What is CI/CD Pipeline?
A CI/CD pipeline (Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment) is an automated workflow that takes code from a developer's commit through build, test, and deployment to production.
A CI/CD pipeline (Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment) is an automated workflow that takes code from a developer's commit through build, test, and deployment to production. It eliminates manual steps in the software delivery process.
Continuous Integration (CI): Every code commit triggers automated build and tests. Failed tests block merging. This catches defects early.
Continuous Deployment (CD): Code that passes CI is automatically deployed to production without manual intervention. This reduces deployment risk by making each change small.
Why It Matters
CI/CD pipelines directly improve DORA metrics. Without CI/CD, deployments are manual, risky, and infrequent — leading to large batches of changes that are hard to debug when something breaks.
For engineering economics, mature CI/CD reduces the cost of releasing software, enabling faster iteration and shorter feedback loops. Richard Ewing's diagnostic evaluates CI/CD maturity as a leading indicator of engineering efficiency.
How to Measure
Measure pipeline run time, success rate, deployment frequency, and lead time from commit to production.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between CI/CD and DevOps?
CI/CD is a specific practice within DevOps. DevOps encompasses the broader culture, including monitoring, incident response, infrastructure as code, and organizational collaboration.
Related Terms
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