How Does a Salesforce Release Management Suite Help Developers?

The process of moving a development project from planning through deployment can be convoluted, difficult, and error-prone without the correct tools. A Salesforce release management suite will provide a series of tools that can be integrated into your DevOps processes to increase the success of your projects.

Salesforce release management aims to organize the process of moving from development to deployment.

And this effort is made even more successful when all of the tools come from a singular Salesforce release management suite.

But what does a unified platform do for developers? How does it support stronger DevOps projects?

Here are 5 ways a Salesforce release management suite helps developers:

1.      Reduction in Errors

2.      Enhanced Data Security

3.      Increased Consistency

4.      Standardized Strategies

5.      Higher Release Velocity

1. Reduction in Errors

The best Salesforce release management suite will include automated tools. These tools provide many safeguards to keep bugs and errors from going unnoticed until deployment.

Overwrites and conflicting structures are common when multiple environments are integrated into one. Continuous integration and static code analysis work to spot these errors as soon as possible.

2. Enhanced Data Security

Data security should be a constant concern when using a Salesforce release management suite. Previously mentioned automated tools along with data backup and recovery tools maintain levels of security throughout a DevOps pipeline.

High code quality also supports data security of the eventual release. Any mistakes that make it through deployment can create data security vulnerabilities.

3. Increased Consistency

A Salesforce release management suite supports consistent results because it offers the ability to accurately repeat methods and processes numerous times.

Consistency is difficult to achieve with a multi-developer team. However, pre-established quality assurance checkpoints will be able to bring everything together in a uniform fashion.

4. Standardized Strategies

A reliable and proven rubric by which to base your approach on saves your team time in the planning stage. Release management provides a set of tactics and tools that will be useful in every DevOps project, which can be improved over time.

Standardizing your release strategy allows your team members to become comfortable with the process and know what to expect. They are then able to focus on their tasks instead of the surrounding processes that will move the project forward.

5. Higher Release Velocity

A development pipeline optimized with a Salesforce release management suite won’t be bogged down by correcting past mistakes, allowing you to push updates through to deployment much faster.

Automating processes with DevOps tools will also contribute to shorter periods between planning a new update and releasing it. Large, labor-intensive quality checks and tests that would previously occupy a large amount of team member time can simply be automated and completed without failures.

Why Do I Need Salesforce Continuous Integration?

Automated processes are the best way to increase release velocity within your DevOps pipeline. Salesforce continuous integration (CI) is an integral aspect of incorporating automation that will also increase the quality of your releases.

Salesforce continuous integration is the development process that automatically integrates lines of code from multiple developers into a singular software release.

But what do you stand to gain from utilizing a tool like continuous integration?

Here are 7 benefits of incorporating Salesforce continuous integration into your DevOps pipeline:

1.      Reduced Cost

2.      Expanded Testing Capabilities

3.      Satisfied End User

4.      Repeatable Processes

5.      Faster Release Cycle

6.      Facilitates Continuous Delivery/Deployment

7.      Increased Confidence in Code Quality

1. Reduced Cost

Automated processes like Salesforce continuous integration reduce team member touchpoints. This allows them to focus on more pressing issues and reduces the overall amount of time they need to spend on the project, which equates to saved money through reduced labor hours.

2. Expanded Testing Capabilities

The reliability of your update or application is dependent on the reduction of bugs and errors. CI increases the reach of product testing by automatically checking updates to the code repository as they come in from various team members, increasing the breadth and consistency of these checks.

3. Satisfied End User

Increased testing, faster time to market, and more reliable updates and applications will all contribute to a singular benefit: the user at the end of the development process will have a better experience. This is the ultimate goal of all DevOps projects.

4. Repeatable Processes

A successful DevOps strategy is one that can be continually refined over time. Utilizing automated tools such as Salesforce continuous integration allows team members to set repeatable approaches to their tasks and update them as they learn more over time.

5. Faster Release Cycle

The ability to consistently get new products to your end users positions your company as a leader in your industry. Automated tools are faster than requiring manual processes from your team members. Utilizing as many automated tools as possible shortens production time and gets your DevOps projects in front of your end users much quicker.

6. Facilitates Continuous Delivery/Deployment

Salesforce continuous integration works alongside other powerful DevOps tools like continuous delivery and continuous deployment. In fact, these tools are often bundled together to ensure DevOps teams get the most from their efforts.

7. Increased Confidence in Code Quality

The quality of your code will impact functionality as well as overall data security. The testing stages of Salesforce continuous integration support higher code quality, which provides the confidence you need to introduce a new product to the market.