Release & Deployment Policy

Document Version: 1.0
Last Updated: July 19, 2025
Owner: DevSecOpsBook Security & Compliance Team


1. Purpose

This policy establishes secure, standardized, and controlled procedures for releasing and deploying code changes to production environments. It ensures integrity, confidentiality, and availability of systems, in alignment with SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria.


2. Scope

This policy applies to all software releases and deployments, including applications, infrastructure as code, and configuration changes, across all environments (development, staging, production).


3. Policy Requirements

3.1 Change Authorization (CC8.1)

  • All production releases must be reviewed and approved by a designated release manager or product owner.
  • Emergency changes must follow expedited review procedures and be documented post-deployment.

3.2 Source Code Integrity (CC6.1, CC6.2)

  • All changes must originate from version-controlled repositories (e.g., Git) with enforced pull request and code review workflows.
  • Only approved and merged code can be promoted to deployment pipelines.

3.3 Segregation of Duties (CC6.3)

  • Developers shall not deploy directly to production. Deployment must be triggered by CI/CD systems with role-based access control (RBAC).
  • Elevated access (break-glass) to production requires formal justification, approval, and logging.

3.4 CI/CD Pipeline Controls (CC6.2, CC7.1)

  • Pipelines must include automated testing, linting, and security scanning (SAST/DAST).
  • Secrets must not be hardcoded or stored in code; use secrets management tools with access restrictions.

3.5 Semantic Versioning & Tagging

  • Release artifacts must follow Semantic Versioning and be tagged in source control (e.g., v1.2.3).
  • Artifact tags must include the service name, environment, and version (e.g., auth-prod-v1.2.3).

3.6 Deployment Strategy & Rollback

  • Deployments must follow safe strategies (e.g., blue/green, canary) where feasible.
  • All releases must include tested rollback procedures.

3.7 Audit Logging & Monitoring (CC7.1)

  • All deployments and release approvals must be logged, timestamped, and retained for audit.
  • Monitoring must be in place to detect and alert on failed deployments or unexpected system behavior post-deployment.

4. Roles & Responsibilities

RoleResponsibility
Release ManagerFinal approval, scheduling, and coordination
DevOps EngineerPipeline maintenance, deployment automation
DeveloperCode commits, PR reviews, testing
Security TeamSecurity gate configuration and review
QA EngineerTest validation and release readiness checks

5. Exceptions

Exceptions to this policy must be documented, approved by the CISO or delegate, and reviewed within 30 days.

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