Automation and the CI/CD Pipeline

In the modern age of development, the merits of pipelines and automation have proven to be a necessity to maintain modern development pace. The CI/CD Pipeline is a set of principles and practices for development which has become especially popular. CI/CD stands for Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, and Continuous Deployment, which sets the foundation for the modern era of development.

In fact, the implementation of CI/CD principles has created its own innate necessity. By integrating CI/CD in some applications, the speed of releasing code has gotten drastically faster. In turn, others must adopt CI/CD in turn to remain able to compete with applications already using it. Since 2020, there has been a 16% increase in complete automation for DevOps processes. But how is it that utilizing CI/CD yields such an advantage?

CI/CD automates a large portion of the publication of code. By automating a large portion of the code publication process, or the entirety of it, significantly more effort can be allocated to the development of new coding. The increase in programming speed has not only affected the commercial end of programming, however. Many consumers have also come to anticipate swifter code releases and updates for applications they commonly use.

As much as 15% of developers claim they release code over 3 times faster than previous years, and around 60% have noticed this change to a lesser extent. There also seems to be a correlation between CI/CD and ‘elite developers’, which gives credibility to CI/CD pipeline. Numerically, elite developers are 3.7 times more likely to use continuous testing, 4.1 times more likely to use continuous delivery, and 5.8 times more likely to use continuous integration. Elite developers undoubtedly see the benefits of CI/CD, however not all places have begun to reap this value.

However, the industry that stands to benefit the most, mobile applications, has yet to see substantial implementation. The consumer market for mobile applications is very heavily populated, with over 255 billion mobile applications being downloaded last year alone. Consequently, the margin of error is extremely slim, and the presence of errors is often the primary differentiator between applications. Additionally, application releases that contain bugs can result in low ratings, which drives users away, which keeps ratings low, ultimately creating a feedback loop. However, CI/CD pipelines are the best method to both remedy these issues and prevent them from happening again.

CI/CD for mobile applications provides relief to developers across multiple dimensions. Firstly, CI/CD allows for a clearer workflow, which reduces workflow problems and speeds up troubleshooting. Conversely, this also promotes faster releases, which is a necessity for highly competitive mobile applications, and ultimately better user experiences.

Fortunately, implementation and integration of CI/CD has become more accessible, especially so for mobile application developers. Bitrise, a mobile platform which emphasizes CI/CD implementation, allows for various processes to be tested, automated, and uploaded significantly more easily. Through applications that offer CI/CD and third-party integration, harnessing the benefits of CI/CD pipelines has never been an easier and better option for developers.