Release Note Template

Release Note Template

How to Use

1. Create a new file in /core/testing-and-qa/releases/notes/.
2. Name it as YYYY-MM-DD-prod-<short-slug>.md.
3. Fill all required sections in order.
4. Keep each impacted area to short sanity checks (3 to 5 steps).
5. Execute checks in severity order: Critical, then High, then Medium.

Copy-Ready Template

# Production Release Note - <YYYY-MM-DD> - <short-slug>

## Release Metadata

- Release Date: <YYYY-MM-DD>
- Release Window: <HH:MM-HH:MM TZ>
- Environment: Production
- Engineering Owner: <name>
- QA Owner: <name>
- Status: Draft | In QA | Passed | Blocked

## Release Summary

- <What changed, user-facing>
- <What changed, user-facing>
- <Why QA should care in one line>

## Risk Snapshot

- Critical: <count>
- High: <count>
- Medium: <count>
- Areas touched: <auth, content, admin, etc>

## Change-Specific Manual Sanity Checks

### [Critical] <Feature or Area>

- Preconditions: <if needed>
- Steps:
  1. <step>
  2. <step>
  3. <step>
- Expected Result: <what must happen>
- Evidence: <screenshot/log/link>
- Result: Pass | Fail | Blocked

### [High] <Feature or Area>

- Preconditions: <if needed>
- Steps:
  1. <step>
  2. <step>
  3. <step>
- Expected Result: <what must happen>
- Evidence: <screenshot/log/link>
- Result: Pass | Fail | Blocked

### [Medium] <Feature or Area>

- Preconditions: <if needed>
- Steps:
  1. <step>
  2. <step>
  3. <step>
- Expected Result: <what must happen>
- Evidence: <screenshot/log/link>
- Result: Pass | Fail | Blocked

## Unaffected Critical Flows to Re-Validate

### [Critical] <Flow Name>

- Why re-check: <reason>
- Quick steps:
  1. <step>
  2. <step>
  3. <step>
- Expected Result: <what must still work>
- Result: Pass | Fail | Blocked

## Known Risks and Deferrals

- Risk: <risk>
- Impact: <impact>
- Temporary mitigation: <mitigation>
- Follow-up owner: <owner>

## QA Signoff

- QA Decision: Pass | Pass with risk | Blocked
- Blockers: <none or list>
- Recommendation: <go/no-go>

## Engineering Signoff

- Release Ready Confirmation: <yes/no>
- Rollback Notes: <if needed>
- Final Approval: <name + timestamp>

Short Filled Example

Release Metadata

• Release Date: 2026-05-20
• Release Window: 15:00-15:45 UTC
• Environment: Production
• Engineering Owner: Aakash Jha
• QA Owner: QA Team
• Status: In QA

Release Summary

• Improved authentication session refresh behavior after sign-in.
• Fixed missing user profile state after first dashboard load.
• QA focus is login stability and post-login core navigation.

Risk Snapshot

• Critical: 1
• High: 1
• Medium: 1
• Areas touched: auth, navigation

Change-Specific Manual Sanity Checks

[Critical] Login Session Persistence

• Preconditions: Valid QA account credentials.
• Steps:
  1. Open login page.
  2. Sign in with valid credentials.
  3. Refresh browser once on dashboard.
• Expected Result: Session remains active and dashboard is accessible.
• Evidence: Dashboard screenshot after refresh.
• Result: Pass

[High] Account Menu Identity

• Preconditions: Logged in state from prior check.
• Steps:
  1. Open account menu.
  2. Verify displayed name and email.
  3. Navigate to one protected route and return.
• Expected Result: Identity details remain correct and navigation is stable.
• Evidence: Screenshot of account menu.
• Result: Pass

Unaffected Critical Flows to Re-Validate

[Critical] Content Search and Detail Open

• Why re-check: Auth and route guards changed in this release.
• Quick steps:
  1. Open content search.
  2. Search for a known asset.
  3. Open detail page.
• Expected Result: Search and detail open flow continues to work.
• Result: Pass

Known Risks and Deferrals

• Risk: Intermittent delay on first profile hydration.
• Impact: Low, first load can be slower for some users.
• Temporary mitigation: Retry once before marking as failure.
• Follow-up owner: Engineering Owner

QA Signoff

• QA Decision: Pass
• Blockers: None
• Recommendation: Go

Engineering Signoff

• Release Ready Confirmation: Yes
• Rollback Notes: Revert auth session patch if critical failures appear.
• Final Approval: Engineering Owner, 2026-05-20 16:10 UTC