A Release Candidate Should Already Have a Rollback Story

Release candidates should already explain how rollback works because rollback invented at ship time is usually unreliable.

The purpose of a release candidate is not just to prove the new path works. It is also to prove the team can retreat safely if production says no.

The rollback story should already answer

• What gets restored.
• Which evidence confirms recovery.
• What dependencies or policies need to be rolled back with the code.

Use the changelog, security docs, and examples when deciding whether a release candidate is operationally ready.