How to ship software continuously in high quality

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THIS CHAPTER

In today's software development organizations, the ability to continuously deliver high-quality software is no longer a luxury - it is a necessity. This practice, often referred to as continuous delivery or continuous deployment, has become a hallmark of leading software development organizations. By embracing this approach, you will be able to respond quickly to market demands, leapfrog competitors, and deliver value to your users at an unprecedented rate.

Key continuous delivery practices include implementing robust CI/CD pipelines, adopting test-driven development, leveraging automated testing, and fostering a DevOps culture. These practices are supported by modern architectural choices such as microservices and containerization, as well as techniques such as feature flags and comprehensive monitoring.

This chapter explores the principles, practices, and tools that enable continuous delivery and examines how leading organizations are using these approaches to stay at the forefront of software development.

Baseline elements in our chapter ‘How to deliver Twice as Fast’ are recommended to be read upfront. This chapter will dive further into operational software delivery and less on the management aspect. As detailed as this chapter might sound to you as a reader - without fixing the baseline of your software development, the advantages of iterative product development won’t fall into effect.