what are the benefits of the Release vehicle?

[Clayton Lee]

We are in agile transformation, but the corporate is very much still on a ERM (waterfall method) with releasing

[Steve Sauser]

@Clayton Lee Thank you for your question Clayton!

Release Vehicles are associated (depending upon your settings) with Fix Version/s in Jira.  A Release Vehicle should represent a Deployment (typically a Production Deployment), and as such allows an Enterprise to demonstrate an Audit Trail of the work deployed on a given date/time for a given application or suite of applications.  

We often see the last paths to transform to a more Agile Approach is the deployment processes.  If the deployment schedule is done quarterly (highly typical) then it would be good to review your Sprint and PI Calendars to validate if they align with the Deployment schedule.  

You would likely want to ensure your PIs end and your Deployment Date to be coordinated, especially if your Fix Version/s are being used in Jira and your Fix Version/s are being synced with Jira Align.  

• This will allow the Fix Version to be in sync with the Release Vehicles (if the deployment date (Jira Fix Version) falls outside the PI Start/End date (Jira Align PI) that Fix Version will not sync as one might desire.  

Seek to ensure that the Fix Version on the Features is equal to the last Fix Version of all Stories.  

• This should not be terribly problematic if your Deployment Schedule is relatively fixed (End of Q1 DD/MM/YYYY, End of Q2 DD/MM/YYYY, etc...)
  
  • One should consider though any incremental Deployments that may occur such as a Planned Bug fix Deployment X weeks after Prod Deploy as well as unplanned Deployments (emergency fixes) - these should always be happening inside the next PI start/end dates.  
    • If Emergency Deployments are necessary during the deploy (same day), then as long as the PI has not yet ended then it is a matter of strong hygiene to ensure the Versions are created in Jira and available for the development teams to leverage, otherwise traceability will be impacted.  
• The key is good Release Management so that they are able to ensure all the Jira Projects have the appropriate Fix Versions available before the PI begins and that as new code branches are being merged the Version (Jira) is consolidated into the Main Fix Version the data will be accurate. 
• It is important here to think about the Naming Conventions of your Fix Versions so that it is clear for the development teams which version is appropriate to select on the Stories and that your Product Owners/Managers are able to select the appropriate Feature Fix Version. 

You can leverage the Release Vehicle Grouping in Jira Align, but this will require some additional efforts beyond the management in Jira.  

In the end, you likely care less about the incremental build versions (once the stories and features are deployed into Production) and now really only care about the Main Production Deployments.  This will typically mean strong Release Management practices and tooling support in Jira.  

Let us know if you have additional questions. 

[Jennelle Stearns]

@Clayton Lee  Release Vehicles are either synced to Jira's fix versions thru the Connector OR you can decide not to sync them thru the Connector and create them standalone in Jira Align.  Whether Agile, Waterfall, or Hybrid, Release Vehicles allow you to track all the work you are planning to Release for that particular Release Vehicle.  You can filter various pages such as Grids, Roadmaps, PI Progress Report, and Work Tree by Release Vehicle as well.

[Clayton Lee]

Thanks Jennelle