Why is it important to have a Green Build

Hi guys, over the last few weeks we’ve had internal discussions about the importance of having a “Green Build”, and the results of those discussions will be presented in this post. If you are interested in other posts related to continuous delivery, just click here to get a list of other blog posts.If you prefer to learn more about Green Build Policy click here.

I strongly believe that one of the reasons why people don’t give the importance they should to a “Green Build” is the fact that they don’t understand what is behind it; what does a “Green Build” bring to them and to the organisation?

Having a “Green Build” means that a team has their basic needs fulfilled, which is to say that they don’t need to worry about basic problems like making sure that they have the right kits or the right packages in place. Having a “Green Build” means that the team can concentrate on improving other parts of the software development, therefore focusing on something more important; to quote Deming, “Cease dependence on mass inspection to achieve quality. Improve the process and build quality into the product in the first place.”

A “Green Build” can serve as a safety net; if the code compiles, all the different tests pass, etc., it means that (most likely) nothing was broken, and this instills confidence in the team. The changes are not only visible to the other developers in the team, they also feel as though they just “give birth” to a build that can potentially end up in acceptance testing or even in production.

Not having a “Green Build” for a long period indicates that the product is not stable. The lack of a stable product increases the unpredictability factor in any given release. In these situations, it is impossible to know when the product will be ready to release without a large (and unpredictable) testing phase at the end. Not having a “Green Build” leads to a sequential project lifecycle, aka a waterfall.

These are just small ideas, but they should serve to remind us how important it is for our companies to actively maintain a Green Build Policy. If you would like to read more on this topic, refer to my blog post explaining why it is so difficult to keep a green build by clicking here.

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