Overview
Internal Release notes will be drafted by the Development department for internal consumption. They will be unified to a consistent format and process flow. This document reflects the flow as development completes work all the way to the internal release.
Draft State
Each product will have a Working Directory where draft documents of the release notes are stored. This is limited access so the rest of the company does not accidently view them as official releases. This is a forward looking storage area where the documents are being compiled for the next version release.
Stating a new draft (QA)
This is owned by QA. Immediately following the last release branch being cut, the next work item to pass QA must be noted in a new draft document. Which ever QA person finds that a draft has not been started will copy from the template and start a new draft document in the Working Directory. All other QA will then use that draft.
Adding items to a draft (QA)
QA is responsible to add all tested/passed items to the working draft document right away before moving to the next board state. This only takes a few moments and prevents a huge workload at the end for any one person. When done one at a time, it becomes manageable. Also following a consistent template means that it will result in a unified format.
Final review and promotion (Mgmt)
The development manager will review the draft document for completeness and format once a release is slated to move to internal Alpha state. They will adjust and expand as needed to fit the release process. They then move this draft to the normal release flow, flagging it with the release state as well.
Alpha State
Internal review (Mgmt)
Development manager will fill out the release process documents and build out the links to all relevant supporting documents including the release notes. They will notify the rest of the company to kick off the release process. They will also gather feedback and work with the dev team / QA to modify as needed.
Promotion (Mgmt)
Once the Alpha state has concluded, the manager will update the release note document to reflect the next state (Beta).
Beta State
External review (Mgmt)
Development manager will work with the PM team as they oversee the Beta process. They will also gather feedback and work with the dev team / QA to modify as needed.
Promotion (Mgmt)
Once the Beta state has concluded, the manager will update the release note document to reflect the next state (GA).
General Acceptance State
The development manager will simply remove the state marker from the document signifying that it has been fully release into a general acceptance state. They set the release date at this point. They will also update the product matrix with the latest versions if applicable.
