Foreword
Although it is still fairly young, the software development industry has matured considerably in the last 15 years and gone through several major transformations:
- Just a short while ago, it seems, the waterfall lifecycle was pretty much the only option for software development projects. Today, agile methodology is also frequently used.
- New development engineering practices have entered the game, such as SCM, issue tracking, build standardization, continuous integration, continuous inspection, and so on. In most organizations, it is now the norm to have a complete software factory.
- Although they started out minimalistic, modern IDEs have become a widely adopted productivity tool for developers.
This is all great news; and what’s more, there is strong traction to continue these efforts and make the software development world even better. It is amazing how many development teams are seeking a common Holy Grail: continuous delivery. In other words, teams want a software development process that is predictable and repeatable, and that enables a shift to production at any time in a controlled manner.