Release notes serve as a crucial bridge between your product updates and your users, ensuring everyone stays informed about the latest changes. By writing clear and effective release notes, you engage your audience with transparency about what has been fixed, improved, or introduced in your product development journey. These communications are essential not just for users, but also for internal stakeholders to understand the evolution of the product they are invested in.
Writing release notes requires a balance of technical accuracy and user-friendly language. So let's understand below how to write a good release note and communicate it with your users.
Before we dive in, it's crucial to grasp what release notes entail, who is responsible for them, their purpose, and the various forms they can take. They are more than just a document; they're a communication tool essential for any software release.
Writing release notes is an essential part of software development, and it is crucial to assign the task to the right person. In our experience, the development team is responsible for writing release notes. They are the ones who have the most knowledge of the changes made to the software, and they can provide the most accurate and detailed information.
However, it is important to ensure that the release notes are written in a way that is easy for non-technical people to understand.
This is where the product manager comes in. They can review the release notes and make sure that they are written in a way that is clear and concise. The product manager should work closely with the development team to ensure that they have all the information they need to write the release notes. They should also review the release notes before they are published to ensure that they are accurate and complete.
Overall, a developer/product manager or even a SAAS founder can be entrusted with the task of writing release notes as long they ensure that the release notes accurately reflect the changes made to the software and that they are written in a way that is easy for customers to understand.
Release notes serve a dual purpose: they inform your users of the latest product updates, enhancements, and bug fixes, and they document the ongoing evolution of your product. The notes act as a transparent record for both the users who will experience the changes and the internal teams tracking the progress of the software release.
One of the most important reasons to write release notes is to communicate product updates to your users. Whether we're introducing a new feature, fixing a bug, or making some other important release, we want to make sure our users are aware of the changes and how they might impact their experience.
By using release notes, you can provide a clear and concise explanation of the changes you have made. This helps your users understand what's new and how they can take advantage of the new features or fixes.
Another important reason to write release notes is to build trust with your users. When we provide clear and transparent information about the changes we've made, we demonstrate our commitment to improving our product and providing the best possible experience for our users.
This can help build loyalty and trust with your users, which can be important for building a strong user base and increasing your overall success.
There are primarily two types of release notes:
Organizing the details in a release notes page allows users to quickly navigate to the information relevant to them, enhancing their understanding of and confidence in your product.
Writing effective release notes is essential for communicating product updates clearly to your users. You need to provide them with an organized structure, a clear tone, and highlight new features and fixes that add value to their experience.
Your release notes should start with a summary of the update followed by a more detailed explanation. It's best to group the changes into categories such as New Features, Improvements, and Bug Fixes. This allows readers to quickly scan for the information that is most relevant to them. Each update can be accompanied by a brief description, so readers understand its impact without needing deep technical knowledge.
Another effective way to structure release notes is by using headings and subheadings to break up the content into easily digestible chunks. This makes it easier for users to navigate the notes and find the information they need.
The language and tone used in release notes are also critical to their effectiveness.
To ensure that the notes are engaging, it is important to use a friendly and conversational tone. This helps to build a connection with users and makes them feel more involved in the development process. At the same time, it is important to maintain a professional tone and avoid using overly casual language or slang. This helps to establish credibility and ensures that the notes are taken seriously.
Finally, it is essential to ensure that release notes are concise and to the point. Users do not want to read lengthy explanations or irrelevant information. Instead, they want clear and concise information that is relevant to them.
For technical details that are necessary to include, provide a simple explanation or link to more comprehensive documentation.
For each new feature or fix, explain the benefit directly to the user. Instead of simply stating what has been added or changed, describe how it enhances the user experience. Use bold to emphasize significant updates or fixes to draw the reader's attention.
By focusing on the structure, language, and presentation of your release notes, you make it easier for your users to understand and appreciate the updates you're delivering, reinforcing their trust in your product.
In this section, we will share some of the best industry-rated examples & release note templates from where you can take inspiration from. We have also listed what we like or dislike about each of these and you can follow any template from the below.
Lasso follows a release version-wise where they list down all the types of releases they made in that version. What we like is that they communicate the type, description & data of the release and lists it down in a very clean tabular manner.
What we found missing were images/ icons or videos that could have provided better readibility and could have enabled more engagement making it easier to consume the data.
ProductLogz follows a blogging format and its editing features give you the flexibility to match your brand format & structure. What we like is the feedback survey with a rating system given at the end so that users can quickly indicate how they feel about the update. We also like its’ clear & concise title cards.
Amplitude uses a card style to list down all its releases under the category Inside Amplitude which upon a click action takes you to the detailed page view. What we like it they use images, have social share icons and the author's details as well.
What we don’t like is that its release notes are nested within the blog which brings a lot of distraction with other content posted alongside. First-time Users may also find the category name confusing.
Similar to Amplitude, Helpscout also follows a blog-style template where it lists its release notes under the page category Inside HelpScout. We like the clean UI and illustrations it uses to associate with the post.
Intercom has an infinite scrolling cards-themed release notes page. They have named this as What’s new! We like the different tags they use to categorise each update and the relatable images they have. What we don’t like is it might get difficult to navigate to older logs with its infinite scrolling.
Slack has a very clean UI and has structured it’s releases into Versions. It has also separate notes for Windows, Android, Ios & Mac. Additionally what we like is that they provide release notes for beta programs as well. Thai helps users know how the beta programs are progressing. We like its transparent structure and categorization of it’s notes by device & system type.
Figma has a clean UI and follows a blogging template. It also gives you the option to copy its RSS feed. What we like is its clear heading title and tags which help users take a quick glance and click on Read more if they want to read in detail about the update
Salesforce follows a micro-blogging template which they list & update on the weather-based cycle they follow. What we like is the option to filter and search a query that helps users navigate to their desired update or sections easily.
Notion uses its own platform to write & publish release notes. It follows a blogging template and what we specifically like is it gives a glimpse of the workings with videos & GIF.
Airtable goes very unique with its release notes. It displays all it’s release notes in a tabular form. What we really like about it is it showcases a category of Plan availability. It tells you the update is available for which plan or tier members. As such it allows users to quickly jump to the updates which are available in their plan. What we dislike is it can look a bit confusing and distracting with all the highlights taken away by tags & date of release.
When rolling out a new release, it's key to ensure users are both aware of the changes and can provide feedback. Your strategy should leverage a mix of channels and tools to share release notes effectively and foster engagement.
Email Campaigns: Regularly use your email list to send out release notes update directly to your customers' inboxes. Utilize email marketing services that can segment your audience to tailor the notes to different user groups.
In-App Notifications: Prompt users with in-app messages or banners that link directly to the latest release notes. This keeps them informed while they are actively using your product.
Company Blog or Website: Post the complete release notes on your company blog or a dedicated updates section on your website. This ensures there is a single, authentic source of information.
RSS Feeds: Offer RSS feed subscriptions for the tech-savvy segment of your audience who prefer updates delivered to their preferred RSS reader.
Release Notes Tool: Consider using a specialized release notes tool like ProductLogz that offers distribution features, making it easier to manage and track the dissemination of your release notes.
Feedback Channels: Provide clear avenues for users to leave feedback, such as a dedicated email address, feedback form, or comments section within the release notes page itself.
Follow-Up: After you distribute release notes, follow up with users to gather more in-depth insights. This can be done through surveys, user interviews, or engagement metrics analysis.
Analytics Tracking: Make sure to track analytics on your release notes' views and engagement rates. Understanding these metrics can help you refine your approach to distribution.
Effectively maintaining and updating your release notes ensures that users stay informed about your software's evolution. This process bridges the gap between the intricacies of your product change and user experience.
To maintain clarity, each new release should be clearly versioned with a distinct release date. This helps you track changes over time and provides a clear reference point for users. You should:
Archiving past release notes is equally important. Archives allow users and stakeholders to review historical changes, which can be valuable for troubleshooting or understanding the product's evolution.
Your release notes and changelogs should not be static documents, but rather living records that improve over time based on feedback and your product roadmap. For continuous improvement:
By employing these strategies in versioning and continuous improvement, your release notes will be a reliable resource for anyone interested in your product's development journey.
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