The idea of enterprise release management does not appear to be one that is found in the startup environment.
To put it simply, it’s a method used by some of the biggest corporations in the world to manage their internal software development. For example, a firm such as eBay uses hundreds of various kinds of in-house designed software to make it possible for its clients to transact business and for the organization to function properly.
Businesses like eBay make sure that all of these software projects are completed on time and on budget, without interfering with business operations, by implementing enterprise release management.
Of course, a startup won’t require anything of the sort. That being said, even the most chaotic and nimble of startups can benefit from some of the enterprise release management concepts, particularly software development startups.
Prioritizing efficiency over all else
The main goal of corporate release management is to enable big businesses to quickly and wastelessly acquire new versions and updates for their internal software. The teams communicate constantly with other teams, their immediate superiors, and the enterprise release manager, who is in charge of everything, to accomplish this. Teams can also leverage corporate resources (such testing environments) more effectively and wastelessly by using enterprise release management.
This emphasis on efficiency and the elimination of anything that even somewhat qualifies as wasteful is unquestionably something that any startup can and should implement. Since most startup owners have very little expertise with resource management—or any other kind of management, for that matter—this can be harder to do in companies with more than a few workers.
To reach maximum productivity, determine what the absolute necessities are and go from there. You should give careful thought to each task’s cost-effectiveness as well as how it affects the total outcome.
Operating under these ultra-efficient parameters can feel a little restrictive, but it can also be incredibly liberating.
Communication’s Significance
Excellent communication is a basic requirement for the business release management to be successful. As a matter of fact, effective communication, team coordination throughout the software release process, and making sure there are no conflicts or rivalries for resources constitute the great bulk of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) activities.
In startups, communication may easily fall to the wayside, particularly during the times when everyone is preoccupied with their own work and only wants to make it through. Startup founders and staff may become rather self-isolated in such circumstances, which can result in a wide range of issues.
For this reason, the original Agile Manifesto principles make it very evident that open lines of communication should always be a feature of startups and that meetings are crucial.
A startup can never aspire to be genuinely efficient and waste-restrictive without effective communication. Positive interpersonal relationships will also be maintained through effective communication.
Continuity of Nurture
Continuity is another key idea in corporate release management. Specifically, large companies need to preserve continuity when they release new software updates in order to continue operating. Because of a compatibility issue with an earlier version of the code or some other code that powers eBay’s digital operations, eBay cannot afford to stay down for six hours.
Although this might not seem like a significant deal for startups, in actuality, a lot of them have failed because they did not prioritize consistency.
This is frequently observed in startups that alter their product to the point where it is completely different from what they originally intended by chasing new features. Demanding new features not only alienates the current client base, but it also seldom results in any appreciable growth in the number of new ones.
The consistency of the McDonald’s brand has played a significant role in the company’s extraordinary success throughout the years. It is similar to the McDonald’s your grandparents ate at fifty years ago in certain ways.
Explicit Hierarchy
Any company’s enterprise release management setup will readily show that it is extremely well defined and organized. There are no indications of the flat organization, and everyone is aware of who is in command, makes the decisions, and is accountable for what.
Though it may sound very un-startup, perhaps it’s time for startups to reconsider the entire flat revolution. This is not to argue that flat organizational structures are ineffective or without value, but if your firm employs more than two or three individuals, it might still be a good idea to introduce some hierarchy.
Any process may be streamlined to become more effective and efficient more quickly with a well defined hierarchy.
There are instances when a startup needs it precisely.
At the very least, consider it.
