Safe releases for small SaaS teams: rollback and switches

Alex Tutor

GarageDesk has been live for six weeks. Nina, tell us about Thursday night.

Nina

At 23:40 I released new reminder templates: nicer text, the shop's phone number at the bottom. The new code treated that day's reminders as unsent and sent them again.

Oscar

A few minutes later Greg called me. 140 of his car owners got a second reminder just before midnight, and some were already replying "why twice?"

You

What did you do?

Nina

Redeployed the previous version. Six minutes from Greg's call to the rollback.

Alex Tutor

Six minutes is good, and it worked only because the previous version was one command away. Let's look at what limited the damage and what made it bigger.

Alex Tutor

Question 1

What limited the damage most on the night of 17 April?

Choose one answerThe new templates had nicer textNina could put the previous version back with one commandThe release happened late at nightGreg's shop has many car owners

Alex Tutor

What else was in that release?

Nina

The templates, a faster car-entry form and a change to how the day's sending list is built. Three weeks of work.

Alex Tutor

So when the duplicates appeared, any of the three could be the cause. Release small changes often, ideally one change per release. When something breaks, you know what broke it.

You

Isn't releasing often riskier? More chances to break something.

Alex Tutor

Each small release is less risky and easier to undo. A big one piles up changes that nobody can check together, and customers suddenly find everything different.

Alex Tutor

Question 2

True or false: releasing rarely, in big batches, is safer, because there are fewer releases that can go wrong.

TrueFalse

Alex Tutor

Rule: never release what you can't undo. That means the previous version ready to redeploy with one command, database changes that can be reversed, and for anything new, a switch.

Nina

A switch?

Alex Tutor

An on/off switch for a new feature, per shop. The new templates go live for one shop, you watch a day of sending, then turn them on for the rest. If something looks wrong, you flip it off without a release.

Nina

Dennis goes first. He likes being first.

Alex Tutor

Question 3

Put the steps for rolling out the new reminder templates safely in order.

Tap an item, then tap where it should go. You can also drag or use the arrows.

You

Was 23:40 the mistake? Nobody uses the app at night.

Alex Tutor

The app is quiet at night, but GarageDesk sends messages to real people. Release when you're fresh enough to watch, and when a mistake can't wake anyone up.

Nina

So: releases on weekday mornings, never on Friday evening. And no reminders at all between 21:00 and 9:00, whatever the code says.

Alex Tutor

That last rule is a guard rail. It doesn't prevent bugs, it limits how much harm any bug can do.

Alex Tutor

Question 4

Which habits reduce the harm a bad release can do to GarageDesk's shops? Choose all that apply.

Choose all that applyOne change per releaseReleasing late at night, when nobody is using the appNew features behind a per-shop on/off switchNo reminders sent between 21:00 and 9:00Saving up changes for one big monthly release

Oscar

At 8:00 I wrote to Greg and Martha: what happened, that it was fixed, and what we changed so it won't repeat. Then, with Greg's OK, one short message to the 140 car owners under the shop's name.

You

Another message? Didn't that make it worse?

Oscar

Greg wanted it. Half of them had already asked "why twice?", and the other half would ask Martha at the counter.

Alex Tutor

Fast, honest and specific: what broke, what's fixed, what changes. A bug handled well can build more trust than a quiet month. Greg stayed, and by the end of April GarageDesk had 14 paying shops.

Alex Tutor

Question 5Short answer · AI-checked task

Write Oscar's 8:00 message to Greg and Martha about the duplicate reminders (3–5 sentences).

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Alex Tutor

Let's put the whole module together: a solution that fits the working day, the smallest version, what to rent and how to release it.

Oscar

Martha has a new request. Car owners reply to reminders, "book me for Tuesday", and she copies every reply by hand into her notebook.

Nina

I already want to write our own two-way messaging. It would be fun.

You

Can I plan this one before Nina starts coding?

Alex Tutor

Question 6Case · AI-checked task

Plan how GarageDesk should handle car owners' replies to reminders.

End of April. GarageDesk has 14 paying shops. Reminders go out by SMS and Viber under each shop's name through a rented sending service, via Nina's own "send a reminder" module.

Car owners often reply: "book me for Tuesday", "sold the car", "what time are you open?". Today the replies arrive in the sending service's account, and Nina forwards them to each shop by hand once a day. At Greg's shop, Martha copies them into her notebook at the counter, on her phone, between customers. She asks for the replies to appear in GarageDesk.

Nina wants to build GarageDesk's own two-way messaging system. The sending service already offers two-way messages for an extra fee. Nina works alone on the code; Oscar is still at his job and spends about 12 hours a week on GarageDesk.

Write a plan: (1) how replies should fit Martha's working day, (2) the smallest first version and what can stay manual, (3) build or rent, and why, (4) how to release it safely.

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Alex Tutor

Next module: GarageDesk has paying shops, all in Vinnytsia. Is the market big enough for two founders?

Alex Tutor

That’s the lesson. You answered every task — nicely done.

Next lesson: Narrow or widen the niche