Continuous Integration — that’s not what they meant

Wednesday 7th May 2025, 6:30 pm.

Speaker: Clare Sudbery

Venue: Edinburgh Training & Conference Venue, 16 St Mary’s Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SU

Refreshments and networking from 6:00 pm.

This event is free of charge and open to all, though registration is required.

Register

Synopsis

Many teams are practising continuous integration, or at least that’s the language they use. There are other terms in use too, such as continuous delivery and continuous deployment. The exact distinction between these terms depends on who you ask. But the big question is, just how continuous is it really?

Trunk-based development (TBD) is a powerful yet under-used technique for tightening the user feedback loop, lowering risk and minimizing the gap between coding and deployment. It’s a major component of good deployment practice, and many argue that anything other than trunk-based development does not technically qualify as continuous integration. But many developers are either not sure what TBD is, or do not feel able to use it.

This talk digs into the detail and the benefits of trunk-based development, and gives practical advice on how to make good use of the technique.

Takeaways
• What trunk-based development actually means
• The connection between continuous integration and trunk-based development
• The key practices and skills needed to make trunk-based development work
• How to gradually move towards better continuous integration, even if trunk-based development is not your goal

About the speaker