Continuous Delivery Pipeline Segmentation for Application Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge lies in managing and controlling the continuous delivery of applications across multiple development teams, where incremental changes can negatively impact performance and user satisfaction due to the complexity and interconnectedness of modern software systems, requiring a robust and controlled process to ensure changes are safely propagated to live environments.
Innovation Solution
A vertically integrated continuous delivery system is implemented, which includes multiple stages such as verify, review, acceptance testing, union, rehearsal, and live stages, with each stage having specific phases to ensure changes are thoroughly tested and approved before deployment, using configuration management software to manage computing environments and automate testing processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple development teams provide incremental changes to the application, then the application can be continuously updated and improved, but the risk of negatively impacting performance and user satisfaction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the continuous delivery process into distinct stages (verify, review, acceptance testing, union, rehearsal, live) with specific phases in each stage. This segmentation allows incremental changes to be processed systematically through controlled gates, maintaining reliability while enabling continuous delivery across multiple development teams.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary actions by requiring changes to pass through verification, review, and acceptance testing stages before reaching the live environment. Configuration management software performs preliminary checks and validations, ensuring that potential issues are identified and resolved before deployment, thus preventing negative impacts on performance and user satisfaction.
2Reliability
If rigorous testing and multiple approval stages are implemented, then the risk of negative impacts on performance is reduced, but the delivery time and process complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent maintains continuity of useful action by implementing automated testing processes and configuration management that continuously validate changes through multiple stages without manual interruptions. The automated pipeline ensures that verification, review, and acceptance testing occur seamlessly, reducing delays while maintaining rigorous quality standards.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables self-service through automated configuration management software that performs verification, testing, and validation operations without requiring manual intervention at each stage. The system automatically manages the delivery pipeline, executes tests, and progresses changes through stages, reducing delivery cycle time while maintaining change quality through consistent automated checks.
3Extent of automation
If automated testing and configuration management are used, then testing efficiency and coverage are improved, but the system complexity and initial setup requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal configuration management software platform that performs multiple functions including verification, review coordination, acceptance testing automation, and deployment management. This multi-functional system reduces overall complexity by consolidating diverse automation requirements into a single integrated platform rather than requiring separate systems for each function.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments are directed towards managing application delivery over a network. Change information that corresponds to changes to an application may be provided to a delivery pipeline. The change information may be verified in part based on a static analysis of the content of the change information, compiling, and unit testing. Reviewers may be notified to approve the change information. A version of the application that includes the change information may be generated. Acceptance testing may be performed that includes provisioning computing resources in an acceptance computing environment. And, deploying a version of application that includes the change information into the acceptance computing environment. If the acceptance testing passes, a shipping operation may be enabled pausing the delivery pipeline until an authorized user activates the shipping operation restarting the delivery pipeline and deploying the application to one or more computing environments.