Continuous Integration: That’s Not What They Meant

GOTO Amsterdam 2023

Many teams are practising continuous integration, or at least that’s the language they use. There are other terms in use too, such as continuous delivery and continuous deployment. The exact distinction between these terms depends on who you ask. But the big question is, just how continuous is it really?

Trunk-based development (TBD) is a powerful yet under-used technique for tightening the user feedback loop, lowering risk and minimizing the gap between coding and deployment. It’s a major component of good deployment practice, and many argue that anything other than trunk-based development does not technically qualify as continuous integration. But many developers are either not sure what TBD is, or do not feel able to use it.

This talk uses examples to explain the benefits of trunk-based development, and gives practical advice on how to make good use of the technique.