.. _adaptive-cadence:

=================
Adaptive Cadence
=================

Ship when ready. Feature flags, CI, and tests replace calendar-driven delivery.

Beyond Time-Boxed Releases
===========================

Traditional software development follows fixed release schedules:

* Sprint ends → Release happens
* Features ready or not, the calendar decides
* Incomplete work gets rushed or punted
* Quality suffers under deadline pressure
* Teams optimize for dates, not value

**The RAD Alternative:** Ship continuously when features are truly ready, not when the calendar says so.

The Problem with Calendar-Driven Delivery
==========================================

**Artificial Deadlines Create Waste**

When releases happen on fixed dates:

* **Last-minute scrambling** - "We have to ship by Friday!"
* **Cut corners** - Skipping tests to meet deadlines
* **Feature bloat** - Forcing partial features into releases
* **Burnout** - Crunch time every sprint end
* **Delay costs** - Waiting weeks for next release window

**Example:**

.. code-block:: text

   Traditional 2-Week Sprint:
   
   Day 1-8:   Normal development pace
   Day 9-11:  Scramble to finish "committed" work
   Day 12:    Code freeze, stabilization panic
   Day 13:    Sprint review (demo half-finished features)
   Day 14:    Sprint retro + planning for next sprint
   
   Result: Stressed team, uneven quality, artificial urgency

Continuous Delivery in RAD
===========================

RAD embraces **adaptive cadence**—shipping when features are ready:

**Core Enablers:**

1. **Feature Flags** - Deploy code without exposing features
2. **Continuous Integration** - Automated testing on every commit
3. **Automated Testing** - Comprehensive test coverage
4. **Monitoring & Telemetry** - Real-time production insights
5. **Rollback Capabilities** - Quick recovery from issues

The result: **Deploy daily, release strategically.**

How It Works: Feature Flags
============================

Feature flags decouple deployment from release:

**Deploy Dark**

.. code-block:: javascript

   // Code deployed to production but not visible
   if (featureFlags.isEnabled('new-checkout-flow')) {
     return <NewCheckoutFlow />;
   } else {
     return <OldCheckoutFlow />;
   }

**Gradual Rollout**

.. code-block:: text

   New Checkout Flow Rollout:
   
   Day 1: Enable for internal team (10 users)
   - Monitor: Error rates, performance, feedback
   
   Day 2: Enable for beta users (100 users)
   - Monitor: Conversion rate, user behavior
   
   Day 5: Enable for 10% of users (1,000 users)
   - Monitor: A/B test results, metrics comparison
   
   Day 10: Enable for 50% of users (5,000 users)
   - Confirm: No regressions, positive metrics
   
   Day 15: Enable for 100% of users (10,000 users)
   - Decision: Full rollout or adjust based on data

**Quick Rollback**

.. code-block:: text

   Issue Detected: Payment processing error spike
   
   Action: Disable feature flag "new-checkout-flow"
   Time to rollback: 30 seconds
   Impact: Zero downtime, users revert to stable version
   
   vs. Traditional Release:
   Time to rollback: 2-4 hours (redeploy previous version)
   Impact: Extended downtime, customer complaints

Continuous Integration & Testing
=================================

Every code change goes through automated validation:

**CI Pipeline (Every Commit)**

.. code-block:: text

   Commit pushed to GitHub
        ↓
   1. Automated tests run (30 seconds)
      - Unit tests
      - Integration tests
      - Linting and type checking
        ↓
   2. Build & compilation (1 minute)
      - Create production bundle
      - Optimize assets
        ↓
   3. Deploy to staging (2 minutes)
      - Automatic deployment
      - Smoke tests run
        ↓
   4. Ready for production (manual or automated)
      - One-click deployment
      - Feature flag controlled
   
   Total time: ~4 minutes from commit to staging

**Test Coverage Requirements**

.. code-block:: text

   Quality Gates (Enforced by CI):
   
   ✅ Unit test coverage: >80%
   ✅ Integration tests: All critical paths
   ✅ No linting errors
   ✅ Type safety: 100%
   ✅ Security scan: No high/critical issues
   ✅ Performance: No regressions >5%
   
   If any gate fails: Deployment blocked

Ship When Ready, Not When Scheduled
====================================

Features ship based on **readiness**, not calendar:

**Readiness Criteria**

.. list-table::
   :widths: 30 70
   :header-rows: 1

   * - **Criterion**
     - **How We Verify**
   * - **Functionality**
     - All acceptance criteria met and tested
   * - **Quality**
     - Tests pass, code reviewed, no known bugs
   * - **Performance**
     - Load tested, meets SLA requirements
   * - **Security**
     - Vulnerability scan passed, security review complete
   * - **Documentation**
     - User docs written, API docs updated
   * - **Monitoring**
     - Telemetry in place, alerts configured
   * - **Rollback Plan**
     - Feature flag or rollback procedure defined

**Example: Feature Release Timeline**

.. code-block:: text

   "Mobile Push Notifications" Feature:
   
   Jan 5:  Development started
   Jan 12: Code complete, deployed to staging (feature flag OFF)
   Jan 15: QA testing in staging environment
   Jan 17: Found edge case bug, fix deployed
   Jan 19: QA sign-off, ready for production
   Jan 20: Deployed to production (feature flag OFF)
   Jan 21: Enabled for internal team (20 users)
   Jan 23: Enabled for 5% of users (500 users)
   Jan 26: Monitoring shows great metrics
   Jan 27: Enabled for 100% of users (10,000 users)
   
   Total: 22 days from start to full release
   Actual "release" spread over 7 days
   Zero customer impact from issues

Multiple Cadences Coexist
==========================

Different types of work have different cadences:

**Fast: Hotfixes & Bug Fixes**

.. code-block:: text

   Critical bug reported → Fixed → Tested → Deployed
   Timeline: Hours (same day)
   
   Process:
   - Fix developed and tested
   - Reviewed by one other developer
   - Deployed directly to production
   - Monitored closely for 24 hours

**Medium: Features**

.. code-block:: text

   Feature developed → Staged → Tested → Gradual rollout
   Timeline: Days to weeks
   
   Process:
   - Developed with feature flag
   - Comprehensive testing in staging
   - Gradual production rollout
   - Monitor metrics and feedback
   - Full rollout when validated

**Slow: Architectural Changes**

.. code-block:: text

   Architecture change → Tested → Validated → Migrated
   Timeline: Weeks to months
   
   Process:
   - Extensive design and review
   - Parallel systems during migration
   - Comprehensive testing
   - Incremental migration
   - Decommission old system when safe

Real-World Benefits
===================

**Faster Time to Value**

.. code-block:: text

   Traditional Approach:
   - Feature ready on Day 8 of 14-day sprint
   - Waits until Day 14 to ship
   - Lost value: 6 days
   
   RAD Approach:
   - Feature ready on Day 8
   - Deployed to production Day 8 (flag OFF)
   - Enabled for users Day 9
   - Lost value: 1 day

**Reduced Risk**

.. code-block:: text

   Traditional Big Release:
   - 20 features ship simultaneously
   - If issue found, hard to identify cause
   - Rollback requires redeploying entire release
   
   RAD Continuous Release:
   - Features ship independently when ready
   - Issues isolated to specific feature
   - Rollback via feature flag (instant)

**Better Work-Life Balance**

.. code-block:: text

   Traditional End-of-Sprint Crunch:
   - Late nights to meet Friday deadline
   - Weekend work to stabilize release
   - Stressful "feature freeze" period
   
   RAD Flow:
   - Steady pace throughout
   - Ship when truly ready
   - No artificial urgency

Current Capabilities in Buildly Labs
=====================================

**Feature Flag Management**

* Toggle features on/off instantly
* Percentage-based rollouts
* User segment targeting
* A/B testing integration
* Rollback history and tracking

**CI/CD Integration**

* GitHub Actions workflows
* GitLab CI/CD pipelines
* Automated test execution
* Staging environment provisioning
* One-click production deployment

**Deployment Monitoring**

* Real-time error tracking
* Performance monitoring
* User behavior analytics
* Automatic alerting
* Deployment history and comparison

**Release Management**

* Release notes auto-generation
* Deployment tracking dashboard
* Rollback procedures documented
* Changelog maintenance
* Customer notification templates

Coming Soon: Enhanced Deployment Features
==========================================

**🚀 In Development:**

**Intelligent Release Timing**

AI suggests optimal release times:

* Based on user activity patterns
* Avoiding peak usage hours
* Considering timezone distribution
* Coordinating with marketing events

**Automated Rollback**

AI-powered automatic rollback:

* Detects anomalies in production
* Compares metrics to baseline
* Automatically disables feature flags
* Notifies team of rollback action
* Provides analysis of what went wrong

**Canary Deployments**

Sophisticated gradual rollout:

* Automatic traffic shifting
* Real-time metric comparison
* Automatic promotion or rollback
* Multi-environment testing
* Progressive delivery pipelines

**Release Impact Prediction**

Before releasing, AI predicts:

* Expected user adoption rate
* Potential performance impact
* Risk assessment based on code changes
* Optimal rollout strategy
* Resource requirements

.. note::
   See :doc:`../automation/future-enhancements` for detailed roadmap.

Best Practices for Adaptive Cadence
====================================

**1. Invest in Automation**

Make deployment painless:

* Comprehensive automated testing
* CI/CD pipelines for all projects
* Infrastructure as code
* Automated rollback procedures

**2. Use Feature Flags Liberally**

Don't wait for "special cases":

* Flag all new features by default
* Keep flags simple and well-documented
* Clean up old flags regularly
* Use flags for gradual rollouts

**3. Monitor Everything**

You can only ship fast if you know things work:

* Application performance monitoring
* Error tracking and alerting
* User behavior analytics
* Business metrics dashboards

**4. Build Rollback Confidence**

Practice makes perfect:

* Test rollback procedures regularly
* Document rollback steps
* Use feature flags for instant rollback
* Maintain deployment history

**5. Shift Quality Left**

Catch issues early:

* Write tests as you code
* Run tests on every commit
* Code review before merge
* Staging environment validation

The Freedom of Continuous Delivery
===================================

When you can ship any time, you gain:

* **Flexibility** - Respond to urgent needs immediately
* **Confidence** - Small changes are less risky
* **Speed** - Value reaches users faster
* **Quality** - No pressure to cut corners for deadlines
* **Innovation** - Experiment without fear

**The RAD Promise:** Ship daily, release strategically, sleep soundly.

.. seealso::

   * :doc:`flow-over-frameworks` - How adaptive cadence enables better flow
   * :doc:`../automation/deployment-tools` - Deployment automation tools
   * :doc:`../automation/current-capabilities` - Current CI/CD capabilities