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A SKILup Day Event Recap 

Recapped by Jaida Olvera

At CI/CD SKILup Day on April 26, 2023, leading experts and practitioners shared their stories of using CI/CD to improve software quality alongside business goals to deliver improved customer experience and to bring products or services to market faster. They gave valuable insights into how they’ve used CI/CD to overcome complex challenges and win at delivering better software, sooner and more safely.

If you missed the event, we’ve got a round-up of the top themes from the sessions and conversations around this incredibly important topic.

Why is CI/CD Critical for Digital Transformation?

While Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) practices are well-understood, they are not yet universally adopted. Implementing a CI/CD pipeline needs to be designed for interoperability and iterated to extend from version control, to automated build and the inclusion of automated unit, integration and user acceptance testing before software can always be in a reusable state.

We’ll review key discussion points from the SKILup Day sessions in this post.

CI/CD SKILup Day speakers explored:

• CI/CD Pipelines: accelerating software delivery and innovation
• How to deal with test automation hassles and automate like a pro
• Bettering businesses and winning with CI/CD
• The journey to continuous deployment: transforming technology, culture, and mindset
• Your guide to go beyond the ‘usual’ CI/CD routes

CI/CD Pipelines: Accelerating Software Delivery and Innovation

Marc Hornbeek of Engineering DevOps Consulting presented a blueprint to explain what CI/CD is in relation to DevSecOps pipelines and application value streams. Hornbeek’s talk highlighted real-world benefits organizations are reporting from implementing CI/CD. He also shared CI/CD Strategies to overcome CI/CD implementation challenges. 

He left attendees with this piece of advice “Commit to Third Way of DevOps, Continuous Experimentation and Learning, to drive CI/CD pipelines for faster, more reliable software delivery.”

 

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How To Deal With Test Automation Hassles and Automate Like A Pro

Mesut Durukal of Indeed shared his expertise in test automation and integration to CI/CD platforms supporting continuous testing. In the session, Durukal explained that test automation is an important part of the CI/CD lifecycle. Unless there is a robust and efficient test automation suite, pipelines would be flaky and slowly running.

He introduced how to improve automation coverage and how to make the automation suite effective and reliable. He also shared numerous real-life examples of testing issues and how you can overcome them. 

Bettering Businesses and Winning With CI/CD

Randy Scott Postadan of Tricentis introduced continuous delivery as “the holy grail of IT organizations.” Postadan pointed out that despite this, most companies are still struggling with the transition into shorter release cycles and faster, more frequent deployments. And within that transition, test automation and management are some of the most difficult challenges.

He demonstrated how to connect tests, tools, and teams for seamless traceability and collaboration in one place. He also shared how to leverage qTest to scale testing expertise, orchestrate automated testing, and ship faster. He provided insider tips and tricks for smoother transitions and controlled management.

The Journey to Continuous Deployment: Transforming Technology, Culture, and Mindset

Tobias Mende of Unblocked.engineering explored the importance of driving change towards continuous deployment in modern software development.

Mende shared how to overcome technical and cultural obstacles to achieve successful continuous deployment. He also introduced strategies for transforming technology, culture, and mindset to improve the software delivery process.

Your Guide to Go Beyond the ‘Usual’ CI/CD Routes

Zan Markan of CircleCI presented a travel-themed session, taking attendees on a journey through advanced CI/CD patterns that some teams use to orchestrate their pipelines and bring their productivity to the next level. Markan provided case studies from the most advanced DevOps teams, who deliver cutting-edge technology products and solutions on a daily basis, to introduce CI/CD approaches that go beyond the normal build, test and deploy routes.

What’s Next?

For more insightful events, webinars, and in-person opportunities in 2023, stay up to date with the DevOps Institute event calendar: www.devopsinstitute.com/events/

Watch SKILup Day On Demand

Subscribe to SKILup IT Learning to watch previous SKILup Day and SKILup Hour content, as well as earn DevOps Institute Continuing Education Units (CEUs) as part of our Continuing Education Program.

Learn more and subscribe: devopsinstitute.com/skilup-it-learning/

Become a Certified DevOps Engineer

DevOps Institute empowers DevOps humans to advance career development and upskill for enterprise transformation by providing the resources, guidance, experts, and encouragement to learn. We’ve put together a suggested DevOps Engineer Certification Path and offer essential core competencies and various certifications to help advance your DevOps career and grow professionally. 

Get started at devopsinstitute.com/certifications