Veteran engineers likely remember the days of early software development, when software releases were delayed until they included all desired code complete features. This method resulted in extremely long wait times for users, not to mention security concerns and errors that were often treated as an afterthought and addressed through patches and updates. Worse, developers often released these updates on an annual or semiannual basis, creating significant delay between the recognition of an error and its resolution.
Agile development methodologies and continuous deployment (CD) have since arisen as the antithesis of slow, buggy releases. Agile development and CD enable faster updates with fewer errors by combining automation, continuous development, and integration to streamline the software development and delivery process.
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