Delivery pipeline

What it is

The delivery pipeline (often just the pipeline) is the automated end-to-end path that takes code from commit to production: build → test → package (artifact) → release → deploy → monitor. It’s CI (continuous integration) plus CD (continuous delivery/deployment) expressed as one repeatable flow.

Why it exists

Manual handoffs are slow and error-prone. A delivery pipeline makes every change go through the same automated, auditable, gate-checked journey, so shipping is fast, safe, and reproducible.

Key ideas

• Stages/jobs/steps — build, test, deploy stages with quality gates between them.
• Artifacts flow between stages (build-artifact).
• Gates (deployment-gate) require approvals, tests, or data before proceeding.
• Feedback (continuous-feedback) from each deployment loops back into planning.

Exam notes

• Understand the value stream: Plan → Code → Build → Test → Release → Deploy → Operate.
• Know where each Azure DevOps service (Boards, Repos, Pipelines, Artifacts) sits in the pipeline.

Related

azure-pipelines · cd · deployment-gate · continuous-feedback

📘 Source: Microsoft Learn — Delivery Pipeline