CI/CD Best Practices: Embracing Boundaries for Faster, Safer Delivery

In the world of DevOps, continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) are essential for building scalable, secure, and efficient software systems. One of the most overlooked best practices is the clear separation between build and deploy. This article explores why the “build once, deploy many” principle is a cornerstone of modern CI/CD pipelines and how it improves developer experience, security, and release velocity.

Why “Build Once, Deploy Many” Matters

Think of it like baking one perfect loaf of sourdough and distributing slices to customers, rather than baking a new for each order. In CI/CD, this means:

• Consistency: You deploy the same artifact across environments

• Security: No last-minute code changes sneak into production

• Scalability: You can deploy faster and more reliably

A robust build pipeline should:

• Pull code from source control

• Run linting and unit tests

• Perform static analysis and vulnerability scans (SAST, DAST)

• Package a versioned artifact (Docker image, JAR, Python wheel, deployable tarball)

• Push it to an artifact repository (Artifactory, AWS CodeArtifact, etc.)

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CI/CD Segregation of duties

Deployment Pipeline: Keep Git Out of It

This is easily my favourite CI/CD Best Practice. Once your artifact is built, the deployment pipeline should:

• Fetch the exact artifact version

• Deploy to Kubernetes, VMs, serverless platforms, etc.

• Run smoke tests

• Log success or failure

Benefits of separating deployment from source control:

• Auditability: Every deployment maps to a specific artifact

• Rollback Simplicity: Revert to a previous version instantly

• Reduced Risk: No accidental commits during deployment

CI/CD Best Practices: Improve Feedback Loops

When designing CI/CD pipelines, it's essential to think like a developer. Developers rely on fast, clear signals, especially visual ones. If a pipeline turns green, most developers won’t dig into the logs or scan results. They’ll assume everything is fine and move on. That’s why immediate feedback isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s foundational.

Running deep scans on feature branches gives developers:

• Immediate feedback on code quality and security

• Faster fixes before merging to main

• Fewer surprises in later stages

Some teams delay scans to avoid blocking developers. But that’s a mistake. Even if it adds seconds, saves hours of debugging and rework later. Fast feedback loops empower developers to catch issues early, stay focused, and maintain momentum, all without sacrificing quality or security.

The Perils of “Fake-Green” Pipelines

Imagine a team focused on not blocking developers work. Their CI setup runs scans and everything, but here’s the twist: those scans surface warnings, yet the pipeline never fails. Only merges into the main branch have the power to block a build. The logic? Keep developer flow smooth and uninterrupted.

But this approach can backfire. Developers see a reassuring green badge and assume everything’s fine. Few take the time to dig into logs where security and quality violations quietly accumulate. Then, after reviews and approvals, a PR gets merged into main, and suddenly the pipeline explodes under the weight of dozens of low-hanging issues. The main branch is broken. Fixes that could’ve taken minutes now become a scramble.

It raises a critical question: what’s the point of running scans if the team is conditioned to believe “green equals good”? Blocking feedback at the branch level (right when the issue is introduced) is often the fastest path to resolution. A red badge says, “You broke something; fix it now,” instead of, “All clear… we can review it later.”

Failing fast on feature branches isn’t a bug, it’s a feature.

Embrace Failures as Feedback

Don’t be afraid of red badges. A build failure tells you exactly what needs fixing, right when you’re freshest in the code. Good error handling, complete with clear messages and early failures, saves hours of confusion later. In CI/CD, a failure isn’t a setback; it’s the fastest path to a better codebase.

A Note on Artifact Integrity

We’ll unpack this in a future deep dive, but spoiler alert: protect your artifacts! Think of it as seal-breaking tape on your sourdough loaf packaging; if it’s tampered with, you know right away.

In another post, we’ll also explore why deploying directly from source control can introduce subtle vulnerabilities, and how to guard against configuration drift during promotions.

Wrapping Up

CI/CD isn’t a magic wand: it’s a discipline. By enforcing clear boundaries between build and deploy, and by giving developers immediate security and quality feedback, you build trust in your process. You ship faster, safer, and smarter.

If you’re curious about integrating advanced scanners like JFrog Xray, SonarQube, or OWASP ZAP into this boundary-driven pipeline, let’s chat. At DevOpsUnchained.com we enjoy a good challenge.