Checklist for Before You Deploy Your Software

Deploying your software is a big deal. It's the culmination of months, sometimes even years of hard work and development. You need to make sure that everything goes smoothly and that you've done everything right! 

In this blog post, we go over some things you should do before deploying any software so you can avoid potential headaches down the road.

Steps To Tick Off Your Checklist Before Deployment

1. Double-check your Kubernetes registry and configuration files: kubeconfig, kubelet config, and Kubernetes unit files.

2. Make sure your Kubernetes deployment is functioning correctly by making a simple change to the existing configuration file to see if it picks up any errors. You can use something like minikube or even deploy directly onto Kubernetes to speed this process along!

3. Deployed software should be thoroughly tested and verified before being deployed into production environments (even staging). You might ask yourself: do I have monitoring in place? Is my application logging at all levels of detail, including error logs and user activity? Do I test locally using integration tests

4. Make sure your code is ready to go: This one might seem obvious, but make sure your code is ready to be deployed. Check for any errors and fix them before you go any further. Here is the checklist to ensure your code is ready to go to deployment:

a. Code is well written and formatted

b. No errors or warnings in the code

c. Functions are appropriately named and documented

d. All dependencies are satisfied

e. Test cases have been written, and all tests pass

f. Code is compatible with the latest version of the software

5. Did you do performance testing on it? Is the software scalable and performant enough for production use cases where many users will use it simultaneously or concurrently?

6. Are there any security holes in your application that could compromise user information upon release (think about SQLi, XSS attacks)? Ensure everything is well protected with the latest fixes from our trusted source: the CVE database. You can even automate this process by correlating releases with vulnerabilities and automating deployments based on these changes! This way, nothing slips through the cracks because someone forgot to check something in their PRs before merging them into the master branch.

7. Automate your deployments! Automation will help ensure that everything goes smoothly and predictably. There are a lot of great tools out there to help you with this, like Puppet, Chef, Ansible, etc. We won't go into too much detail here, but these tools can help take the load off your team when it comes time for deployment.

8. Make sure you have adequate resources allocated for your production environment! If you're not careful, you could create trouble for yourself and end up bottlenecking yourself and bringing your entire operation to a halt. Plan ahead and make sure you have enough computing, storage, and networking resources in place before deploying anything live.

9. Create a plan: This is arguably the most essential step. Make sure you have a solid plan in place detailing everything that needs to happen when you deploy your software. Include things like how long the deployment will take, what steps need to be followed, and who will be responsible for each task.

10. Test it out: Once your code is ready and your plan is in place, it's time to test things out. Run through different testing scenarios you can think of and make sure everything works as expected. Try to break your application and see if you can find any vulnerabilities or security issues.

11. Make sure to test from a user's perspective too! Try doing things like logging in as different users, opening up the software on various devices (mobile phones, etc.), and making sure everything looks suitable for non-technical people who don't know anything about how computers work or what stack they're running. This will ensure there are no apparent bugs or usability issues when it comes time to deploy your app into production environments where anyone could be using it at once.

12. If something breaks during testing, fix those errors before continuing onto deployment steps outlined below   - Do not release: Even after proper testing has been done, do not rush into releasing just yet! 

Finally, get approval. Before actually deploying your software, get approval from the necessary parties. This should include your manager and the relevant client contacts or stakeholders depending on who is paying you to develop this software in the first place. Make sure they are happy with everything before pressing that button!