How to Write Release Notes: 23 Tips, Tools, and Examples

Release notes briefly describe the changes in an update or what a new product is supposed to do. They achieve this by posting updates across their social media networks, writing blog entries, creating a changelog, and uploading to the App Store. When drafting release notes or other product documentation, ensure it’s well-organized. With enough headings and sections, readers can scan the text and extract the information that interests them.

release note meaning

The way you use this touchpoint contributes to your overall brand perception. Although there’s nothing wrong with that, there are more interesting ways to convey information than just sharing dry facts. Frill’s Startup plan, which costs $25 per month, covers up to 50 tracked ideas, while roadmaps and announcements can have an unlimited number of items. You can also choose our Business plan for $49 per month and get unlimited ideas as well. And also make sure that the software you choose allows users to upvote and comment on ideas. This helps you choose which submitted ideas to prioritize over others.

It’s important for product management and development teams to have their own line of communication with users. Release notes refer to the technical written documentation distributed and produced alongside the launch of a product update or a new software product. Release notes are an opportunity to send a message and communicate with your customers and with your broader market. If they are written well, release notes can increase customer loyalty and nurture engagement. A changelog is a much more detailed, technical overview of product updates. It focuses on all the updates made in a release without paying specific attention to the benefits for the end-user.

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Release notes are generally prepared by the development team, but even one person can write, such as a product manager or marketer. You’ll be able to demonstrate https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ how dedicated your staff is to improve it. The first benefit is that users will understand precisely where to go to discover your most recent upgrades.

release note meaning

However, some enterprise companies might be looking for a more robust platform. Amongst large teams, the person responsible for that release note will depend on the importance of the release and which product team built that update. Many companies tend to undervalue release notes, but they can play a vital role in a product’s over.

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For example, you could add a small section with the latest updates on your customer support portal. Do you plan to release a game-changing update redefining the value of your product? These have pretty high discoverability and are among the best ways to ensure users don’t miss a critical update. Writing release notes is one thing, but distributing them is a different story. All good, but what if you have a robust continuous deployment pipeline?

To assist cement the point and ensure the improvement is evident. If you give visual context, it will be easier to absorb information. Then dig into how it operates and what it does when trying to catch the user’s attention and introduce your change. Also, preparing them might feel like a burden, they’re actually pretty simple.

release note meaning

Here are our top tips for what to include and how to write the content in a way that your users will understand. Release notes might not seem important, but they are part of your product. And just like each new release of the product itself, release notes go out to all your users. And view them as opportunities to communicate with your user base and your broader market. As you look to write your own release notes or improve the ones you already write, these are some of the small improvements that can make a big difference. All of this comes together to create a release notes example that not only informs but also sprinkles in moments of delight – just like the best products do.

Let customers know you’re putting them first, and you’ve implemented changes to help them. You’ll be surprised by the amount of in-office or tech jargon you pick up behind the scenes. Remember, your customers are customers because you’re providing a solution to something they can’t do themselves.

They are your business’s opportunity to show users that you care and that consumers have the latest version of your product. Today, rapid prototyping leads to early releases of products or at least MVPs, and data feedback drives many renditions, consumers are no longer buying software product for life. They’re expecting to buy a version of that product in its current state, knowing bug fixes and improvements will continue to evolve as they do. Conversely, changelogs are comprehensive lists of the new features, enhancements, bugs, and other changes in reverse chronological order. Changelogs usually link to specific issues or feature requests within a change management system and also may include links to the developer who supplied the change. By linking the idea to the release note, you show your users that you are paying attention to their feedback and implementing it regularly.

release note meaning

If you can illustrate a new feature with an image, seize this opportunity. A .gif image can speak volumes about how to use a new feature without writing much or recording a video. The shorter, the better—just don’t cut information or lose personality in the process.

release note meaning

Some updates might be worth communicating to customers directly. It’s mostly true for B2B products, especially if you deliver an update your key clients have been nagging you about for ages. Well-written titles can help users catch up on months of updates. One additional bullet point to otherwise standard release notes might make a big difference.

This likely means they won’t be familiar or comfortable with the same javascript or technical vocabulary as you. 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. Roman Gun, Vice President, Product at Zeta Global, discusses his approach to formulating processes around the team’s goals and capabilities.

To ensure that they are written on time, product managers may need a push from the support or marketing teams. I hear you saying „Aye, no one ever reads the product release notes,” and you are right. But that’s not because they’re not important, it’s because they are horribly written. Xero is another example of a company that keeps its release notes fresh and up to date.

  • But if you look closely, you can see that the chart that visualizes every single version of the product is an amazing idea.
  • Choose a tool that offers feedback collection and user communication related to release notes.
  • They want you, the user, to be able to view information about their latest update wherever you are.
  • When you use release notes software, you can publish these notes to your feed more quickly and distribute them with in-app widgets.
  • Therefore, they simply publish articles on their blog to inform regular readers about the new version.
  • A release notes page filled with fresh entries shows customers that you’re actively working on your product and constantly making improvements.

They push them out weekly and each of them is short, snappy, and shows specific benefits for customers. They also include links for readers who want to get more details. Typically, release notes are fairly brief lists of the most important product updates for the end-user. They are also typically distributed within the app (web or mobile) or within your website. Once customers go to your dedicated release notes page, they’ll see a chronological overview of your most recent updates.

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