Release Notes
Communication documenting changes in new product releases
Release Notes are documents communicating what changed in new product releases, informing users about new features, improvements, bug fixes, and important updates. Effective release notes keep users informed, encourage adoption of new capabilities, and build trust through transparency. Release notes typically include new features with descriptions and benefits, enhancements to existing functionality, bug fixes and resolved issues, known issues or limitations, breaking changes requiring user action, and sometimes deprecation notices. The format varies: some teams write technical detailed notes, others create user-friendly highlights, and many provide both versions for different audiences. Good release notes are written in clear accessible language avoiding jargon, focused on user benefits not technical details, organized logically by importance or category, concise highlighting key information, honest about issues and limitations, and actionable explaining what users should do. Distribution channels include in-app notifications, email announcements, website or blog posts, in-product prompts highlighting features, and documentation updates. The timing and frequency depend on release cadence: some teams release daily with weekly summaries, others release monthly with detailed notes. Benefits of quality release notes include user awareness of improvements, increased feature adoption, demonstration of active development, reduced support inquiries, and transparency building trust. Challenges include writing for diverse technical levels, determining appropriate detail, maintaining consistency, and time investment. Best practices include keeping a running draft, involving product marketing, tailoring to audience, highlighting most impactful changes, providing screenshots or videos, and maintaining changelog history. Common mistakes include overly technical language, burying important information, inconsistent formats, missing releases, or only documenting features while ignoring fixes. Product managers should own or oversee release notes, ensuring quality communication, celebrating improvements, and using releases as engagement opportunities. Strong release notes demonstrate continued product investment and help users get maximum value.
Learn about Release Notes in product communication. Discover how clear change documentation keeps users informed and engaged.