The key objective of every IT leader is to launch bug-free products to end-users at greater velocity. The advent of Cloud-native technology empowers tech leaders to build and iterate solutions, faster than ever. However, leaders who don’t change the way they release software applications will struggle to keep pace with the innovations that Cloud-native environments offer.
The Cloud-native deployment process needs to be transformed and customized in order to leverage a whole new bunch of workflows and methodologies. By using the traditional hosted CI/CD solutions, the release process of Cloud-native solutions becomes far more stressful and involves huge manual activities. IT managers had to roll out feature upgrades when users were less likely to utilize the software or during downtime situations. The entire procedure was highly tedious, where the minor human error would impact the deployment of a build. That’s why leaders should invest time in creating and implementing CI/CD pipelines.
Significance of Building Customizable CI/CD Pipelines in Cloud-native Development
Building and setting up a customizable Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) framework is a tried-and-tested technique among enterprise leaders who emphasize consistent and reliable product delivery. With this pipeline creation, tech teams can collaboratively construct code, integrate it, conduct tests, and provide releases, and software upgrades in real-time.
Since the process of building custom CI/CD pipelines uses iterative progression rather than the linear method, IT leaders can ensure greater code quality. Besides, it offers the ability to automate different integration and deployment steps and helps development teams fulfill other Cloud-native application development quality metrics and KPIs. Here are some other reasons that justify the worth of building customizable CI/CD pipelines:
- It acts as a rapid failure detection or resolution assistance system for leaders. An artifact is generated and saved each time when an instance fails, which IT managers can use to learn crucial information about the problem and work on it to resolve.
- CI/CD pipelines focus on getting the product to market faster. It accepts feedback from both in-house team members and customers, allowing transparent communication between developers and users.
- The continuous feedback loop offered by the CI/CD pipeline enables test engineers and developers to collaborate for bug fixing. As per a survey, around 92% of initial tests would always fail by embracing Test-Driven Development (TDD). Whereas, by creating CI/CD pipelines, the testing team and developers can work together to build test cases that effectively support the TDD environment.
- CI/CD pipelines alert programmers with a quick solution in case of zero-day vulnerability situations, allowing them to evade major liabilities
- Customizable pipelines reduce the software release backlogs and enhance test reliability. With fast release cycles and automation capabilities, the development teams can perform back-to-back deliveries with quality-rich code.
Best Practices for Customizable CI/CD Pipeline Creation
Select Pipeline Building Tools that Support Priorities
When selecting tools to build CI/CD pipelines, leaders should consider what matters most to their business analysts and developers. For instance, when security is a priority for both developers and analysts, select tools that offer security scanning features like SonarQube and OWASP ZAP.
When leaders use Jenkins for CI, but it isn’t compatible with CD tools like Kubernetes or Spinnaker, they can’t effectively implement CI/CD in their projects. Choose a CI/CD tool or suite of tools that foster collaboration between QA engineers, developers, and operations teams, thereby enhancing transparency across all development and delivery stages.
Prioritize Security and Testing During Configuration
While configuring the CI/CD pipeline, categorize security, testing, and release duration. This defines how development teams approach each phase in the pipeline.
For instance, when security is a top priority, tech leaders can implement more controls on their pipeline before it’s launched. Moreover, leaders can use SonarQube to implement augmented security checks as part of the build process. When testing is the top priority, consider incorporating performance testing modules into the pipeline. This helps developers understand how feature updates impact the Cloud app’s performance in real time before the release.
For tech leaders working in FinTech or the healthcare industry, security must be their top priority while building CI/CD pipelines. Consequently, they can hire developers from a Cloud software development services provider to test and implement app modifications before launch, since it’s difficult to fix mistakes later. Whereas, in nominally regulated sectors like marketing or social media, release duration may precede security since there are minimal risks.
Determine Tests That Can be Automated
Cloud app tests that don’t require human interaction should be automated and incorporated into the pipeline in advance. Tech leaders should embrace an “automation first” approach when it comes to testing. However, not all the tests can be streamlined. Start by generating a list of all testing processes and determining what to automate. The leader’s focus should be on automating more complex tests at first, since it can have an impact on time-to-market applications.
IT managers can integrate testing into the CI/CD pipeline in two ways: Wrappers and Bots. Bots can automate particular test types. When leaders are looking to automate only API or web testing, they can utilize supportive bot systems like Selenium WebDriver or its progeny, JavaEE WebDriver. With JavaEE WebDriver, managing complex interactions across app sections becomes easier.
A key advantage of the wrapper is prioritizing which tests to run since they influence the entire test execution flow. The wrappers also offer data about what each step in the process should appear like and when it should trigger, allowing leaders to build particular tests for a CI/CD pipeline.
Involve Multiple Stakeholders During the CI/CD Implementation
Leading Cloud application development services providers recommend involving team members across the enterprise during CI/CD implementation. This implementation can bring a huge shift in both technical and cultural aspects. IT leaders must make it clear that CI/CD implementation isn’t just a technical initiative but an important aspect of the company culture to boost active participation.
Initially, software developers may be uncertain about embracing CI/CD. An effective way to get them involved is to demonstrate to them how it’ll assist their workflow and simplify processes.
IT managers should include developers, product owners, analysts, operations engineers, and Quality Assurance experts during the implementation. It’ll also help if managers involve external stakeholders, such as end-users and customers, for feedback and review. This way, every member feels connected to the Cloud development and can deliver valuable input. Teams that embrace effective CI/CD implementation practices benefit the most from enhancing their Cloud application delivery.
Adopt Microservices Architecture
While implementing a new CI/CD pipeline, adopting a microservices architecture is crucial. Microservices enable Continuous Integration and Delivery because the fragmentation of components makes them less complicated and susceptible to failures. If leaders want to implement a CI/CD pipeline while expanding Microservices architecture, identify which Cloud-native application parts to be fragmented into independent components. Ideally, each component should execute a single function and deploy autonomously.
For instance, split the reporting service from an existing Cloud application if it needs to be upgraded for performing complex tasks. Developers can make additional changes to the reporting module, test the changes, and re-integrate them with the application for greater performance.
Take the case study of Par8o, a US-based enterprise healthcare firm. They were using a legacy Continuous Integration workflow for running all tests and feature upgrades. This approach was taking more time and their entire engineering team was unable to include more than three features in a sprint. Once they implemented a CI/CD pipeline using the IaC approach, their average build time was reduced to around 13 minutes, and improved code quality up to 93%.
Key Advantages of Custom CI/CD Pipeline Creation
- Strategic Planning – Both Development and Operations teams can strategize more precisely by integrating the latest feedback and focusing on the important aspects due to the faster speed and enhanced transparency of CI/CD
- Fast Response – Continuous Integration paves the way for ongoing commitments and evaluations. Due to reduced development cycles, testers and developers can effortlessly identify bugs that can only be discovered during the runtime.
- Resource Saving – A custom-built CI/CD pipeline enables It managers to spend less time on resource-intensive tasks, such as infrastructure testing, maintenance, and deployment. By identifying errors in the early stages of the Software Development lifecycle, managers can drastically reduce the overall development expenses.
- Recurrent Releases – By handling deployment-ready code and minor commits frequently, the CI/CD pipeline empowers developers to rapidly implement changes to the staging or production environment. For instance, Netflix launches a new code every 12 seconds, and Amazon does the same 50 times a day; all because of custom CI/CD pipelines.
- Competitive Edge – With CI/CD pipelines, tech managers can leverage new technologies, implement new code integrations, and rapidly respond to user requirements, delivering a competitive edge for businesses.
Closing Thoughts
Unlike traditional hosted solutions, building personalized CI/CD pipelines helps tech leaders increase development productivity and optimize costs. Indeed, it is one of the best practices for improving the efficiency of Cloud-native applications. Custom CI/CD pipelines not only help in running code, handling data, and integrating applications without provisioning or maintaining servers, but leaders can also use serverless technologies to enhance performance.
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