đ TPM Microguide On Release Management v1.0
Good planning isnât just about building productsâitâs about how they are delivered at the code level. As a TPM, understanding how software is deployed will make your plans more robust, risk-free.
Hi, I am Aadil and I write this newsletter on the art of doing technical program management.
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Purpose of This Microguide
This guide will help you understand release management and how it applies to your role as a Technical Program Manager (TPM) driving complex programs across platforms and technologies.
Good planning isnât just about building productsâitâs about how they are delivered at the code level. Why? Hidden within the way code is shipped are critical considerations that can impact your project timelines, quality, and risk management. As a TPM, understanding how software is deployed will make your plans more robust and help you anticipate delays before they happen.
How to Use This Microguide
This guide is designed to be flexible based on what you need. You can read it in its entirety or jump to sections that are most relevant.
Recommendation: Read through the whole guide once to get a full picture, then refer back to key sections as needed.
Note: This guide does not dive deep into the benefits of CI/CDâthereâs already plenty of literature on that. Instead, it focuses on how release management works and what it means for a TPM running complex programs.
How I Write These Microguide
All microguides are built on a combination of in-depth research and my 14+ years of experience leading complex programs in the tech industry. I take the time to deep dive into the core pillars of each topic, aligning research with real-world insights from the industry.
Rather than focusing solely on academic theory, I reframe the research to highlight the most practical and relevant aspects for Technical Program Managers (TPMs). The result is content rooted in reality, offering empirical insights that help TPMs navigate challenges with a practical, execution-focused approach.
Introduction
As a TPM, you work with engineering teams to turn product requirements from PRDs (Product Requirement Documents) or feature briefs into an actionable delivery plan. This plan outlines how engineering will build, test, and deliver these features in a phased manner over time.
Your job is to coordinate stakeholders, ensure alignment, and plan for risks. Youâll define:
When functionality will be ready
How long to test and iterate
When to ship to customers
To reduce surprises and delays, you must understand how features get deployed at the code level. Thatâs where release management comes in.
What Is Release Management?
Release Management is the process of planning, scheduling, and coordinating software builds across different environments (Dev, QA, Staging, Production). It ensures software is delivered in a structured, reliable, and repeatableway.
Roles and Responsibilities
In large tech companies, these roles are separate. At startups and growth-stage companies, TPMs often wear both hats, working closely with a Build & Release Engineering team to define release strategies.
A Brief History Lesson
Traditional (Waterfall) Releases
Software was built over long development cycles (months or years).
Releases were big milestones with manual testing and bug fixes before launch.
Any bug found late in the process could delay the entire release.
Modern (Agile + DevOps) Releases
Agile development relies on frequent, smaller releases.
Code is packaged and deployed multiple times a day or week.
DevOps extends Agile into software deployment operations.
The result: CI/CD (Continuous Integration & Continuous Deployment).
Today, Big Tech & startups use CI/CD pipelines to deploy software at scale.
To understand release management, you must first understand CI/CD and how code moves from development to production.
Primer on CI/CD
What Is Continuous Integration (CI)?
CI is the practice of frequently merging code changes into a main branch, followed by automated testing.