What do you need to include in your enhancement release notes?
At a minimum, you need to cover the following:
- Description – identify the new enhancement. Avoid the words new, enhancement, or feature in the title. You can drop these words as it’s implied that it’s an enhancement as it’s in the Enhancement section of the release notes.
- Tracking number – include this so customers can track their enhancement. Many customers will request an enhancement and use this number to see if it appears in the release.
- Feature – describe the nature of the enhancement. What can the user do?
- Location – identify where it’s located in the software or web application. What screen or dialog box? Do they need to modify a parameter to see it? If so, where?
- Settings – how do they configure the settings?
- Default value – what are the default values, usually, True, False, Yes, or No.
- Language – write in the present tense. This feature is now available etc.
When you write bugs, state what happened before it was fixed.
When you write enhancements, state what is now available.
Sample Release Notes text
Here’s an example of a generic release note enhancement.
A new feature, NewFeature, has been added to the Designer window.
The following settings are available:
- Yes – specifies that the new feature is displayed on the Designer
- No – specifies that the new feature is not displayed on the Designer The default value is No.
Enhancements Release Notes Guidelines
To recap, what we’ve done here is:
- Identified the new feature.
- Stated where it appears, or is located. This helps the developer or tester find the setting in the user interface, configuration file, or XML file.
- Describe the different settings. Help the developer understand what happens if they choose one of these settings. Most of the time it is obvious but highlight exceptions or additional information they should be aware of. For example, if they change a setting, and it affects another window or setting, then write this down.
- Identify the default value. In this example, the new feature is not displayed unless you decide to turn it on.