In the context of release management and DevOps, a pipeline is the specific term for the automated workflow that moves a software change from its initial implementation to production. This process typically includes stages for building the code, automated code review and analysis, various testing phases (unit, integration, security), and finally, deployment. The pipeline automates this entire sequence, ensuring consistency, speed, and reliability in software delivery, which directly matches the process described in the question.

A. Iteration: An iteration is a time-boxed development cycle within an agile framework (e.g., a sprint), not the automated deployment process itself.

B. Baseline: A baseline is a fixed, formally reviewed version of a product or configuration item that serves as a point of reference for future development.

D. Framework: A framework is a set of guiding principles, best practices, and tools, not the specific, automated workflow for releasing code.

1. Google Cloud Documentation. (n.d.). DevOps tech: Continuous integration. Google Cloud. Retrieved from https://cloud.google.com/devops/tech/continuous-integration.

Reference Point: In the "What is continuous integration?" section

it states

"CI is the first step in the path to production

which is often visualized as a pipeline. A pipeline is a series of automated steps that your code changes must pass through on their way to production."

2. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Documentation. (n.d.). What is a CI/CD Pipeline? AWS. Retrieved from https://aws.amazon.com/devops/ci-cd-pipeline/.

Reference Point: The document defines

"A CI/CD pipeline is a series of steps that must be performed in order to deliver a new version of software. CI/CD pipelines are a practice focused on improving software delivery throughout the software development life cycle via automation."

3. Jabbari

R.

bin Ali

N.

Petersen

K.

& Tanveer

B. (2016). What is DevOps? A Systematic Mapping Study on Definitions and Practices. 2016 23rd Asia-Pacific Software Engineering Conference (APSEC)

395-402. https://doi.org/10.1109/APSEC.2016.068

Reference Point: In Section IV

Part A

"Practices

" the paper defines the Deployment Pipeline as "an automated process for managing all changes

from check-in to release." This confirms the academic definition of a pipeline as the end-to-end automated process.