What every Salesforce admin should know about release pipelines

Salesforce admins are used to wearing many hats. Managing users, responding to unexpected issues, keeping projects moving forward, making config changes, and ensuring they get safely from sandbox to production. It’s a big job. And when you’re dealing with lots of releases using manual tools, things can quickly start to feel overwhelming.

Release management is rarely straightforward. It’s often full of unknowns: will the deployment succeed? Did I include all the right components? What’s already been deployed — and what’s about to overwrite something? For many admins, the process lacks visibility and predictability, especially if you’re still working with change sets. You might feel like you’re constantly troubleshooting without a clear view of the bigger picture.

But releases don’t have to feel so stressful. With the right approach — and the right skills — admins can take an active, confident role in managing deployments and working more closely with developers.

Why release management often feels harder than it should

A lot of the stress in the admin experience comes down to fragmented processes and manual steps. It’s easy to feel like you’re flying blind when you don’t know what’s been changed in a particular org, or when you’re relying on memory to catch all the pieces that need deploying. Without visibility into what’s already in production or what’s changed since your last deployment, every release becomes a bit of a guessing game.

It’s also not unusual for admins to be left out of the broader release pipeline. Developers may be using version control or CI/CD, while admins are still working in isolated sandboxes. The result? Misaligned changes, conflicting updates, and a growing sense that you’re not fully in the loop.

This disconnect isn’t because admins aren’t technical — it’s because the tools and workflows haven’t always been accessible or designed with admins in mind. But things are changing, and there’s more support than ever for admins who want to upskill and work more confidently as part of a collaborative release process.

What DevOps means for Salesforce admins

At its core, DevOps is about improving collaboration, increasing visibility, and making the process of releasing changes faster, safer, and more predictable. That might sound like something reserved for developers, but it applies just as much to admins. You don’t need to be writing code or managing branches to participate in DevOps.

For admins, developing DevOps skills means learning how to work more closely with version control, understanding how different environments relate to each other, and gaining confidence in how changes move through a release pipeline. It’s about shifting from reactive, last-minute fixes to proactive planning and better communication with your team.

And importantly, it’s not about ditching the declarative work you love. It’s about making that work easier to manage, more transparent, and better aligned with the wider team’s delivery process.

Start small: build confidence before complexity

If you’re still using change sets, you’re not alone. Many teams are. The key is to start introducing small changes that give you more control and visibility. That could be as simple as breaking up your changes into smaller, easier-to-deploy chunks. Or taking time to plan out which components are related, so you can be confident you’ve got everything you need.

The goal at this stage isn’t to change how you work, but to start creating a smoother path from development to deployment. That foundation will make it easier to adopt more advanced practices later on.

What good release management looks like in practice

As you start working in more structured pipelines, certain skills and tools become essential. One is getting tools in place to compare environments — understanding what’s new, what’s been changed, and what’s been deleted. This kind of visibility helps reduce errors, increases confidence in your changes, and lets you work with others more effectively.

Another valuable capability is knowing how to manage change in a collaborative environment. If you and a teammate both update the same Flow, you’ll want to understand what a merge conflict is and how to resolve it. You don’t need to be an expert in Git — but knowing how to spot conflicts and make good decisions about what to deploy is a huge advantage.

And finally, keeping track of how changes move through your environments — what’s in UAT, what’s made it to production, what’s pending approval — gives you far more confidence in the process. Whether it’s through version control, a pipeline view, or commit history, visibility into your release pipeline reduces stress and makes collaboration easier.

Release pipelines are a team sport — and admins belong in the game

One of the biggest mindset shifts in DevOps is recognizing that release management isn’t just for developers or release managers — it’s for everyone on the team. Admins bring deep org knowledge, an understanding of how features are used day-to-day, and the ability to configure quickly and efficiently. You deserve tools and processes that give you clarity and control.

Being part of a release pipeline doesn’t mean giving up your way of working. It means developing the skills to work more smoothly alongside others, anticipate problems earlier, and ship changes with confidence. Whether you’re already working in a structured DevOps process or just starting to explore it, there’s a path forward that works for you.

Want to explore these skills further?

If you’d like to see what these ideas look like in practice, watch Gearset’s “Navigate release pipelines with confidence” on-demand webinar. It’s packed with real-world guidance and use cases specifically for Salesforce admins.

And if you’re ready to start developing your DevOps skills in your own time, DevOps Launchpad has free, beginner-friendly courses on topics like getting your deployments DevOps ready, version control, and CI/CD.

Your admin skills are already strong — and with DevOps Launchpad here to guide you, you’ve got everything you need to keep growing and become even more effective in every release.