Aligning Release Cadences?

Here's a common question I get from WalkMe™ customers. When building WalkMe, do I need to align releases with the underlying app? 


Yes and NO. Let me explain.

First, when building WalkMe, you DO need to align with your Dev TEAMS.

The PEOPLE.

They need to understand what WalkMe is, what it's good at, how it can help them:

Here are three quickly:

1. We can introduce and demo new features with ShoutOuts and Walk-Thrus.

2. We can quickly put up "scaffolding" around problematic areas, block functions, redirect.

3. We can track areas of the app they may not even know about via Tracked Events.

To that end, the WalkMe team needs to SEE the planned work of the DEV team and vice-versa.

We may need to build new content or plan to QA content in existing areas that are being touched.

It can even be beneficial for the WalkMe team to track WalkMe work in the same system the DEV team uses.

Wow, sounds like we're all on the same page, right?

Now, what about the Technology?

Might make sense to wait and publish WalkMe content whenever they update the app, right? That way it's all batched together all the time?

*ahem, NO*

We do NOT need to align WalkMe releases to the release cadence of the underlying app.

Here's why:

First, WalkMe is an "overlay". 

We are not technically "publishing to PROD" in the same way that a DEV team might think.

We are not publishing *into* Salesforce or the app itself. Just over top of it.

Second, a key strength of WalkMe is the ability to RAPID PROTOYPE business processes.

For current user questions or PPT training docs, take whatever you would tell a user to do, build it out in WalkMe.

If someone called you on the phone and said "how do I do xyz process?", what would you tell them?

Document that in WalkMe, QA, publish to PROD. 

That's the process as best as we currently have it.

Your DEV team / stakeholders may say: "BUT WAIT, that process is going to change! There's something on our backlong to update the way we do Campaigns / Loans / Direct Deposit / whatever it is".

Yes, of course! Processes always change!

You say "OK Great. When that happens, we'll adjust the WalkMe. Until then, the guidance is out there."

What do you think?

Do you release on-cycle or off-cycle with the underlying app?