 🙏 Thank You

Thank you for being a valued customer. We're committed to continuously improving our platform to meet your needs.

Best regards,
The CRM Team

---
*Questions? Contact support@ourcrm.com*
*Follow us on [Twitter](link) | [LinkedIn](link)*

Email Campaign Settings

Segmentation

  • Enterprise Customers: Personalized email with account manager CC
  • SMB Customers: Standard template
  • Trial Users: Highlight features to encourage conversion
  • Inactive Users: Re-engagement focus

Timing Strategy

  • Major Releases: 1 week, 24 hours, and 1 hour before
  • Minor Releases: 24 hours before
  • Patches: Same day notification
  • Hotfixes: Immediate notification

In-App Notifications

Notification Types

// Feature announcement
{
  type: "feature",
  title: "New Feature Available!",
  message: "Check out our new reporting dashboard",
  action: "Learn More",
  link: "/features/reporting"
}

// Update notification
{
  type: "update",
  title: "System Updated",
  message: "We've released v2.1.0 with improvements",
  action: "View Release Notes",
  link: "/releases/2.1.0"
}

// Maintenance notice
{
  type: "maintenance",
  title: "Scheduled Maintenance",
  message: "Brief maintenance on Feb 1, 2:00 PM EST",
  action: "Learn More",
  link: "/status"
}

Release Notes Format

Structure Guidelines

Sections Order

  1. Overview - Brief summary
  2. New Features - Highlight major additions
  3. Improvements - Enhancements to existing features
  4. Bug Fixes - Resolved issues
  5. API Changes - For technical users
  6. Known Issues - Transparency about limitations
  7. Upcoming - Preview of next release

Writing Style

  • Clear: Avoid technical jargon
  • Concise: Bullet points over paragraphs
  • Action-oriented: Focus on benefits
  • Visual: Use icons and formatting
  • Accessible: Plain language

Version Numbering

Semantic Versioning

MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH

2.1.0
│ │ └── Patch: Bug fixes
│ └──── Minor: New features (backward compatible)
└────── Major: Breaking changes

Examples

  • 3.0.0 - Major overhaul with breaking changes
  • 2.5.0 - New features added
  • 2.4.3 - Bug fixes only

Distribution Strategy

Multi-Channel Approach

graph LR
    A[Release Ready] --> B[Internal Announcement]
    B --> C[Customer Email]
    B --> D[In-App Notice]
    B --> E[Blog Post]
    B --> F[Social Media]
    C --> G[Monitor Feedback]
    D --> G
    E --> G
    F --> G

Channel-Specific Content

Channel Content Focus Timing
Email Complete details T-24 hours
In-App Key highlights T-0
Blog Story and benefits T+1 day
Social Excitement and links T+1 day
Documentation Technical details T-7 days

Feedback Management

Feedback Collection

Channels

  1. Email Replies: Monitor and respond
  2. In-App Feedback: Widget for immediate feedback
  3. Support Tickets: Track release-related issues
  4. Social Media: Monitor mentions
  5. User Forums: Community feedback

Feedback Template

## Release Feedback Report

**Version**: 2.1.0
**Release Date**: 2025-02-01
**Report Date**: 2025-02-08

### Metrics
- Email Open Rate: 65%
- Click-through Rate: 23%
- Feature Adoption: 45% (week 1)

### Positive Feedback
- "Love the new reporting!"
- "Much faster performance"

### Issues Reported
- Issue 1: [Description] - Status: Fixed
- Issue 2: [Description] - Status: In Progress

### Feature Requests
- Request 1: [Description]
- Request 2: [Description]

### Action Items
- [ ] Fix Issue 2
- [ ] Consider Request 1 for next release

Emergency Communications

Hotfix Announcements

Immediate Notification

⚠️ URGENT: Security Update Required

We've identified and fixed a security vulnerability in version 2.1.0.

**Action Required**: The system will auto-update within the next hour.
**Impact**: No data was compromised.
**Duration**: 5-minute service interruption.

Details: [Link to full explanation]

We apologize for any inconvenience.

Incident Communication

Status Page Updates

  1. Investigating - We're aware and investigating
  2. Identified - Root cause found
  3. Monitoring - Fix deployed, monitoring
  4. Resolved - Issue completely resolved

Metrics & Analytics

Success Metrics

Metric Target Measurement
Open Rate >60% Email analytics
Click Rate >20% Link tracking
Feature Adoption >40% in 30 days Usage analytics
Support Tickets <5% increase Support system
Customer Satisfaction >4.0/5.0 Post-release survey

Reporting Dashboard

## Release Communication Dashboard

### Last Release (v2.1.0)
- **Communication Sent**: 5,000 customers
- **Emails Opened**: 3,250 (65%)
- **Release Notes Viewed**: 1,150 (23%)
- **Support Tickets**: 45 (0.9% of base)
- **Satisfaction Score**: 4.2/5.0

### Trends
- Open rates increasing (+5% QoQ)
- Support tickets decreasing (-2% QoQ)
- Feature adoption improving (+10% QoQ)

Best Practices

Do's

  1. Test Communications: Send test emails before blast
  2. Personalize: Use customer name and relevant features
  3. Time Zones: Consider global customer base
  4. Follow Up: Check in with key accounts
  5. Archive: Keep all release communications

Don'ts

  1. Surprise Customers: Always give advance notice
  2. Over-communicate: Balance frequency
  3. Use Jargon: Keep it simple
  4. Hide Issues: Be transparent about problems
  5. Forget Mobile: Ensure mobile-friendly format

Last Updated: January 2025 Version: 1.0.0