Suggest an editImprove this articleRefine the answer for “What is a release cycle?”. Your changes go to moderation before they’re published.Approval requiredContentWhat you’re changing🇺🇸EN🇺🇦UAPreviewTitle (EN)Short answer (EN)A **Release Cycle** is the full process from the start of developing a new version of a product to its release into production and the support that follows. **Key point:** it defines how often, and by what pattern, a company ships updates.Shown above the full answer for quick recall.Answer (EN)ImageA **Release Cycle** is the full process from the start of developing a new version of a product to its release into production and the support that follows. It defines **how often, and by what pattern, a company ships updates**. --- ### Main stages of a release cycle 1. **Planning** The goals and priorities of the upcoming release are defined: which features will be included, deadlines, risks. A roadmap and a set of tasks (epics, stories) are created. 2. **Development** The team implements the selected features, keeping code in feature branches. Code is regularly merged into the shared branch and goes through CI checks. 3. **Testing (QA)** The finished build is tested: automated and manual tests, regression, security. All critical bugs are fixed before the release. 4. **Release preparation (Release Candidate)** The final version to be shipped is created. Stability is verified, documentation and a change list (release notes) are assembled. 5. **Deployment (Release)** The version is deployed to production through a CI/CD pipeline. The team monitors logs, metrics, and user behavior. 6. **Support and iteration** Feedback is collected, bugs are logged, and preparation for the next cycle begins. --- ### Types of release cycles | Type | Characteristics | Example | |---|---|---| | **Classic (Waterfall)** | rare, large releases | 1-2 times a year | | **Iterative (Agile)** | regular versions | once every 2-4 weeks | | **Continuous (Continuous Delivery/Deployment)** | constant small updates | several times a day | --- ### Goals of the release cycle - Make delivering changes **predictable and stable**. - Minimize release risk. - Increase the speed of bringing new features to market. --- ### Conclusion A **release cycle** is the rhythm of a product's life. It shows how the team turns ideas into real updates, and the shorter and more stable this cycle is, the faster the product develops without failures.For the reviewerNote to the moderator (optional)Visible only to the moderator. Helps review go faster.