CI/CD Implementation: Key Dos and Don'ts for DevOps Teams

What is CI/CD?

CI/CD stands for continuous integration and continuous deployment, which is a process that involves two phases but is often grouped into one single process, hence it is called CI/CD.?

CI/CD refers to a process that involves integration, testing, and deployment of code-based products throughout a software release cycle. The difference between continuous delivery and continuous deployment is that continuous delivery does not support automatic production deployment, but continuous deployment consists of automatically releasing updates into the production environment. Continuous integration refers to the process of continuously integrating refined code changes into a common source code repository. Both of these practices are often done hand to hand and that’s why the industry refers to this practice as CI/CD.

Precautions for CI/CD

Working with CI/CD pipelines is extremely time-consuming and requires a lot of focus and effort. Developers with no prior knowledge or experience may make fatal mistakes that could render a whole project useless. Here are some of the most advised precautions you can take to ensure your CI/CD pipeline runs smoothly and does not encounter any fatal flaws-?

1. Map threats and secure connections.?
2. Tighten access control.?
3. Separate duties and enforce permissions
4. Keep confidential information as it is.?
5. Have a private code repository.
6. Monitor constantly.?
7. Make and refine your plans constantly.?

Dos and Don’ts For CI/CD?

Here are a few basic DOs and DON’Ts for CI/CD-?

DOs-?

1. Be fully committed to your project. Continuous integration is a hefty and time-consuming process that needs your undivided attention. The same goes for continuous deployment.?
2. Don’t let garbage code accumulate. A lot of DevOps engineers and developers forget to edit out the unused code and comments and this often leads to more problems in the future when fixing bugs in CI/CD.?
3. Build only once and make sure your build is clean and clutter-free. Use referable code whenever and wherever possible.
4. Keep your tests in line with deployment and integration. Testing is an integral part of the CI/CD pipeline and developers often sideline it.?
5. Keep your development environment clean. Use containers for hosting environments and running tests.?

DON’Ts-?

1. Don’t be a solo player and rush for deployment. Take your time and have your schedule be in line with the rest of your team.?
2. Don’t skip monitoring and measurement. This is one of the most overlooked factors of CI/CD.?
3. Don’t create unnecessary test environments. Only create test environments that are relevant to the use case.?
4. Don’t use useless tools. Take notes of what useful tools you should have in your environment.?
5. Don’t follow multiple practices. Stay on one track and follow the best practices that are decided by your team.?

Conclusion

CI/CD is a very complicated process that only high-level engineers have expertise in. However, if you or any client are in the process of launching an application but don’t have any experience in software development, We at Appfoster specialize in the best technologies and practices for software development, and we have more than 12 years of expertise in developing and designing software products using the best methodologies out there. Contact us today to learn more about all the industries we specialize in and our services.?