Manual Process vs Automation | CICD Process Flow Diagram | How to Implement CICD using Jenkins and Other DevOps tools

Agile Development - Manual Process with No Automation

The key challenges in the above diagram revolve around manual processes that slow down development, introduce human errors, and reduce efficiency. Here are the main issues:

1. Manual Build & Deployment Process

• Developers must manually push code and trigger builds, leading to delays and inconsistencies.
• No automated CI/CD pipeline, which means every deployment requires manual effort.

2. Lack of Automated Testing

• Unit tests are executed manually, which is time-consuming and error-prone.
• No automated quality checks (e.g., linting, static code analysis), increasing the risk of bugs in production.

3. No Feedback Loops

• Developers do not receive immediate feedback on code quality, test results, or deployment status.
• Bugs might be detected late in the cycle, leading to longer resolution times.

4. No Binary Repository Management

• Builds are not stored in a binary repository like Nexus or Artifactory, leading to dependency management issues.
• Reproducing previous builds is difficult.

5. Infrastructure Setup is Manual

• The Infra team manually sets up environments (DEV, QA, UAT, PROD), leading to delays and inconsistencies.
• No Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform or Ansible, making scaling difficult.

6. Risk of Deployment Failures

• Lack of consistent, repeatable deployment processes increases the risk of failures.
• No automated rollback mechanism, making recovery from failures slower.

7. Slower Time to Market

• Since every step is manual, the overall development and release cycle is slow, reducing agility.
• Difficult to keep up with rapid business requirements.

CICD Process Flow Diagram - How to Implement CICD (Automation) in Agile Development?

What is Continuous Integration?

Continuous integration is a DevOps software development practice where developers regularly merge their code changes into a central repository, after which automated builds and tests are run.

The key goals of continuous integration are to find and address bugs quicker, improve software quality, and reduce the time it takes to validate and release new software updates.

Jenkins is a popular continuous integration tool. Jenkins can integrate with other tools using plug-ins.

How does Continuous Integration Work?

Developers frequently commit to a shared repository using a version control system such as Git. Prior to each commit, developers may choose to run local unit tests on their code as an extra verification layer before integrating. A continuous integration service automatically builds and runs unit tests on the new code changes to immediately surface any errors.

Benefits of Continuous Integration

• Improve Developers productivity 
• Find bugs early in the software development stage
• Deliver products into market place sooner
• Improve the feedback loop

What is Continuous Delivery?

Continuous delivery is a software development practice where code changes are automatically prepared for a release to production. Continuous delivery is the next extension of continuous integration. The delivery phase is responsible for packaging an artifact together to be delivered to end-users. This phase runs automated building tools to generate this artifact.

Benefits of Continuous Delivery

• Automate the Software Release Process
• Improve Developer Productivity
• Find bugs early in the software development stage
• Deliver updates faster

Enhanced Security and Compliance:

• Integrate Security Early: Incorporate automated security tools like GitHub Advanced Security and Trivy Scanner into the pipeline to perform vulnerability scans and enforce compliance from the start.
• Shift-Left Security: Embed security checks within the CI/CD process to catch issues before they move to production.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC):

• Consistency Across Environments: Use IaC tools such as Terraform or Ansible to automate environment setup and configuration, ensuring consistency across deployments.
• Version-Controlled Infrastructure: Manage infrastructure changes in the same way as code, enabling traceability and rollback if needed.

Continuous Monitoring & Feedback:

• Real-Time Monitoring: Implement monitoring tools (such as Prometheus) to track the performance and health of applications in production.
• Feedback Loops: Ensure that monitoring and logs feed back into the development process to enable rapid iteration and improvement.

Collaboration and Communication:

• Integrated Communication Tools: Use platforms like Slack to notify teams about pipeline status, build failures, or deployments, ensuring everyone is on the same page.
• Cultural Shift: Encourage a DevOps culture where development, testing, operations, and security teams collaborate closely.

Implementing these key points can help transition your workflow from manual processes to a streamlined, automated, and resilient DevOps model, as depicted in the diagram.