[DL.CI.1] Integrate code changes regularly and frequently

Category: FOUNDATIONAL

Working in small batches, characterized by regular, small changes to a code base, enhances software delivery performance. It reduces the time to receive feedback on changes, which is required to enable continuous integration. This way of working is an improvement over traditional phased development approaches, which often leads to delayed feedback due to large batches of work. By making smaller, more frequent changes, teams can uncover and fix bugs earlier in the development lifecycle, simplifying the process of updating, testing, and releasing software.

Features should be broken down into independent work units that align with the agile INVEST checklist. Splitting features into small increments of value, ramping up the frequency of deployment, and practicing Test Driven Development (TDD) all contribute to ensuring small batch sizes. Developers should strive to integrate multiple small, releasable changes to the code base at least once per day. Techniques like dark launching, branch by abstraction, and feature flags allow incomplete features to be integrated in a reversible way without impacting end users.

Working in small batches requires discipline and commitment, but leads to improvements in speed, security, collaboration, and code base consistency. In mature teams, developers commit changes multiple times per day and merge code frequently to prevent accumulating large changes. These teams yield better collaboration and success in maintaining an up-to-date, releasable version of the code base.

Related information: