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Release topics

Release topics are the main unit of work for planning and tracking a release in Release Pilot. Each topic represents a cohesive piece of release work—for example, a feature set, a service, or a phase—and holds its status, assignees, key dates, and milestones in one place.

Why release topics matter​

  • Single place for release work – Title, description, reference ID, assignee, status, and key dates live on the topic.
  • Stakeholder visibility – You can notify stakeholders by email from a release topic; they get a summary and a direct link to the topic.
  • Planning and export – Release topics feed into Release Planning: you can export release data (including milestones) in the Release Planner format for coordination and tooling.

What’s on a release topic​

When you open a release topic (from the release topics list or a shared link), you see:

  • Header – Topic name, description, reference ID, assignee, status.
  • Tabs:
    • Release Commitment – What’s committed for this topic.
    • Details – Additional context and metadata.
    • Milestones – Milestones tied to this topic (target dates and checkpoints).

Key dates (e.g. grooming end, dev dates, QA dates, planned release date) are shown on the topic and included in stakeholder notification emails.

Working with release topics​

  • Create and edit – Create topics, set status and assignees, and update details as the release progresses.
  • Notify stakeholders – From the topic details page, use the actions menu (⋮) and choose Notify to send an email with a custom message and a summary of the topic (including dates and a link). See Stakeholder Communication.
  • Export and plan – Use release-topic flows to export data in the Release Planner format for multi-service planning and integration with other tools. See Release Planning.