diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/release.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/release.md
index 7c5ff5ece..86a7ad57d 100644
--- a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/release.md
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/release.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 Prepare for release of HDMF [version]
 
 ### Before merging:
+- [ ] Make sure all PRs to be included in this release have been merged to `dev`.
 - [ ] Major and minor releases: Update package versions in `requirements.txt`, `requirements-dev.txt`,
   `requirements-doc.txt`, `requirements-opt.txt`, and `environment-ros3.yml` to the latest versions,
   and update dependency ranges in `pyproject.toml` and minimums in `requirements-min.txt` as needed.
@@ -10,23 +11,28 @@ Prepare for release of HDMF [version]
   and any other locations as needed
 - [ ] Update `pyproject.toml` as needed
 - [ ] Update `README.rst` as needed
-- [ ] Update `src/hdmf/common/hdmf-common-schema` submodule as needed. Check the version number and commit SHA manually. Make sure we are using the latest release and not the latest commit on the `main` branch.
+- [ ] Update `src/hdmf/common/hdmf-common-schema` submodule as needed. Check the version number and commit SHA
+  manually. Make sure we are using the latest release and not the latest commit on the `main` branch.
 - [ ] Update changelog (set release date) in `CHANGELOG.md` and any other docs as needed
 - [ ] Run tests locally including gallery tests, and inspect all warnings and outputs
-  (`pytest && python test_gallery.py`)
+  (`pytest && python test_gallery.py`). Try to remove all warnings.
 - [ ] Run PyNWB tests locally including gallery and validation tests, and inspect all warnings and outputs
-  (`cd pynwb; python test.py -v > out.txt 2>&1`)
+  (`cd pynwb; git checkout dev; git pull; python test.py -v > out.txt 2>&1`)
 - [ ] Run HDMF-Zarr tests locally including gallery and validation tests, and inspect all warnings and outputs
-  (`cd hdmf-zarr; pytest && python test_gallery.py`)
+  (`cd hdmf-zarr; git checkout dev; git pull; pytest && python test_gallery.py`)
 - [ ] Test docs locally and inspect all warnings and outputs `cd docs; make clean && make html`
-- [ ] Push changes to this PR and make sure all PRs to be included in this release have been merged
-- [ ] Check that the readthedocs build for this PR succeeds (build latest to pull the new branch, then activate and
-  build docs for new branch): https://readthedocs.org/projects/hdmf/builds/
+- [ ] After pushing this branch to GitHub, manually trigger the "Run all tests" GitHub Actions workflow on this
+  branch by going to https://github.com/hdmf-dev/hdmf/actions/workflows/run_all_tests.yml, selecting
+  "Run workflow" on the right, selecting this branch, and clicking "Run workflow". Make sure all tests pass.
+- [ ] Check that the readthedocs build for this PR succeeds (see the PR check)
 
 ### After merging:
 1. Create release by following steps in `docs/source/make_a_release.rst` or use alias `git pypi-release [tag]` if set up
 2. After the CI bot creates the new release (wait ~10 min), update the release notes on the
    [GitHub releases page](https://github.com/hdmf-dev/hdmf/releases) with the changelog
-3. Check that the readthedocs "latest" and "stable" builds run and succeed
-4. Update [conda-forge/hdmf-feedstock](https://github.com/conda-forge/hdmf-feedstock) with the latest version number
-   and SHA256 retrieved from PyPI > HDMF > Download Files > View hashes for the `.tar.gz` file. Re-render as needed
+3. Check that the readthedocs "stable" build runs and succeeds
+4. Either monitor [conda-forge/hdmf-feedstock](https://github.com/conda-forge/hdmf-feedstock) for the
+   regro-cf-autotick-bot bot to create a PR updating the version of HDMF to the latest PyPI release, usually within
+   24 hours of release, or manually create a PR updating `recipe/meta.yaml` with the latest version number
+   and SHA256 retrieved from PyPI > HDMF > Download Files > View hashes for the `.tar.gz` file. Re-render and update
+   dependencies as needed.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/project_action.yml b/.github/workflows/project_action.yml
index 5f13d9540..5d141d1d1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/project_action.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/project_action.yml
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Add to Developer Board
         env:
           TOKEN: ${{ steps.generate_token.outputs.token }}
-        uses: actions/add-to-project@v0.6.0
+        uses: actions/add-to-project@v0.6.1
         with:
           project-url: https://github.com/orgs/hdmf-dev/projects/7
           github-token: ${{ env.TOKEN }}
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Add to Community Board
         env:
           TOKEN: ${{ steps.generate_token.outputs.token }}
-        uses: actions/add-to-project@v0.6.0
+        uses: actions/add-to-project@v0.6.1
         with:
           project-url: https://github.com/orgs/hdmf-dev/projects/8
           github-token: ${{ env.TOKEN }}