In the app release cycle, the Delivery Pipeline plays a crucial role that cannot be ignored. With the widespread adoption of DevOps in projects, Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) have become essential. To achieve seamless CI/CD in the release cycle, the team needs to automate the various stages in the delivery pipeline.

Automation of the Build, Test, and Deploy stages of the delivery pipeline is key. However, it’s often not possible to automate all three stages without the use of appropriate tools. Fortunately, there are several tools available in the market that can help teams achieve automation for all stages.

Before implementing automation in the delivery pipeline, it’s essential for the team to identify the areas that are most suitable for automation. This process involves identifying and prioritizing the stages that have the most significant impact on the overall delivery process. By doing so, the team can achieve a seamless and effective delivery process that improves the overall quality of the product.

Automation in various Delivery Pipeline phases

1. Code Build Phase
2. Testing Phase
3. Code Deployment Phase
4. Monitoring Phase

Benefit of Automation in Delivery Pipeline

1. Improved Quality
2. Faster Time-to-Market
3. Enhanced Efficiency
4. Consistency
5. Better Collaboration

Automation in various Delivery Pipeline phases

Automation has become increasingly prevalent in app development, particularly in the delivery pipeline. The delivery pipeline involves multiple phases through which code updates happen before being made available for use in production. Automation can be used at many points in the delivery pipeline to enhance productivity, reduce errors, and ensure consistency. Let’s take a closer look at how automation can be used in the different stages of the delivery pipeline:

1. Code Build Phase

   The code build phase is the first stage of the delivery pipeline, where code modifications are compiled and packaged. Automation can be used to build the code automatically, reducing human error and boosting productivity. Tools like Jenkins, Travis, and CircleCI can be integrated with code repositories to automatically create code when changes are detected.

2. Testing Phase

   The testing phase is the second stage of the delivery pipeline, where code modifications are evaluated to ensure they function as intended. Automated testing can be used to run tests automatically, minimising human error and accelerating testing. Functional and unit tests can be automated using tools like Selenium, TestNG, and JUnit, ensuring that code changes are thoroughly tested.

3. Code Deployment Phase

   The code deployment phase is the third stage of the delivery pipeline, where code modifications are deployed to various environments, including development, staging, and production. Automation can be used to automatically deploy code updates, reducing manual errors and speeding up deployment. Tools like Puppet, Chef, and Ansible can be used to automate the deployment process, ensuring that code updates are applied uniformly across various environments.

4. Monitoring Phase

   The monitoring phase is the final stage of the delivery pipeline, where the app is continuously checked to ensure it is functioning properly. Automation can be used to automatically monitor the app, reducing human error and speeding up monitoring. Monitoring automation technologies like Nagios, Zabbix, and Splunk can be used to automate the monitoring process, ensuring that the program is regularly checked for any irregularities.

Benefit of Automation in Delivery Pipeline

Automation has become a crucial aspect of app development, especially in the delivery pipeline. Let’s take a look at the benefits that it offers. 

1. Improved Quality

   One of the main advantages of automation in the delivery pipeline is the improvement in app quality. With automation, code changes can be extensively tested before being released to production, leading to fewer customer issues and higher-quality apps.

2. Faster Time-to-Market

   Automation can considerably decrease the time it takes to get code changes into production. Manual movement of code changes through the pipeline can be time-consuming, but automation can speed up the process and enable teams to send code changes straight from development to production.

3. Enhanced Efficiency

   Automation can increase the effectiveness of app development teams by freeing up team members to work on more crucial tasks like coding, testing, and design. Automation can also eliminate the human procedures involved in advancing code changes through the pipeline, leading to a more efficient app development process and quicker delivery overall.

4. Consistency

   Automation ensures consistency in procedures, leading to more reliable apps and a more efficient development cycle. Human error can occur during manual operations, leading to errors and variability in the app delivery process. Automation can aid in ensuring consistency in procedures, which results in a more dependable app.

5. Better Collaboration

Automated processes provide a single source of truth that all team members can consult, enhancing collaboration and ensuring that everyone is on the same page. Automation can also reduce the number of mistakes brought on by misunderstandings or poor communication, creating a more unified and effective workforce.

Conclusion

In conclusion, automation in the delivery pipeline can significantly benefit app development teams. By automating code building, testing, deployment, and monitoring, teams can deliver high-quality apps faster and with more confidence. As an app developer or tester, it’s important to implement automation in a manner that will improve efficiency, reduce errors, and ensure consistency. The use of automation in the delivery pipeline will only become more critical as app development continues to evolve.