Introduction to Continuous Delivery
MS Learn path: Design and implement a release strategy — module 1.
Overview
Introduces the shift from manual release management to continuous delivery (CD): what CD is, why it matters, and how a release pipeline carries validated artifacts safely to production.
Units
- What is continuous delivery?
- Continuous delivery vs continuous deployment
- The release pipeline & stages
- Release strategies overview
Concepts introduced
Key terms & commands
- CI → produces a validated build artifact; CD → releases it.
- Continuous deployment = every passing change auto-released (stricter than CD).
- Azure Pipelines:
releasepipelines / multi-stage YAML.
Hands-on
⚠ verify — add a hands-on exercise (create a release pipeline, add a stage).
Exam focus
- Know the CD vs continuous-deployment distinction.
- Understand that CD keeps changes always releasable and relies on automation + rollback.