Why continuous deployment matters in today's software development

The users today are used to a world where updates and new features of software roll out almost instantly, demanding all organizations to maintain the same pace by getting their updates to the users in days, if not hours.

Continuous deployment is an approach to software releases where teams can automate the release process to be able to deliver changes to their customers quickly and reliably.

Now, let me explain why setting up continuous deployment can make a huge difference for your business or your application.

How continuous deployment speeds up delivery  

In continuous deployment, each change of the code goes through an automated pipeline that builds, tests, and deploys. That means:  

• new features and fixes can get into the hands of your customers faster
• you get ahead of the competition in the market.
• Your development process becomes agile

When you do that, not only do you manage to stay ahead of the game, but your team can always be flexible. Such a strategy complements the common practices of many teams, which we discussed in our post  Agile vs. Waterfall: Which one is better?.

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Improving quality with continuous deployment

Automated testing is crucial in the process of continuous deployment. Running tests on every code change helps you in:  

• catching bugs early  
• making sure that only the good quality code goes to production.
• Delivering a more reliable product

Quality Assurence is at the core of software development, and this aligns with Rocksoft’s principles of software testing and makes sure your product works well for customers.

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Increase efficiency through automation

Minimized manual work with automating deployments allows your team to:

• Focus on writing code
• Save time  
• Boost productivity in general

Automation is a good way to increase efficiency, just like we use data to streamline processes in Understanding the value of data in business.

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Track key performance metrics (DORA)

Adopting continuous deployment doesn't just speed up your processes; it also positively impacts important performance metrics identified by industry research.

These metrics include:  

• Deployment frequency. How often you deploy updates ‍
• Lead time - The time it takes to go from code committed to code successfully running in production ‍
• Time to recover - how quickly you can recover from issues ‍
• Change failure rate - the rate at which your changes cause problems.  

By improving these areas, continuous deployment helps your team work more efficiently and keeps your software running smoothly. See how we track OKR’s in Rocksoft’s client projects to make performance better.

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Build consistency and reliability

Standardizing a process for deployments helps us to reduce errors. With the help of tools such as GitHub Actions for automation, Docker for application packaging, and Terraform for infrastructure management we can make sure that:  

• Every deployment follows the same process
• Consistent results are achieved every time
• There are less errors, which leads to more reliable software

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Get realtime user feedback

Continuous deployment isn't just about moving faster; it's about understanding what your customers want. By releasing updates more frequently, you can:  

• Get feedback sooner on new features or changes.  
• Make realtime fixes based on the feedback
• Make a product that aligns with user expectations  

This rapid feedback loop enables you to implement real-time fixes, ensuring your product is precisely what users desire - if not better than they expect. Treating customers this way makes them happy and loyal because their opinions are valued - a key to keeping customer satisfaction at Rocksoft.

With continuous deployment you can change the way your software is delivered resulting in happy customers and better business results. It's one of those things you can do, and it adds speed, quality, and efficiency to the development cycle. For more on how agile and continuous practices enhance development, see how design systems improved our software development process.

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