Roles and responsibilities of release manager

Posted by Lester Hayden on September 27th, 2022

The IT industry is rapidly growing and new technologies are constantly emerging. DevOps, one of these emerging methodologies, is the result technological advances and has been popularized in recent times. DevOps is being adopted by most businesses. Therefore, the demand for DevOps release manager who can schedule shorter releases and more frequently has increased.

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DevOps Release manager vs Release Manager

IT Release Managers are responsible for overseeing the entire software delivery lifecycle. They must work closely with the team during the planning, deployment, and testing phases.

DevOps Release Manager, on the other hand works closely with the development and IT operations teams. He or she also plans the shorter feedback and schedules fast releases. The DevOps Release Manager must work closely with all teams, from the start of the project, and follow traditional agile methodologies like PMI, SCRUM and ITIL to ensure that any incident can be quickly identified and addressed. DevOps and related tools are required for the Release Manager.

Job Description for Release Manager

The manager of the Release Management team reports to the Release Manager. The DevOps Release Manager is responsible for planning, controlling, and monitoring the software's development, delivery, and maintenance.

You will be responsible as a Release Manager for managing the DevOps Team to ensure they deliver the services on-time.

The Release Management Lifecycle includes stages like scheduling, coordination between teams and deployment according to schedule and budget.

You will be a DevOps release manager and you will need to release the software once the testing and deployment stages are completed. To update project information, you will need to coordinate with these teams.

To manage revenue from releases, you must define the strategic use of release management tools.

You will manage planning, testing and tracking, release, deployment, communication, risk management, and other tasks.

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Release Manager Roles & Responsibilities

You will spend the majority of your time from a bird's-eye perspective planning, testing and tracking, release, deployment, communication and risk management. Here are some details:

Plan for the release of project deliverables, and the release life cycle.

Communicate project-related tasks, such as timelines, requirements, and plans. between different teams.

Coordinate the release schedule, resources, and other requirements based on third-party applications, defect backlogs and planned releases.

Identify and manage the risks that could delay the release. This will ensure that the release's scope and quality are not compromised.

Keep track of the progress and report any issues. Always strive to improve the release process.

You must ensure that the release is done according to your requirements and within your budget.

Before deployment, schedule milestone reviews.

Plan for implementation and deployment according to the release schedule.

Weekly updates will be provided on release activities.

Ensure that Release Engineers are assigned to each release.

Communicate with release managers in different IT departments.

Assist in the Go-Live activities and ensure that the software is successfully deployed.

Above are some of the most important roles and responsibilities of release manager

Collaborate with the relevant development teams to build the automation tools that will be used in the development and deployment of the software.

To discuss release dates with the team, and to identify roadblocks, schedule the CAB meetings.

Keep track of documentation regarding build and release, different notifications lists, and dependencies.

Improve the methods used in configuration management. Develop software that can be used in configuration management.

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You will need to have the following skills in order to become a release manager

The role of Release Manager is very specialized. You will need to be proficient in at least some key technical skills. Soft skills are important to facilitate communication and coordination between teams.

B.Tech in Computer Science, or an equivalent degree

Project management experience

Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CD/CI), pipelines

Experience working with Agile and DevOps methodologies

Software Development Lifecycle: Working knowledge

Computer programming expertise

Team management skills

Experience in using Application Release Automation tools like Puppet Enterprise and Buildmaster.

Knowledge of traditional agile methodologies such as Scrum, Waterfall or Kanban

Understanding of the application infrastructure, operating system, and system architecture is essential.

Software

Excellent communication skills

Leadership skills

Skills in project management and knowledge of presentation

Analytics and problem-solving skills

Time management and team skills

The salary of the DevOps Release Manager ranges from INR 829 072 to INR 2,00,000. This is dependent on the experience of the employee and the size of the company.

The average release manager salary in the US is 5,000. As a freelance Release Manager in DevOps, you can make enough money. Freelancing is an hourly-based job, and the amount you earn will depend on the client and the project.

You can see the video below to learn more about DevOps Release Management, including the strategies involved and the various tools and techniques used in the DevOps process.

The Next Step: Becoming an Release Manager

There are some technical skills that you should have if you want to become a DevOps Release manager. A certification will be a great addition to your skills. The DevOps Engineer Master’s program and DevOps course can help you achieve this. The program will help you take the first step towards your dream job by teaching you the principles of continuous deployment, deployment, and IT service agility. Get started now!

Release management tools

These are some of the most common tools Release Managers might need to know:

Jenkins is a popular tool for continuous integration, but it can also serve as a release management tool.

Ansible- This is an open source application deployment and configuration management tool for IT professionals.

Chef is another configuration management tool that enables continuous automation of all IT processes.

These tools, when integrated into IT processes can reduce inefficiencies and create consistent automated processes that result in high quality releases.

What salary is a Release Manager worth?

According to Indeed.com, a Release manager earns an average salary of ,679 per Year in the United States. They also receive a ,000 cash bonus each year.