Clear Thinking in Data, Cloud, and AI

Updated guidance for solo founders, small teams, and SaaS builders

In 2021, I published a beginner-friendly guide on Azure DevOps branching and release flows that leaned toward release branches and structured versioning. That guidance was — and still is — valid.

However, as teams mature, tooling improves, and CI/CD becomes more automated, the optimal branching strategy depends heavily on context.

This post explains:

• What parallel maintenance lines really mean
• When multiple release branches are justified
• When they introduce unnecessary complexity
• A practical hybrid approach that prepares you for enterprise scenarios without slowing you down today

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What Are “Parallel Maintenance Lines”?

A team has parallel maintenance lines when it must support multiple released versions of the same product at the same time.

This means:

• Version v1.x is still in production for some users
• Version v2.x is live for others
• Both versions require bug fixes and security patches

In this scenario, each version is a separate line of maintenance, often implemented as long-lived release branches.

Common examples:

• Enterprise or government customers locked to certified versions
• Long-Term Support (LTS) releases
• SDKs and libraries used by external developers
• Regulated environments where upgrades are slow or controlled

In these cases, release branches are not optional — they are required.

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The Cost of Maintaining Multiple Release Versions

While release branches are powerful, they come with real overhead:

• Cherry-picking fixes across branches
• Deciding which versions receive which patches
• Managing merge conflicts
• Maintaining stricter branch policies
• Increased cognitive load for developers

For large teams, this cost is justified.
For solo founders or small SaaS teams, it often isn’t — yet.

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When You Do NOT Need Multiple Release Branches

If your product has:

• A single production deployment
• One active user base
• No contractual obligation to support old versions
• The ability to upgrade everyone together

Then you do not currently have parallel maintenance lines.

In this case, maintaining permanent release/* branches adds complexity without delivering real value.

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A Simpler, Modern Alternative: Main + Tags

For small teams and SaaS products, a tag-based release strategy is often the best starting point.

Recommended structure:

main
├─ feature/*
├─ hotfix/*   (only when needed)

Releases are marked using immutable Git tags:

v1.0.0
v1.0.1
v1.1.0

Each tag represents exactly one production deployment.

Benefits:

• Clean history
• Easy rollback
• Strong audit trail
• Minimal branching overhead
• Works perfectly with modern CI/CD pipelines

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But What If You Want to Be Ready for Enterprise Scenarios?

This is where many teams struggle.

You may want to:

• Prepare yourself (and future teammates)
• Build muscle memory for enterprise release flows
• Avoid a painful process shift later

The answer is not to live in full release-branch complexity prematurely.

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The Recommended Compromise: Simulated Parallel Maintenance

Instead of permanently maintaining multiple release branches, practice the flow intentionally.

Example practice drill:

1. Tag a release: v1.0.0
2. Create a temporary release branch: release/1.0
3. Apply a hotfix
4. Merge the fix back into main
5. Tag the patched release: v1.0.1
6. Delete the release branch

This allows you to:

• Practice cherry-picking
• Understand backporting
• Build discipline
• Stay fast day-to-day

All without permanent overhead.

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When to Adopt Permanent Release Branches

You should move to long-lived release branches only when the business demands it, such as when:

• Customers cannot upgrade immediately
• Multiple versions must be supported simultaneously
• Compliance or certification requires frozen releases
• You introduce LTS versions

At that point, the branching model described in my 2021 article becomes the correct choice again.

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Final Recommendation

For solo founders and small SaaS teams:

• Use main as the single source of truth
• Use feature branches for development
• Use Git tags for production releases
• Use hotfix branches only when needed
• Practice release branching periodically — don’t live in it

Adopt complexity when the business forces it — not before.

This approach keeps you fast today, disciplined tomorrow, and enterprise-ready when the time comes.

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