App Ops Desk · Issue #45

Release train timing for solo founders

Heroic release sprints feel productive. They also produce the most avoidable mistakes.

Read time: 5 min Cadence Process Pairs with Issues #16 and #20
One action this week: Pick one release day and one cutoff day. Write them on the team calendar (even if the team is you).

Default cadence

  • Release day: Tuesday or Wednesday (not Friday, not Monday)
  • Code freeze: 24h before archive
  • Archive window: known start/end time
  • Review wait: separate from “user ship” (use phased release)

Failure modes

  • Friday night “just one more fix” ships
  • No written cutoff → scope creep until 4am
  • Phased release skipped because you are impatient

Bottom line

Predictable beats fast. Fast becomes predictable only after the process is boring.

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