HKSM

A practice where every code change that passes automated checks is pushed to production automatically, with no human approval step.

Key Points

• Each validated commit flows straight to production via an automated pipeline.
• Requires strong automated tests, security scans, monitoring, feature flags, and quick rollback.
• Different from continuous delivery, which keeps code ready to deploy but typically needs a manual release decision.
• Works best with small batch sizes and reliable pipelines; track DORA metrics like lead time, deployment frequency, change failure rate, and MTTR.

Example

A product team uses trunk-based development. Every merge triggers unit, integration, and security tests plus policy checks. If all pass, the pipeline deploys the change to production behind a feature flag. The Scrum Master monitors dashboards and error budgets, and the team can instantly roll back or toggle flags if issues appear.

PMP Example Question

A team wants every change that passes automated tests and security checks to be released to production without waiting for a manual approval. Which practice best describes this approach?

1. Continuous Integration
2. Continuous Deployment
3. Continuous Delivery
4. Release Management

Correct Answer: B — Continuous deployment

Explanation: Continuous deployment automatically releases each validated change to production, unlike continuous delivery which normally requires a manual approval to release.