The Subtle Art of the Changelog
In some ways, changelogs are the precursors of the “build in public” movement. Or rather, the foundation. They’re an effective tool for communicating progress and tracking bug fixes, feature updates, and other changes you’re making to your product for your users and customers.
Let’s look at why keeping a great changelog is important for your brand and in helping you to engage and activate your most powerful users.
Pinpointing when and where changelogs started is difficult. The earliest record of a changelog likely happened sometime in the late 1970s, when software developers began to document changes made to their programs. It was also when commercial software was available to the average customer, so the need for a chronological list of updates and fixes was greater.
The concept of a changelog has evolved over time, and the format and content of these documents have changed significantly since the earliest versions were published.
