Patterns for software release versioning

Software developers rightfully focus on the activities needed to polish the software for its first release. The management of future releases, version identification, compatibility checks, and update strategies are typically treated as an afterthought, but insufficiencies or inconsistencies here have all the potential to make your life miserable once the software has hit the market. These patterns cover practices to identify a particular version, policies to determine version compatibility, and release update strategies. They aim to make the versioning issues explicit, prepare the project for the foreseeable, and help decide what amount of thought to spend. They target the project participants responsible for releases: release manager, project leader, software architect, and product manager.