Release management - Process
Hotfix
An urgent software fix released outside the normal release cycle
What's it for?
Gets an urgent software fix to users quickly when waiting for the normal release would cause harm.
For example…
Payroll fails for contractors on release day; engineering ships a hotfix the same afternoon while a fuller fix follows in the next release
A payment bug is causing customers’ orders to fail, so the team releases a small urgent fix that evening instead of waiting for the next normal release
Think of it like…
Temporary road patch after a pothole opens — you make it safe now, then resurface properly later