Every project in Zephyr (as created by Project
Setup) consists of releases (or iterations, versions etc.) and on
creating a new project, a default release labeled "Version 1.0"
is created. This can be easily renamed in the Release Setup application.
Selecting a release in the list or by clicking "Add" opens the lower half of the window to allow adding a Release Name, a Start Date and an End Date. Only the first two are mandatory. Also, the Start Date of a release has to be after the start date of the Project (as created by Project Setup).
By creating a new Release, the following things happen:
A Release space is created in that particular project as indicated by a tab in the Lead and Tester Desktops
Everything contextual around that release is created automatically - Test Case Repository, Execution Assignment & Scheduling, Metrics, Project Dashboard, Documents etc.
You can immediately switch tabs to the new Release and start using it.
You can also delete a release by selecting and clicking on the "Delete" button.
WARNING: Deleting a release has far reaching implications. On deleting a release, all testcases, execution schedules, documents, metrics, dashboards sections etc. will be deleted. This operation cannot be rolled back. It is highly recommended that you backup your Zephyr System before you delete a release.