Given the speed at which companies can release new products, DevOps has become the most popular production methodology. Previously, a product was fully developed, and testing did the thankless job of identifying bugs and areas that could be improved.
Additionally, it was time-consuming and expensive. Ultimately, the development team will have to go back to the drawing board. Ideally, DevOps involves the development team pushing the products in iterations, while operations teams do the necessary testing. This allows testing and development to happen concurrently.
As DevOps gained momentum, more sophisticated methods emerged. One of them is continuous integration (CI), where developers often add and modify code. These additions can be made once a day, and the volume of changes allows developers to easily troubleshoot issues.
How CI improves performance
CI is a process that can be rooted in all your development activities. This compatibility exists because developers change the underlying code to accommodate the changes they want. DevOps Research and Assessment concluded that developers perform better when they change the underlying code.
In addition, production is simplified as automated tests identify areas for improvement, which saves time. Because these tests are performed before and after the changes are made, transparent and immediate results allow developers to decide whether to continue with the changes.
The main benefit of CI is that the DevOps team doesn’t stray too far from the underlying code. An added benefit is that the software will always work as changes are made after proper discussion. This rapid development and testing results in faster deployment and more stable software, which means cost savings as the DevOps team no longer must go back to the starting point.
But this speed requires the person to be committed to making the necessary changes to the software. For this to happen without spending a lot of time and effort, the DevOps team must create robust tests that can be automated. Kind of like the chicken and egg situation, but a productive approach to the best software.
However, no process is perfect, and CI is no exception. Despite its advantages, CI was not liked by everyone due to some problems and aspects. Let’s look at them.
Imperfections of CI
When hardware is released, be it a car or a smartphone, it comes with basic functions. Except for a few minor updates, there will be no hardware modifications or additions. It was the same with software before DevOps. Software developers would do nothing but sculptors.
They shredded the raw materials until their final product was completely molded. While CI is currently being adopted by rapidly growing software companies, a certain group of developers will be unhappy with the rollout of core functionality in the form of incremental updates. In addition, despite the stability that CI offers, it will take a significant amount of time for a company to include all the intended features that they have outlined.
Also, frequent code changes will mean the changes need to be pushed into the code repository. While this doesn’t seem like a big deal, the DevOps team often makes changes to their local machines. It is imperative to keep the required code changes on a single platform so that other coders can access and understand them. Changes also require testing, which the DevOps team can forget about.
This is understandable since developers make countless changes to the software. This is the main reason why you need to use automated testing. If someone is implementing CI, automated testing is a must, and enough resources must be spent to implement it.
Finally, these automated tests shouldn’t take long. If testing is taking too long, divide the task into small parts and test them at the same time. This will save time and effort.
Final words
Continuous integration is a seemingly simple process. However, it is appropriate that everyone is involved in the implementation process. Moreover, since the entire process is quite lengthy and requires significant interaction, the company must be well prepared to support the DevOps team with the tools it needs to get the job done successfully.
While this might seem like a lot of work, the benefits of CI outweigh the minor hurdles. Most companies need faster, phased software deployment and stability. However, CI is not a game for everyone, as it is resource-intensive and requires skillful automation.
You can always turn to us for services, as we at iauro improved this process many years ago. Through our in-house DevOps team that values feedback, we have highlighted solid software that various companies rely on. From big organizations to other businesses, we have had the opportunity to build robust solutions. Contact us and we’ll create solutions that stand the test of time.
