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QA Release Checklist

Keep a checklist to make sure the release goes well

Release time can be a crazy time for QA. There are always things going on, from last-minute issues discovered by QA to last-minute infrastructure changes for security purposes.

It's really easy for QA team leads to get distracted and forget some of the essentials that need to happen for a release to be deployed successfully.

QA Checklist

QA Checklist to the Rescue

The easy solution is to keep a release checklist. Something that will help you remember key things before a release gets deployed.

There's no 'one checklist fits all.' You should create a checklist that works best for your environment.

The nice thing about the checklist is that it acts as a release journal. If there are deployment issues, you can make notes on what to do in future releases.

Example Checklist Items

  • All QA team members signed off on the release
  • Automation Pass
  • Automation total run time is acceptable
  • All Critical Paths have been tested
  • Release Branch matches the test branch
  • Database migrators have no locking vulnerability

Checklist Stationary

You can use any digital software to create the checklist: Evernote, Microsoft Word, Notepad ...

I would recommend a paper solution. That way you can focus your computer screens on the release.

The checklist can be next to your keyboard - reminding you of all critical tasks.

I would highly recommend getting the Emergent Task Planner and using that as your checklist. It's really well put together. You can build a timeline of when sign-offs have to occur before the release is deployed.

 

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Weekly Tips and tricks for Quality Assurance engineers and managers. All reviews are unbiased and are based on personal use. No money or services were exchanged for the reviews posted.

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