Case StudyStream Team: Building - Mitigating Risk through Continuous Delivery
Xero, a global leader in online accounting software, faced challenges with traditional software delivery methods that often resulted in long development cycles, high-risk deployments, and increased downtime. These issues hindered Xero’s ability to respond quickly to market demands and deliver high-quality updates to their users. There was a need for a more reliable and efficient approach to software delivery to minimize risks and enhance productivity.
The Solution
Xero adopted continuous delivery (CD) practices as a core part of their software development process. Continuous delivery aimed to ensure that software could be reliably released at any time. The key components of their approach included:
- Automated Testing: Xero implemented comprehensive automated testing to ensure that code changes were validated through various test stages, including unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests. This automation reduced the likelihood of defects reaching production.
- CI/CD Pipelines: Xero developed robust continuous integration and continuous delivery pipelines to automate the build, test, and deployment processes. This automation enabled frequent and reliable releases, reducing the time between code development and deployment.
- Incremental Releases: By adopting incremental release strategies, Xero was able to deploy small, manageable updates rather than large, risky changes. This approach allowed for quick identification and resolution of issues.
- Monitoring and Feedback Loops: Real-time monitoring and feedback loops were established to track the performance and stability of deployments. This monitoring allowed teams to quickly detect and address any issues that arose in production.
- Feature Toggles: Xero used feature toggles to control the activation of new features. This practice allowed for the safe introduction of new functionality and the ability to turn off features if problems were detected.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: The continuous delivery approach fostered close collaboration between development, operations, and quality assurance teams. This collaborative environment ensured that all stakeholders were aligned and working towards common goals.
Outcomes achieved
The implementation of continuous delivery practices led to several significant improvements for Xero:
- Reduced Deployment Risks: The incremental release strategy and comprehensive automated testing significantly reduced the risks associated with deployments, ensuring more stable and reliable releases.
- Faster Time-to-Market: Continuous delivery enabled Xero to deliver updates and new features more quickly, enhancing their ability to respond to customer needs and market changes.
- Improved Quality and Reliability: The automated testing and real-time monitoring ensured that any issues were identified and resolved promptly, resulting in higher quality and more reliable software.
- Enhanced Team Productivity: The automation of build, test, and deployment processes reduced manual effort and allowed teams to focus on more value-added activities, improving overall productivity.
- Greater Agility: Continuous delivery provided Xero with the agility to quickly adapt to changing requirements and deliver continuous value to their users.
