Plan Release Cycle

Plan a structured software release cycle by defining strategy (calendar-based or feature-based), setting milestones with target dates, establishing feature freeze criteria, managing release candidates, defining go/no-go checklists, and documenting rollback plans. Produces a RELEASE-PLAN.md artifact that guides the team from development through release.

When to Use

• Starting planning for a major or minor version release
• Transitioning from ad-hoc releases to a structured release cadence
• Coordinating a release across multiple teams or components
• Defining quality gates and release criteria for a regulated project
• Planning the first public release (v1.0.0) of a project

Inputs

• Required: Target version number (e.g., v2.0.0)
• Required: Desired release date or release window
• Required: List of planned features or scope (backlog, roadmap, or description)
• Optional: Team size and availability
• Optional: Release strategy preference (calendar-based or feature-based)