Continuous Integration: How Could It Benefit Software Products? 

Among different agile software development practices, there is the Continuous Integration (CI) practice. This practice can have many benefits for software development teams, and if you are involved, you should know about it.

In this blog, we are explaining what continuous integration is and how it can benefit software development teams. 

What is continuous integration? 

Continuous integration is a software development practice where all changes are added to a repository so that the code there is automated and tested. 

To do this, you merge small working copies of code through the day, and the pieces of code coming from different sources pass through automation until making their way to the final code. 

Here you can do automation through automated revision control, automated testing and build automation. 

The small integrations of code done through the day by developers can help in making the development process more seamless and helping teams detect errors and eliminate them quickly.   

The benefits of continuous integration 

Reducing development risks

Continuous testing and deployment of code can help reduce risks during software development. As complicated bugs and issues within the features are less likely. 

Developers using continuous integration can also detect smaller bugs faster than before. Thanks to the focus on tiny pieces of code that you test automatically. 

Enhanced communication and collaboration

Continuous integration, together with continuous delivery, can help development teams communicate more clearly and become more organized. 

The more standardized process also makes collaboration easier and more efficient, which can be reflected on earlier deliveries at the schedules you have planned. 

Delivering higher quality products

Continuous integration often provides developers with features like code quality review. This helps code quality become better while actively debugging the code using artificial intelligence. 

Some debugging and testing platforms take automated code quality review even further with notifications via email. Slack or SMS about the quality of the code and issues within it. 

This smoother flow of work will definitely reflect on the final product, which you can deliver faster and with less issues. 

Easier adoption to changes 

When you have less technical issues in the software product you are building. It is easier to adapt to changes that may be needed for any reason. 

If you decide, for example, to stop enriching a certain feature, you can do so easily without leaving it incomplete and full of bugs. 

At B5 Digital, we employ the best agile software development practices. You can ask us anything about them, and we would love to help.