In the continuously evolving market of today, change is an unyielding reality. The emergence of new businesses each day, along with disruptive technologies that revolutionise entire industries and the rise of innovative business models, is creating a rapidly shifting landscape.
To maintain competitiveness in an ever-changing market, clients are seeking to complete projects rapidly. Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) is a commonly utilised methodology,automating the development process to enable an uninterrupted cycle of development and delivery.
Despite the reduced development time provided by continuous integration and continuous delivery, there are still areas where improvements can be made. In this post, we will explore methods for optimising our current pipeline for these processes.
Establish Only Essential Structures
Attempting to build multiple modules or services simultaneously can lead to issues and is often not advantageous. It is recommended to avoid the temptation of accomplishing too much with a single effort.
It is advantageous for commits to be brief and focused on a singular module, even in projects with a monolithic architecture.
Prioritising and adhering to the fundamentals is critical. Extensive commits may result in delays caused by the need for code reviews, quality assurance, and testing. If 99% of the code operates accurately but a single line throws an error, the entire program may be delayed until the issue is resolved.
If this seems like a promotion for a microservices design, that is accurate. While a thorough approach is typically the most effective, a more precise and segmented approach can often be more efficient.
It’s Generally Better to Sequence Feature Updates.
Expanding on the previous discussion, modifications to features are necessary, but they also entail certain risks. According to established software engineering standards, whenever we alter an existing feature, we expose ourselves to the possibility of code disruption or unintended outcomes.
From our end-users’ viewpoint, introducing too many alterations all at once can be disorienting, potentially complicating the identification of successful changes. Additionally, there is a predisposition for individuals to remember negative experiences, implying that one user’s dissatisfaction with a modification can result in the rejection of the entire update.
If an individual feature fails its assessment, the project must be paused in the same manner as when creating new modules. As additional modifications are introduced, it may become more challenging to identify the root cause of any issues.
It is crucial to highlight that adopting an incremental approach to change, by implementing small adjustments, can aid in preserving structure and establishing a more manageable environment for the entire team. This is the most effective path forward to avoid potential bottlenecks.
Simultaneously Perform Multiple Tasks
Inappropriate usage of a CI/CD pipeline can result in a significant amount of time being squandered, despite the pipeline’s limited capacity. Once the threshold is exceeded, the loop fails and backs up.
The most common build phases are executed sequentially, which is advantageous for those unfamiliar with software development. This means that each phase is autonomous and begins only after all preceding stages have concluded.
The term “running in parallel” or “concurrently” describes a scenario where separate components of a process are executed simultaneously. For instance, if there are five tasks to be completed, and each takes a minute, it would require five minutes to execute them sequentially, but if they are executed in parallel, it would only take a minute.
It’s feasible to work on tasks one-by-one and still achieve success. However, for tasks that necessitate more time and resources, establishing additional instances to run in parallel can enhance speed and effectiveness.
Keep On Storing
In subsequent CI/CD cycles, it’s feasible to repurpose the artifacts created previously. The package or container necessary for your program can be utilised again in later iterations.
Caching and reusing resources can address the requirement for continuously downloading new materials or starting from scratch when commencing a new cycle. Artifactory is among several outstanding programs accessible for this purpose.
Efficiency of a CI/CD pipeline can be augmented by maximising the utilisation of existing resources. This will diminish the likelihood of future issues caused by incompatibilities.
Caching can enhance your website’s performance, though it shouldn’t be considered a lasting resolution. To guarantee that any adjustments you make are displayed on the site, it’s advised to clear your cache after any updates or when they are no longer necessitated.
Experiment with Canary Drops
Before launching a build, certain DevOps teams offer a preview edition to a selected group of users to obtain their feedback. Canary releases are a perfect option for those who want to comprehend the consequences of their alterations without risking to frustrate the entire user base.
Large development teams can construct numerous canary releases, each designated for a distinct consumer group. This allows for simultaneous assessment of multiple modifications, resulting in prompt identification of any issues.
For instance, if there exist three separate user groups, namely A, B, and C, and only A encounters an issue, it’s probable that the issue is with the canary release. This should simplify the process of diagnosing the problem more precisely.
Assess Your Supply Chain
Supreme care should be given to the outcome of all endeavours. The monitoring of your team’s CI/CD pipeline is of utmost significance. It’s essential to keep a record of the duration of each cycle, as well as analyse tasks that consume the most time, which should be prioritised.
Do you believe that you’re utilising your time fruitfully? If not, how can you curtail the process or reorganise the procedures to make it more effective?
Are there processes that are time-consuming and unnecessary? In what ways are they beneficial? Should they be eliminated?
To enhance the speed of each cycle, comprehending the functioning of your own pipeline is crucial. Building a CI/CD pipeline should be approached as a cyclical process. Consistent modification and vigilance are necessary to make advancements.
