Release Governance

Template Library

Release Governance

Define release decision types, required evidence, decision authority, blocking conditions, conditional release rules, gaps, and governance decision.

Governance Release Governance Release Authority

Library AreaTemplate Library

Current PageRelease Governance

FocusRelease Governance

UseRelease Authority

Repository Areadocs/template-library/governance/

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Current Release Governance

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Template purpose

Use this template to define how release decisions are governed.

Release governance ensures that release, pilot, review, deferral, or rejection decisions are based on evidence and accountable risk judgment.

Project

<Project name>

Document control

Field	Value
Artifact owner	<owner>
Primary reviewers	<reviewers>
Status	<draft / in review / accepted / revised>
Last updated	<YYYY-MM-DD>
Related Area	Release governance
Project workspace target	docs/project-workspace/governance/release_governance.md

Release decision types

Decision Type	Meaning	Minimum Evidence
Release	Approved for intended release scope.	<evidence>
Limited Pilot	Approved for limited users, data, features, or duration.	<evidence>
Internal Review Only	Approved for internal engineering or stakeholder review only.	<evidence>
Release with Conditions	Approved only if stated conditions are met.	<evidence>
Defer	Not approved until additional work is complete.	<evidence>
Reject	Not approved and not expected to proceed in current form.	<evidence>

Release evidence required

Evidence	Source	Required?	Notes
Testing summary	docs/project-workspace/testing/testing_readiness_summary.md	<yes/no>	<notes>
Defect log	docs/project-workspace/testing/defect_log.md	<yes/no>	<notes>
Guardrail verification	docs/project-workspace/testing/guardrail_verification.md	<yes/no>	<notes>
AI verification	docs/project-workspace/testing/ai_verification_record.md	<yes/no / if applicable>	<notes>
Release candidate summary	docs/project-workspace/release/release_candidate_summary.md	<yes/no>	<notes>
Release scope	docs/project-workspace/release/release_scope.md	<yes/no>	<notes>
Release decision record	docs/project-workspace/release/release_decision_record.md	<yes/no>	<notes>
Release conditions	docs/project-workspace/release/release_conditions.md	<yes/no / if conditional>	<notes>
Risk assessment	docs/project-workspace/release/defect_and_risk_assessment.md	<yes/no>	<notes>

Release authority

Role	Authority	Required For
Product Owner	<authority>	<decision types>
Architecture Lead	<authority>	<decision types>
Security / IT Lead	<authority>	<decision types>
AI Reviewer	<authority>	<decision types>
Compliance Reviewer	<authority>	<decision types>
Operations Lead	<authority>	<decision types>

Release blocking conditions

Condition	Reason	Authority to Clear
<condition>	<reason>	<authority>

Conditional release rules

• Conditions must be explicit.
• Scope limits must be operationally enforceable.
• Accepted risks must have owners.
• Deferred items must be visible to stewardship.
• Stop/rollback criteria must exist when risk warrants.
• AI-related conditions must include monitoring and human accountability.
• Release communication must match the actual approved scope.

Current release governance decision

<decision>

Release governance gaps

Gap	Impact	Action
<gap>	<impact>	<action>

Review checklist

• [ ] Release decision types are clear.
• [ ] Required evidence is defined.
• [ ] Release authority is explicit.
• [ ] Blocking conditions are defined.
• [ ] Conditional release rules are enforceable.
• [ ] Governance gaps are visible.

Continue to Stewardship Governance

Proceed to the next governance artifact.

Open Stewardship Governance →