CI/CD: Build, Test, Deploy Training

CI/CD: Build, Test, Deploy is a hands-on DevOps training program designed to help professionals master modern software delivery automation. In today's fast-paced development environments, the ability to automate builds, testing, and deployments is essential for delivering reliable software at scale. This course provides practical knowledge of Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Delivery (CD), and Continuous Deployment (CDP) methodologies.

Participants will learn how to build robust automation pipelines using industry-standard tools such as GitHub Actions, Docker, and Ansible. Through guided labs, practical demonstrations, and real-world scenarios, learners will gain hands-on experience designing scalable, secure, and efficient CI/CD workflows.

By the end of the course, attendees will be capable of implementing end-to-end software delivery pipelines that improve deployment speed, software quality, and operational reliability.

To get the most value from this course, participants should have:

• Experience with software development
• Comfort working in terminal environments
• Knowledge of Git and GitHub
• Basic scripting skills (Shell, Python, or similar)
• Familiarity with software development workflows

Prior experience with Docker or Ansible is helpful but not required.

This course is ideal for:

• Software Developers
• DevOps Engineers
• Site Reliability Engineers (SREs)
• QA Engineers
• IT Operations Specialists
• Platform Engineers
• System Administrators
• Automation-focused IT professionals
• Teams building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

• Explain the business value of CI/CD.
• Differentiate between Continuous Integration, Delivery, and Deployment.
• Build automated pipelines using GitHub Actions.
• Implement automated testing workflows.
• Containerize applications using Docker.
• Automate deployments with Ansible.
• Secure CI/CD workflows using modern best practices.
• Apply monitoring and observability techniques.
• Design fully automated software delivery pipelines.

Introduction to DevOps

DevOps Fundamentals

• What is DevOps?
• DevOps culture and principles
• Software development lifecycle
• Traditional development versus DevOps
• Collaboration and automation culture
• Real-world DevOps use cases

Introduction to CI/CD

CI/CD Fundamentals

• Continuous Integration (CI)
• Continuous Delivery (CD)
• Continuous Deployment (CDP)
• Software delivery workflows
• Business value of automation
• Feedback loops
• CI/CD adoption challenges

CI/CD Tools and Architectures

• Pipeline architectures
• Workflow design
• Modern DevOps toolchains
• CI/CD ecosystems

CI/CD Pipeline Stages

Source Control Management

• Source code management
• Git workflows
• Branching strategies

Build Stage

• Purpose of the build process
• Compilation workflows
• Packaging applications
• Build automation techniques

Test Stage

• Automated testing approaches
• Unit testing
• Integration testing
• Managing test results

Release and Deployment

• Release management
• Environment management
• Deployment strategies
• Rollback mechanisms

Operations and Monitoring

• Operational workflows
• Monitoring systems
• Performance tracking
• Continuous improvement

GitHub Actions Automation

GitHub Actions Fundamentals

• GitHub Actions
• Workflow architecture
• Events and triggers
• YAML syntax
• Repository organization

Workflow Development

• Creating build workflows
• Pipeline design
• Logging and troubleshooting
• Workflow optimization

Docker and Containerization

Docker Fundamentals

• Docker Architecture
• Container technologies
• Container lifecycle management
• Docker ecosystem

Dockerfile Management

• Building Dockerfiles
• Image creation and tagging
• Registry management
• Container security best practices

Docker in CI/CD Pipelines

• Automated image creation
• Container deployments
• CI/CD integration strategies

Test Automation

Testing Strategies

• Types of testing
• Quality assurance principles
• Test automation methodologies

Testing Tools

• PyTest
• Jest
• GitHub Actions integration
• Test reporting and analytics

Deployment Automation

Deployment Concepts

• Deployment environments
• Release workflows
• Canary and Blue-Green deployments

GitHub Actions Deployments

• Automated deployments
• Docker image deployment
• Environment management

Ansible Automation

Ansible Fundamentals

• Ansible Architecture
• Inventory management
• SSH connectivity
• Playbook development

Deployment Scenarios

• Configuration management
• Application deployment
• Infrastructure automation

GitHub Actions and Ansible Integration

• Workflow integration
• dawidd6/action-ansible-playbook
• Secure secrets management
• Automated inventory handling

CI/CD Security

Pipeline Security

• DevSecOps practices
• Secure software delivery
• Security controls and validation

Secret Management

• GitHub Secrets
• Environment variables
• Credential management
• Avoiding hardcoded configurations

Compliance and Approvals

• Compliance controls
• Approval workflows
• Security governance

Monitoring and Best Practices

Monitoring Solutions

• Prometheus Fundamentals
• Pipeline monitoring
• Application performance monitoring
• Operational visibility

Performance Optimization

• Caching strategies
• Pipeline acceleration techniques
• Resource optimization
• Scalability best practices

CI/CD Best Practices

• Reliable deployment workflows
• Reducing deployment failures
• Automation standards
• Sustainable DevOps methodologies