What are the best practices for documenting and reporting rollback events?

1 Define rollback criteria and triggers

Before deploying a new system or a major update, you should define the criteria and triggers for rolling back to the previous version. These can include technical issues, such as bugs, errors, failures, or performance degradation, as well as business issues, such as user feedback, compliance, or revenue loss. You should also specify the thresholds and timelines for triggering a rollback, such as the number or severity of incidents, the duration or frequency of downtime, or the percentage or volume of affected users. Having clear and agreed-upon rollback criteria and triggers can help you avoid confusion, hesitation, or conflict when a rollback event occurs.

2 Prepare rollback plan and resources

Another best practice is to prepare a rollback plan and resources before deploying a new system or a major update. A rollback plan should outline the steps, roles, responsibilities, and dependencies for restoring the previous version of the system. It should also include contingency plans for handling any potential risks or complications during the rollback process. A rollback plan should be tested and validated before the deployment to ensure its feasibility and reliability. Additionally, you should prepare the necessary resources for the rollback, such as backup data, configuration files, scripts, tools, and documentation.

3 Document rollback process and results

During the rollback process, you should document every action, decision, and outcome in a detailed and consistent manner. You should record the start and end time of the rollback, the steps performed, the roles involved, the issues encountered, the solutions applied, and the results achieved. You should also verify and document the system status, functionality, performance, availability, and security after the rollback. Documenting the rollback process and results can help you track and evaluate the rollback performance, identify and resolve any remaining issues, and provide evidence and accountability for the rollback event.

4 Report rollback event and lessons learned

After the rollback process is completed, you should report the rollback event and lessons learned to the relevant stakeholders, such as the project team, the management, the users, and the customers. You should communicate the reason, scope, duration, impact, and outcome of the rollback event, as well as the actions taken, the issues faced, and the solutions implemented. You should also share the lessons learned from the rollback event, such as the root causes, the gaps, the best practices, and the recommendations for improvement. Reporting the rollback event and lessons learned can help you inform and align the stakeholders, improve the system quality and reliability, and prevent or mitigate future rollback events.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?