What are Release Notes? Definition and Overview

If you can, while still getting across everything you need to, then go for it. But it lacks a zapier integration and an email notification service. It also doesn’t support publishing changelog directly from Slack compared to Rapidr. Next, for analyzing and prioritizing the product roadmap based on customer insights, Rapidr helps you slice and dice feedback by customer attributes and sorting by votes. Implementation — This section will detail how you’re implementing these new changes.

Also, don’t be afraid to use some humor to put the user at ease. You can usually distribute release notes in your software or app when users log into the latest version. Don’t overload your release notes with text that readers will just skim through and not get any real value out of. Make sure that the point of the update is clear with visual elements that catch attention.

Its release notes also include tags to showcase which updates are for Playstation, Xbox, and PC users. We should note here that both Twitter and Discord use release notes to reach their general, average, non-developer users. Your release notes can contain videos, photos, diagrams, and other visuals to inform the user of new features, summarize bug fixes, use cases, and more. Release notes serve as the perfect way for companies to be honest about their development efforts and transparent with their customers.

Format consistently

Yep, you may create the best product release notes in the world, but without a platform to get them from wherever you’re storing them to your customer, they are useless. Keep your users interested in becoming or remaining long-term customers, increase the usage of your service or platform. Release notes need to let them know that your team is working hard to improve your product. Customers are loyal to services that demonstrate that they care about them. Show that your team is busy working for them, and allow them to participate in the process.

One advantage of a changelog is that revisions can be added as they’re made (while there’s a need for separate tracking or compilation to create a release note). Your original product or service had some sort of user guide or other support documentation that was created to instruct the new user on how to use it. If you’re inspired to get started or amplify your changelog (and we hope you are!), check out these templates.

For instance, you can extract commit information using the git log command with specific formatting options, such as dates, authors, and changes. Developers use changelogs to schedule upgrades, troubleshoot issues, and stay updated about the latest software developments. A release note is an ongoing instructions manual that guides the user on how to get the most out of a new product or product update. The art of writing release notes that rock is a tricky form of writing to conquer.

Changelogs are ideally suited to the back-end of your product or service, as customers seldom need to know about every revision or change an item goes through. Changelogs often link to the developer who made the change, as well as to specific issues or requests for changes to the software’s features. That doesn’t mean, however, that release https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ notes are restricted to a words-on-paper-or-screen format. You’r our kind of people, and probably a good candidate for LaunchNotes. It’s an important way of understanding the current state of a platform, see past updates and release versions. Always publish the latest changes at the top – that’s the most relevant information for your users.

Content

Release notes generally contain a header, overview, purpose, issue summary, steps to reproduce, resolution, end-user impact, support impacts, notes, disclaimers, and contact information. Impacts – Changes in prerequisites, configuration, hardware, etc. are listed here. They double up as action items for stakeholders that support the release in question. By showcasing your development efforts in your latest releases, they help you stand out from the competition.

Your notes can be as complex or as simple as you’d like, and they should match your company’s brand voice or have their own style. Unlike release notes, and perhaps because their audience is more often developers and back-end team members, changelogs are often much less reader-friendly. Take a look at the changelog from KeepaChangelog.com below. Release notes are a set of textual documents created for your customers to provide a description of the changes made in a new version of a product or service. We love ClickUp’s use of emojis and links – it keeps the readers engaged and curious to learn more. Notice how they link out to release notes and more information.

Therefore, it should contain information about the new features, bug fixes, and any other changes that have been made to the product. Release notes should be written in simple language with no technical jargon that is easy to understand by developers, internal teams, and users. This can be done using short sentences and bullet points for each information section in the release note. Be funny, be conversational, and leave little easter eggs for people who read all the way through your release notes. Using release notes to showcase your business’s personality is a great way to improve customer loyalty and set you apart from the competition.

Issue Summary – List of bugs/issues resolved with a short description of what was done, and a description of how to reproduce the bugs. Find out how Appcues can help you improve your activation rate, increase campaign opt-in, and reduce support burden through contextual, targeted in-app communication. List of specific actions needed by users or functionality impacted by the changes. A brief overview of the product, feature update, or bug fix. Beamer stores this information in a pseudonymized user profile. Neither Beamer nor we will ever use this information to identify individual users or to match it with further data on an individual user.

Show your progress and invite your users to join you on this journey. So, release notes are a great way to keep uninvolved teams informed. They’ll learn about changes as soon as you publish your release notes.

• With screenshots, we recommend drawing readers’ attention to the part that you’re talking about.
• Even though not every all the release notes can achieve the three purposes at once, try to incorporate them each opportunity you can.
• It will end up ignored outside of the occasional developer looking for some technical information on a new update you pushed.
• If they are written well, release notes can increase customer loyalty and nurture engagement.
• You don’t want to draw too much attention to the fact that you had bugs.

They don’t necessarily care about the update or feature by itself. Finally, the company uses a CTA at the top of its release notes to encourage users to follow its official Twitter to be alerted when new patches go live. Prescription discount finder GoodRx takes an outside-the-box approach by injecting humor into its release notes. This makes them fun to read and avoids coming across as too technical. Jump link menus allow users to select an item from a navigation menu and go directly to a specific section in your release notes.

There’s no point in putting in all the hard work if no one notices. Ensure your release notes serve their purpose and keep them informative. Yes, our notes of release are an opportunity to engage with customers and showcase our charming, witty, kind, branded tone of voice, but remember this content is educational. Let’s dive into the thick of it all and explore some best practices for creating your release notes that serve their purpose with style. Notes of release are your opportunity to retain user engagement, and potentially build it, while focusing on performance improvement and building a more valuable product.

The first is from Twitter, and shows how they use fairly plain language to describe changes made in June and July of 2022. Now that we know what release notes are and what they can do, let’s examine changelogs and what they’re all about. Each release note concisely and clearly explains what was done and why. The text is easy to understand, quick to read, and free of most jargon that the average customer wouldn’t understand. Android is another who is no stranger to making minor changes and fixes to its software. Here are their release notes for the same month of July 2022.