Software application deployment document template

Use Coda’s Software Deployment Checklist template to prepare yourself for different scenarios and reduce the number of deployment errors.

This template was built with Coda, the all-in-one platform that blends the flexibility of docs, structure of spreadsheets, power of applications, and intelligence of AI.

After months (or years) of hard work, release day is finally here! While somewhat scary, you can’t deny the excitement deployment brings. However, for your hardworking team members, software deployment day is the first time they’ll deal with positive feedback or user complaints.

Trying to alleviate deployment headaches is a challenge, but a software deployment checklist can help. With a software deployment checklist template, you can relax (a bit), secure in knowing that your team has completed all the needed steps to make deployment as smooth as possible.

In this article, you’ll see how Coda’s software deployment checklist template can help prepare you for different scenarios and reduce the number of deployment errors. We’ll also consider:

Software deployment is when updates, patches, applications, and software are delivered to end-users. Sometimes called web deployment, deployment also refers to installing, testing, running, updating, and adjusting your software.

While public deployment (presenting the software to the general users) is the most common type of software deployment, it’s also possible to deploy your software at different stages of the development cycle to ensure that it’s error-free.

A software deployment checklist ensures that the software release process goes as smoothly as possible. With a checklist, you can avoid a whack-a-mole situation where you scramble to fix errors in the software after deployment.

A seamless software deployment process is essential to the smooth running of your organization. Whether you’re handling software deployment manually or automatically, there are three primary stages your process must pass through.

In preparation, your team identifies, collects, and defines your customers' problems, wants, and expectations regarding your software or service.

The preparation phase requires plenty of legwork, making your work easier when done correctly. Some of the activities you’ll engage in during this phase might include:

Additionally, software deployment preparation will most certainly involve design documents, frameworks, runtimes, and coding guidelines to allow the team to meet its goals as efficiently as possible.

After defining what’s to be done, the team now builds the software based on the guidelines and goals earlier defined.

A deployment checklist reduces the risk of errors during deployment. For example, if you’re releasing an update to an existing product, a checklist ensures you don’t create problems in the current build.

A checklist reminds the team of the essential tasks to complete and ensures everyone has an eye on KPIs (key performance indicators).

A good software deployment checklist will contain corresponding goals and KPIs to indicate whether the process is running well.

Even the best-laid plans can go awry, and without the safety net of a deployment checklist, your team can be in serious trouble if rollback scenarios arise.

A good checklist includes a rollback system as a critical part of deployment planning. If things get broken during or after deployment, the rollback plan included in the checklist will make it easy to restore a previous working state.

Now more than ever, software deployment needs to be flexible enough to deal with issues during and after deployment. With a software deployment checklist, you’ll be prepared for different scenarios and react appropriately without wasting valuable time.

Since there’s already a checklist, it’s easier to deploy in the future. In addition, a thoroughly documented checklist can serve as a guide or reference for future team members or projects.

Coda has prepared a software deployment checklist template to help teams deploy faster and with fewer hiccups.

Preparation, as we’ve seen, is vital. The first step is notifying the team and users (if you’re rolling out an update) about the upcoming deployment.

Identify all collaborators and work to improve collaboration between Dev and Ops to minimize friction.

Preparation also includes knowing all the tools and requirements that’ll be critical to the success of your deployment. List these out with an eye out on the tools you have, those you don’t have, and any others that might require training to use.

Before rolling out the new product to users, it’s critical to test it. A testing environment, therefore, needs to be created.

Communication with the team is sometimes overlooked in the deployment process. However, ensure you clarify the deployment process with the team to have everyone on the same page.

Regardless of how you’re deploying the software, your checklist should include a rollback plan. This plan is invoked when critical problems arise.

For instance, you can use a rollback plan to redirect users to your tool's previous working build or version. It’ll also involve capturing a complete copy of the operational software version and its dependencies.

You need performance metrics to measure your deployment’s effectiveness. These might include CPU and memory usage, query response times, and other simple metrics. You can also create custom KPIs to measure the effectiveness of your software and deployment, like queue depth, response times for particular tasks, and so on, depending on your software.

Make sure your systems are working by running several tests. Here are some things your checklist should cover: