Release Readiness and Sign-Off Governance

Keep this: job aid

Release readiness and sign-off card

• Six dimensions: build, test, security, operations, data, business.
• Each criterion: measure, threshold, evidence source, owner; marked blocking or conditional in advance.
• Pre-read 24–48 hours ahead with dated snapshots; the meeting handles exceptions only.
• Presenters inform; process owners and sponsor decide.
• Open issues become risk statements: cause, impact, likelihood, workaround, owner, date.
• Outcomes: go, go with conditions, no-go. Likely and severe risks are rejected.
• Decision record: decision, who, frozen evidence, conditions, accepted risks, dissent.
• Keep it on the release’s Quality Gate task; risks on affected features; conditions as linked tasks.
• Post-release review: blameless, criteria versus reality, actions with owners, reported at the next board.