Skip to content

Continuous Delivery & Deployment

Deployment Pipeline

Summary

Every environment deploys verified artifacts through version-controlled automated deployment logic, built from a shared pattern where available.

Standards

  1. std-del-deployment-pipeline-01 A planned deployment to an environment beyond local development, including a change to that environment's infrastructure or database schema, MUST be performed through an automated pipeline.
  2. std-del-deployment-pipeline-02 A direct change made to restore service MUST be reconciled through the automated pipeline before the next planned deployment.
  3. std-del-deployment-pipeline-03 A deployment pipeline MUST consume only an artifact that has already passed the build, test, static analysis, and security scanning validation required for it.
  4. std-del-deployment-pipeline-04 Deployment-specific verification MAY run within the deployment pipeline.
  5. std-del-deployment-pipeline-05 The same version-controlled deployment logic MUST be used across every environment.
  6. std-del-deployment-pipeline-06 An environment-specific deployment variation MUST be explicit in the pipeline's version-controlled deployment logic.
  7. std-del-deployment-pipeline-07 A deployment pipeline's own configuration MUST be version-controlled and maintained with the same discipline as the source code it deploys.
  8. std-del-deployment-pipeline-08 A deployment pipeline SHOULD be built from a standard, shared template or pattern where one is available.

Implements These Principles

Deployment Readiness

Summary

A verified change stays ready to deploy at any time, moving through the pipeline in small, frequent increments.

Standards

  1. std-del-deployment-readiness-01 A change that has passed the verification required for its target environment MUST remain ready for deployment at any time.
  2. std-del-deployment-readiness-02 A change that has passed the verification required for its target environment SHOULD NOT be withheld solely to accumulate into a larger release.
  3. std-del-deployment-readiness-03 Deployment SHOULD proceed in small, frequent increments, so the risk and impact of any single deployment stays limited.
  4. std-del-deployment-readiness-04 Deployment to a non-production environment SHOULD be triggered automatically once a change passes its required checks, without a separate manual initiation step.

Implements These Principles

Environment Progression

Summary

A change progresses through a defined, consistent sequence of environments on its way to production.

Standards

  1. std-del-environment-progression-01 A defined, ordered sequence of environments MUST govern how a change progresses from initial validation to production.
  2. std-del-environment-progression-02 A change MUST progress through each applicable environment in its defined sequence via the deployment pipeline.
  3. std-del-environment-progression-03 A change MAY skip an environment where the defined progression criteria permit it.
  4. std-del-environment-progression-04 The criteria a change must satisfy to progress from one environment to the next MUST be defined and consistent, so a progression decision does not depend on an individual's discretion.

Implements These Principles

Rollback Readiness

Summary

A production deployment has a tested rollback path or an expedited forward-fix path, and rollback redeploys a previously verified artifact without producing a new build.

Standards

  1. std-del-rollback-readiness-01 A deployment MUST NOT proceed to a production environment unless a viable rollback or forward-fix path exists for the change being deployed.
  2. std-del-rollback-readiness-02 A rollback path MUST be established and tested against the production characteristics relevant to the change before production deployment.
  3. std-del-rollback-readiness-03 A forward-fix path MUST be supported by an expedited process capable of developing and deploying a fix rapidly once an issue is found after deployment.
  4. std-del-rollback-readiness-04 A rollback MUST be executable by redeploying a previously verified artifact.

Implements These Principles

Production Approval

Summary

A production deployment is attributable to an authorised actor or process, separately from the decision to release it.

Standards

  1. std-del-production-approval-01 A deployment to a production environment MUST be attributable to an authorised actor or automated process.
  2. std-del-production-approval-02 Production deployment authorisation MUST remain distinct from release authorisation, whether or not the two occur at the same time.

Implements These Principles

Deployment Verification

Summary

A deployment counts as successful only once it passes automated health checks that exercise real functionality.

Standards

  1. std-del-deployment-verification-01 A deployment MUST be verified against automated health checks before it is considered complete.
  2. std-del-deployment-verification-02 Where a deployment's health checks fail, the pipeline MUST halt further progression of that deployment and raise an alert to the team responsible for it.
  3. std-del-deployment-verification-03 A health check used to verify a deployment MUST exercise real functionality of the deployed change.
  4. std-del-deployment-verification-04 Confirming only that a process has started MUST NOT be treated as sufficient verification.

Implements These Principles

Runtime Security Testing

Summary

A network-reachable service undergoes risk-appropriate, non-disruptive security testing after deployment; findings are triaged, and confirmed critical findings trigger immediate containment.

Standards

  1. std-del-runtime-security-testing-01 A pipeline deploying a service that exposes a network-reachable interface SHOULD include non-disruptive dynamic application security testing against a suitable running environment after deployment.
  2. std-del-runtime-security-testing-02 A finding raised by runtime security testing MUST be triaged and confirmed before it is treated as genuine, so response effort is not misdirected by a false positive.
  3. std-del-runtime-security-testing-03 A confirmed critical finding MUST trigger immediate containment through disablement, rollback, or an equivalent control.

Implements These Principles

Deployment & Release

Summary

A production deployment and its release to users remain separate decisions, with inactive or hidden changes controlled through feature flags or progressive delivery.

Standards

  1. std-del-deployment-release-01 Deploying a change to a production environment MUST be treated as distinct from releasing that change to its users.
  2. std-del-deployment-release-02 A deployed change MAY remain inactive or hidden from users until release is decided separately.
  3. std-del-deployment-release-03 A change that must remain inactive or hidden from users after deployment MUST be controlled through a feature flag or progressive delivery technique.

Implements These Principles