An important automation tool, a CI/CD pipeline is the delivery conveyor belt of the software product team. It can be used to run all kinds of processes against the latest version of the codebase, triggered by changes in the source code repository. So, above and beyond building the code and deploying it, it is also a way of shifting validation and testing left - from the end of a release cycle or iteration to every push of new code changes.

To that end, it encompasses two distinct concepts: Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Delivery (CD.)

Continuous Integration refers to the testing of new changes in integration with the existing system, while Continuous Delivery means the practice of deploying the changes to a User Acceptance Testing environment and on to Production in as automated a fashion as possible.

A CI/CD pipeline like SHIP Gitlab can facilitate the entire automation workflow triggered from the source code repository, and has templates available to shift security and compliance left.