Major release = significant new feature, deployed to production. QA testing is critical.
Pre-release planning:
1. Test strategy.
- Scope of testing (features in release).
- Types of testing (functional, integration, performance, UAT).
- Resource plan (QA team, business users).
- Timeline aligned with release schedule.
2. Test plan document.
- Detailed test approach.
- Test cases per feature.
- Acceptance criteria.
- Sign-off requirements.
3. Environment prep.
- Test sandbox refreshed with current production.
- Test data populated.
- Integrations connected to test endpoints.
Testing phases:
1. Unit testing (developer-led).
- Apex unit tests.
- LWC Jest tests.
- Coverage 75%+.
- All passing.
2. Component testing (QA-led).
- Per-feature functional tests.
- Test cases against requirements.
- Manual + automated mix.
3. Integration testing (QA-led).
- Cross-feature, cross-system.
- End-to-end scenarios.
4. System testing (QA-led).
- Full system in test environment.
- All features together.
5. Performance testing.
- Load tests, stress tests.
- Identify bottlenecks.
6. Security testing.
- Penetration test (often external).
- Permission audit.
- FLS / sharing validation.
7. UAT (business-led, QA-supported).
- Real users, real scenarios.
- 2-4 weeks.
- Sign-off required.
8. Regression testing.
- Existing functionality unchanged.
- Automated regression suite.
- Spot-checks of critical flows.
Defect management:
- Tracking tool (Jira).
- Daily triage.
- Severity-based prioritization.
- Fixes deployed to test, retested.
Sign-off criteria:
- All Sev 1/2 defects resolved.
- All scenarios passed.
- Performance targets met.
- Security review passed.
- Stakeholder approval.
Go-live preparation:
- Deployment runbook validated.
- Rollback plan tested.
- Monitoring in place.
- Support team ready.
Post-go-live:
- Hypercare support.
- Defect surfacing tracked.
- Post-release retrospective.
Common pitfalls:
- Insufficient test environment — defects escape to production.
- Skipping performance testing — production slows under load.
- Skipping security testing — vulnerabilities reach production.
- Inadequate UAT — features don't fit users.
- Rushed sign-off — known issues released.
Senior QA insight: major releases are QA's most important moment. Quality of testing determines production stability.
The senior framing: say no to release if quality bar not met. Painful but right. Released defects cost more than delays.