Release Manager Role Overview (Mainframe and Distributed)

A Release Manager is responsible for coordinating the safe movement of development code (like COBOL programs, JCL scripts, DB2 database changes, Java scripts, etc.) from the non-production environments to the live production environment, where the business depends on it.

This role is the "air traffic controller" who ensures every component is tested, approved, and deployed in the correct sequence without causing an outage. The Release Manager is the middleman between development/QA and the centralized release management team.

Key Responsibilities

Coordinates release schedules between development, testing, operations and centralized release management teams.

Using the software change management (SCM) tools that control and track all code.

Builds and executes the "package" of changes for a specific release and troubleshoots any issues.

Understands and enforces strict change management and compliance procedures.

Assists in obtaining signoffs.

Conducts meetings to review the release status and provides continuous status updates to management.

Creates Change requests in Service Now.

Troubleshoots pre-deployment and deployment failures, by gathering all involved parties to determine next steps.

Runs batch reports from production error logs during production validation and gathers development teams' validation statuses until release completion.

Skills Required

Mainframe SCM Tools - Broadcom (CA) Endevor

TSO/ISPF - to navigate the mainframe. Comfortable editing files, browsing job output, and using utilities.

General Mainframe Knowledge: Familiarity with the ecosystem, including:

CICS: For online (real-time) applications.

DB2: The primary mainframe database. Understand how database changes are included in a release and open "changes" in Service Now.

COBOL: Not as a developer, but able to understand the compilation and "link-edit" process to troubleshoot build failures.

General Distributed knowledge: Types of deployments like Blue/Green and Front and Back door participant applications functionalities.

Project Management: Strong organizational skills to plan release windows, manage timelines, and communicate with stakeholders.

DevOps Tools - Jenkins, Jira, Service Now

Microsoft tools like Excel and Word