diff --git a/software/debian/deb_folder/rules b/software/debian/deb_folder/rules
index f16f93f0..158dfa70 100755
--- a/software/debian/deb_folder/rules
+++ b/software/debian/deb_folder/rules
@@ -74,8 +74,6 @@ override_dh_install:
         ${ROOT}/etc/software/${METADATA_FILE}
 	install -m 755 scripts/chroot_mounts.sh \
 		${ROOT}/usr/sbin/software-deploy/chroot_mounts.sh
-	install -m 444 scripts/ostree_mounts.yaml \
-        ${ROOT}/etc/software/ostree_mounts.yaml
 	install -m 755 scripts/create_postgresql_database.sh \
 		${ROOT}/usr/sbin/software-deploy/create_postgresql_database.sh
 	install -m 755 scripts/usm_load_import \
@@ -84,4 +82,6 @@ override_dh_install:
 		${ROOT}/usr/sbin/software-deploy/sync-controllers-feed
 	install -m 755 scripts/deploy-cleanup \
 		${ROOT}/usr/sbin/software-deploy/deploy-cleanup
+	install -m 755 scripts/shell-utils \
+		${ROOT}/usr/sbin/software-deploy/shell-utils
 	dh_install
diff --git a/software/scripts/chroot_mounts.sh b/software/scripts/chroot_mounts.sh
index 74144b00..b4544204 100644
--- a/software/scripts/chroot_mounts.sh
+++ b/software/scripts/chroot_mounts.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,15 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 #
 
+script_dir=$(dirname $0)
+shell_utils=${script_dir}/shell-utils
+if [ -f $shell_utils ]; then
+    source $shell_utils
+else
+    echo "ERROR: ${shell_utils} module not found."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
 DEV_PATH=/dev
 PLATFORM_PATH=/opt/platform
 RABBIT_PATH=/var/lib/rabbitmq
@@ -34,8 +43,8 @@ handle_error() {
     local exit_code="$1"
     local error_message="$2"
 
-    echo "Error: $error_message" >&2
-    echo "Please check the error details and take appropriate action for recovery." >&2
+    log "$error_message" >&2
+    log "Please check the error details and take appropriate action for recovery." >&2
 
     # attempt to unmount if there were successful mounts before the error
     umount_all
@@ -50,7 +59,7 @@ mount_all() {
         src=${src_dst[0]}
         dst=${src_dst[1]}
 
-        echo "mount --bind ${src} ${dst}"
+        info "Bind mounting ${src} -> ${dst}"
         sudo mkdir -p ${dst}
         sudo mount --bind ${src} ${dst} || handle_error 1 "Failed to bind mount ${src} to ${dst}"
     done
@@ -65,12 +74,12 @@ umount_all() {
         src=${src_dst[0]}
         dst=${src_dst[1]}
 
-        echo "sudo umount $dst"
+        info "Unmounting $dst"
         umount_output=$(sudo umount $dst 2>&1)
         if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
             # ignore messages that are not harmful
             if [[ ! $umount_output =~ ("not mounted"|"no mount point specified") ]]; then
-                echo $umount_output
+                error "$umount_output"
                 rc=1
             fi
         fi
@@ -94,16 +103,16 @@ check_all() {
         fi
     done
     if [[ ${#mounted[@]} -gt 0 ]]; then
-        echo "Mounted mount points:"
+        info "Mounted mount points:"
         for mnt in ${mounted[@]}; do
-            echo $mnt
+            info $mnt
         done
     fi
     return $rc
 }
 
 if [ -z "$1" ]; then
-    echo "Error: OSTree deployment branch parameter is missing."
+    error "OSTree deployment branch parameter is missing."
     exit 1
 fi
 
diff --git a/software/scripts/create_postgresql_database.sh b/software/scripts/create_postgresql_database.sh
index 1b1ae13c..a4d833e8 100644
--- a/software/scripts/create_postgresql_database.sh
+++ b/software/scripts/create_postgresql_database.sh
@@ -1,13 +1,22 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 #
-# Copyright (c) 2023 Wind River Systems, Inc.
+# Copyright (c) 2023-2024 Wind River Systems, Inc.
 #
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 #
 #
 # This script is used create a 2nd instance of postgres on a DX upgrade.
 # It needs the port number as parameter and it should be different from the default.
+#
 
+script_dir=$(dirname $0)
+shell_utils=${script_dir}/shell-utils
+if [ -f $shell_utils ]; then
+    source $shell_utils
+else
+    echo "ERROR: ${shell_utils} module not found."
+    exit 1
+fi
 
 DEFAULT_POSTGRESQL_PORT=5432
 POSTGRESQL_PATH=/var/lib/postgresql
@@ -16,7 +25,7 @@ POSTGRESQL_RUNTIME=/var/run/postgresql
 INFO_FILE=/etc/build.info
 
 if [ -z "$1" ]; then
-    echo "Error: Port parameter is missing."
+    error "'Port' parameter is missing."
     exit 1
 fi
 
@@ -24,7 +33,7 @@ PORT="$1"
 
 # Prevent issues with the default postgres port
 if [ "$PORT" -eq "$DEFAULT_POSTGRESQL_PORT" ]; then
-    echo "Error: Port number should be different from the default."
+    error "Port number should be different from the default."
     exit 1
 fi
 
@@ -32,8 +41,8 @@ cleanup_and_exit() {
     local exit_code="$1"
     local error_message="$2"
 
-    echo "Error: $error_message" >&2
-    echo "Please check the error details and take appropriate action for recovery." >&2
+    error "$error_message" >&2
+    error "Please check the error details and take appropriate action for recovery." >&2
 
     exit "$exit_code"
 }
diff --git a/software/scripts/deploy-cleanup b/software/scripts/deploy-cleanup
index a8511bc1..3a4d5912 100644
--- a/software/scripts/deploy-cleanup
+++ b/software/scripts/deploy-cleanup
@@ -15,10 +15,14 @@
 # automatic cleanup process fails.
 #
 
-log() {
-  type=$1
-  echo "[$(date --iso-8601=seconds)] $type: $2"
-}
+script_dir=$(dirname $0)
+shell_utils=${script_dir}/shell-utils
+if [ -f $shell_utils ]; then
+    source $shell_utils
+else
+    echo "ERROR: ${shell_utils} module not found."
+    exit 1
+fi
 
 stop_database() {
     local rootdir=$1
@@ -27,7 +31,7 @@ stop_database() {
 
     # attempt to stop temporary database if still up
     tmp_db_dir=${rootdir}/var/lib/postgresql/${to_ver}
-    log "INFO" "Attempting to stop the temporary database in ${tmp_db_dir}..."
+    info "Attempting to stop the temporary database in ${tmp_db_dir}..."
     if [ -d $tmp_db_dir ]; then
         lsof $tmp_db_dir
         if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
@@ -35,15 +39,15 @@ stop_database() {
             sudo -u postgres ${tmp_db_bin_dir}/pg_ctl -D ${tmp_db_dir} stop
             if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
                 rc=1
-                log "ERROR" "Error stopping database."
+                error "Error stopping database."
             else
-                log "INFO" "Success stopping database."
+                info "Success stopping database."
             fi
         else
-            log "INFO" "Database is not running."
+            info "Database is not running."
         fi
     else
-        log "WARN" "No database found in the specified directory."
+        warning "No database found in the specified directory."
     fi
     return $rc
 }
@@ -52,20 +56,20 @@ unmount_filesystems() {
     local rootdir=$1
     local rc=0
 
-    log "INFO" "Attempting to unmount filesystems under ${rootdir}..."
+    info "Attempting to unmount filesystems under ${rootdir}..."
     k8s_umount_output=$(sudo umount ${rootdir}/usr/local/kubernetes/current 2>&1)
     if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
         if [[ ! $k8s_umount_output =~ "not mounted" ]]; then
             rc=1
-            log "ERROR" $k8s_umount_output
+            error $k8s_umount_output
         fi
     fi
     sudo ${rootdir}/usr/sbin/software-deploy/chroot_mounts.sh ${rootdir} -u
     if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
         rc=1
-        log "ERROR" "Error unmounting filesystems."
+        error "Error unmounting filesystems."
     else
-        log "INFO" "Success unmounting filesystems."
+        info "Success unmounting filesystems."
     fi
     return $rc
 }
@@ -75,14 +79,14 @@ remove_temp_directories() {
     local rootdir=$2
     local rc=0
 
-    log "INFO" "Attempting to remove temporary deployment directories [${repo}, ${rootdir}]..."
+    info "Attempting to remove temporary deployment directories [${repo}, ${rootdir}]..."
     sudo ${rootdir}/usr/sbin/software-deploy/chroot_mounts.sh ${rootdir} -c
     if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
        rc=1
-       log "ERROR" "Some mount points are still mounted, cannot proceed with the cleanup."
+       error "Some mount points are still mounted, cannot proceed with the cleanup."
     else
         rm -rf $repo $rootdir
-        log "INFO" "Temporary deployment directories removed successfully."
+        info "Temporary deployment directories removed successfully."
     fi
     return $rc
 }
@@ -90,7 +94,7 @@ remove_temp_directories() {
 # script usage
 if [ $# -ne 3 ]; then
     echo
-    echo "usage: deploy-start-cleanup <tmp_ostree_repo_dir> <tmp_root_dir> <action>"
+    echo "usage: deploy-cleanup <tmp_ostree_repo_dir> <tmp_root_dir> <action>"
     echo -e "\nParameters"
     echo "=========="
     echo "tmp_ostree_repo_dir: temporary ostree repo directory (example: /sysroot/upgrade/ostree_repo)"
@@ -111,14 +115,14 @@ action=$3
 # basic checks
 for dir in $repo $rootdir; do
     if [ ! -d $dir ]; then
-        log "ERROR" "Specified directory $dir does not exist, cannot proceed with cleanup."
+        error "Specified directory $dir does not exist, cannot proceed with cleanup."
         exit 1
     fi
 done
 
 target_build_info=${rootdir}/usr/etc/build.info
 if [ ! -f $target_build_info ]; then
-    log "ERROR" "Cannot get target release build-info information, cannot proceed with cleanup."
+    error "Cannot get target release build-info information, cannot proceed with cleanup."
     exit 1
 fi
 
@@ -126,7 +130,7 @@ fi
 to_ver=$(cat $target_build_info | grep SW_VERSION | cut -d'"' -f2)
 
 # main
-log "INFO" "Starting cleanup for staging directories [${repo}, ${rootdir}]..."
+info "Starting cleanup for staging directories [${repo}, ${rootdir}]..."
 case $action in
     "db")
         stop_database $rootdir $to_ver
@@ -143,13 +147,13 @@ case $action in
         remove_temp_directories $repo $rootdir
     ;;
     *)
-        log "ERROR" "Invalid action specified: ${action}"
+        error "Invalid action specified: ${action}"
     ;;
 esac
 rc=$?
 if [ $rc -ne 0 ]; then
-    log "ERROR" "Error cleaning up [${repo}, ${rootdir}], please check the logs, take manual actions and retry the script."
+    error "Error cleaning up [${repo}, ${rootdir}], please check the logs, take manual actions and retry the script."
 fi
-log "INFO" "Cleanup script ended."
+info "Cleanup script ended."
 
 exit $rc
diff --git a/software/scripts/ostree_mounts.yaml b/software/scripts/ostree_mounts.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 52b801e9..00000000
--- a/software/scripts/ostree_mounts.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
----
-- "{{ OSTREE_DEPLOYMENT_BRANCH }}/usr/etc:{{ OSTREE_DEPLOYMENT_BRANCH }}/etc"
-- "/dev:{{ OSTREE_DEPLOYMENT_BRANCH }}/dev"
-- "/proc:{{ OSTREE_DEPLOYMENT_BRANCH }}/proc"
-- "/opt/platform:{{ OSTREE_DEPLOYMENT_BRANCH }}/opt/platform"
-- "/var/lib/rabbitmq:{{ OSTREE_DEPLOYMENT_BRANCH }}/var/lib/rabbitmq"
-- "/var/log:{{ OSTREE_DEPLOYMENT_BRANCH }}/var/log"
-- >
-  "/var/lib/postgresql/upgrade:
-  {{ OSTREE_DEPLOYMENT_BRANCH }}/var/lib/postgresql/upgrade"
diff --git a/software/scripts/shell-utils b/software/scripts/shell-utils
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fd564723
--- /dev/null
+++ b/software/scripts/shell-utils
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# !/bin/bash
+#
+# Copyright (c) 2024 Wind River Systems, Inc.
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
+# File containing common shell functions that
+# can be sourced and used by other shell scripts.
+#
+
+log()
+{
+    script_name=$(basename $0)
+    log_type=$1
+    shift
+    echo "$(date -Iseconds | cut -d'+' -f1): ${script_name}[${$}]: ${log_type}: ${@}"
+}
+
+info() {
+    log "INFO" $@
+}
+
+warning() {
+    log "WARNING" $@
+}
+
+error() {
+    log "ERROR" $@ >&2
+}
diff --git a/software/scripts/software-deploy-start b/software/scripts/software-deploy-start
index 827bf11b..20deec4d 100755
--- a/software/scripts/software-deploy-start
+++ b/software/scripts/software-deploy-start
@@ -13,10 +13,17 @@
 # 5. perform data migration
 #
 
-# TODO: centralize USM upgrade scripts output into one single log
-exec > /var/log/deploy_start.log 2>&1
+exec 2>&1 >> /var/log/software.log
+
+script_dir=$(dirname $0)
+shell_utils=${script_dir}/shell-utils
+if [ -f $shell_utils ]; then
+    source $shell_utils
+else
+    echo "ERROR: ${shell_utils} module not found."
+    exit 1
+fi
 
-exec_path=$(dirname $0)
 usage()
 {
     echo "usage: $0 from_ver to_ver k8s_ver postgresql_port feed [commit_id|latest_commit]"
@@ -63,10 +70,10 @@ handle_error() {
     local error_message="$2"
     local state="start-failed"
 
-    echo "Error: ${error_message}" >&2
-    echo "Please check the error details and take appropriate action for recovery." >&2
+    error "${error_message}" >&2
+    error "Please check the error details and take appropriate action for recovery." >&2
 
-    echo "Update deploy state ${state}." >&2
+    error "Update deploy state ${state}." >&2
     deploy_update_state ${state}
 
     # cleanup before exiting
@@ -77,13 +84,14 @@ handle_error() {
 
 for dir in $rootdir $repo; do
     if [ -e ${dir} ]; then
-        echo "${dir} already exists. Please ensure to clean up environment to continue." >&2
+        error "${dir} already exists. Please ensure to clean up environment to continue." >&2
         exit 1
     fi
 done
 
 sudo mkdir ${repo} -p
 
+info "Initializing ostree repo..."
 sudo ostree --repo=${repo} init --mode=archive || handle_error $? "Failed to init repo"
 sudo ostree --repo=${repo} remote add ${instbr} ${feed_url} --no-gpg-verify || handle_error $? "Failed to remote add repo"
 sudo ostree --repo=${repo} pull --depth=-1 --mirror ${instbr}:${instbr} || handle_error $? "Failed to pull repo"
@@ -92,23 +100,27 @@ sudo ostree --repo=${repo} pull --depth=-1 --mirror ${instbr}:${instbr} || handl
 if [ -z ${commit_id} ]; then
     # get commit id, only latest for now
     commit_id=$(ostree rev-parse --repo=${repo} ${instbr})
-    echo "latest commit id ${commit_id}"
+    info "Latest commit id ${commit_id}"
     if [ -z "${commit_id}" ]; then
         handle_error 1 "Failed to retrieve commit id"
     fi
 fi
 
-echo "checkout commit id ${commit_id}"
+info "Checkout commit id ${commit_id}"
 
+info "Checking out ostree repo..."
 sudo ostree --repo=${repo} checkout ${commit_id} ${rootdir} || handle_error $? "Failed to checkout ${commit_id}"
 
 # create proper mounts on deploy file system
+info "Creating mount points..."
 sudo ${rootdir}/usr/sbin/software-deploy/chroot_mounts.sh ${rootdir} || handle_error $? "Failed to mount required mount points"
 
 sudo mount --bind ${rootdir}/usr/local/kubernetes/${k8s_ver} ${rootdir}/usr/local/kubernetes/current
 sudo cp /etc/kubernetes/admin.conf ${rootdir}/etc/kubernetes/
+info "Mount points created successfully"
 
-DATA_PREP_SCRIPT="${exec_path}/prep-data-migration"
+info "Preparing for data migration..."
+DATA_PREP_SCRIPT="${script_dir}/prep-data-migration"
 # OS_AUTH_URL, OS_USERNAME, OS_PASSWORD, OS_PROJECT_NAME, OS_USER_DOMAIN_NAME,
 # OS_PROJECT_DOMAIN_NAME, OS_REGION_NAME are in env variables.
 cmd_line=" --rootdir=${rootdir} --from_release=${from_ver} --to_release=${to_ver}"
@@ -118,17 +130,27 @@ cmd_line+=" --project_domain_name=${OS_PROJECT_DOMAIN_NAME} --region_name=${OS_R
 prep_cmd="${DATA_PREP_SCRIPT} ${cmd_line}"
 
 ${prep_cmd} || handle_error $? "Failed to extract data for migration"
+info "Data migration preparations complete."
 
+info "Creating temporary database..."
 sudo chroot ${rootdir} /usr/sbin/software-deploy/create_postgresql_database.sh ${port} || handle_error $? "Failed to start 2nd instance of postgresql"
-sudo chroot ${rootdir} /usr/bin/software-migrate ${from_ver} ${to_ver} ${port} || handle_error $? "Failed to migrate data"
+info "Database creation complete."
 
+info "Starting data migration..."
+sudo chroot ${rootdir} /usr/bin/software-migrate ${from_ver} ${to_ver} ${port} || handle_error $? "Failed to migrate data"
+info "Data migration completed."
+
+info "Syncing feed between controllers..."
 SYNC_CONTROLLERS_SCRIPT="/usr/sbin/software-deploy/sync-controllers-feed"
 sync_controllers_cmd="${SYNC_CONTROLLERS_SCRIPT} ${cmd_line} --feed=${feed}"
 ${sync_controllers_cmd} || handle_error $? "Failed to sync feeds"
+info "Feed sync complete."
 
 state="start-done"
 deploy_update_state $state
-echo "Update deploy state ${state}."
+info "Update deploy state ${state}."
 
 # cleanup after successful data migration
+info "Starting cleanup..."
 deploy_cleanup
+info "Cleanup complete."