It's OK to push to Production on Friday!

Summary

In this video, DK Martin from Codopinion.com challenges the widely held belief that pushing code to production on Fridays is risky. He argues that the context of each organization and system matters and that deploying on Fridays might actually impact fewer users, depending on usage patterns. Martin emphasizes that deployments should be safe regardless of the day, and that the real issue lies in whether the deployment process itself is risky. He concludes that while some teams may avoid Friday deployments, others should consider deploying every day if possible, based on their unique context.

Takeaways

• 😀 Context matters when deciding whether to deploy on Fridays—it's not a one-size-fits-all rule.
• 😀 The common advice 'don't deploy on Fridays' is based on the assumption that teams work Monday to Friday and are unavailable on weekends.
• 😀 Deploying on Fridays may not be as risky as it's often portrayed, especially if the system usage is low over the weekend.
• 😀 The decision to deploy during the week (Monday to Thursday) is often about minimizing disruption during active working hours.
• 😀 In some cases, deploying on Friday could actually affect fewer users if the system is more active during weekdays than weekends.
• 😀 A good deployment process should minimize risks, making it safe to deploy any day, including Fridays.
• 😀 Organizations should be able to deploy to production on any day, as long as they have the right processes in place.
• 😀 The risk of deploying on Fridays is often overstated, as the deployment process can be made reliable with proper safeguards.
• 😀 The pushback against deploying on Fridays is based on the idea that developers are unavailable over the weekend, but this isn't always the case.
• 😀 The advice against deploying on Fridays should be taken with a grain of salt, as the best deployment day depends on specific organizational context.
• 😀 DK encourages viewers to share their own deployment practices and experiences to further the conversation about best practices.

Q & A

Why do people generally advise against pushing to production on Fridays?

The advice against deploying on Fridays is primarily based on the idea that if something goes wrong, developers may not be available to fix issues over the weekend, which could lead to prolonged downtime or customer dissatisfaction.

What assumption does the advice of avoiding Friday deployments rely on?

The advice assumes that your team operates on a traditional Monday-to-Friday work schedule, and that your customers are likely to be using the system over the weekend when your team isn’t available to respond to issues.

Why does the speaker challenge the advice to never deploy on Fridays?

The speaker challenges this advice by suggesting that not all organizations follow a Monday-to-Friday workweek, and that the nature of the system and its user base should influence the decision. In some cases, deploying on Friday may actually impact fewer users.

How does the type of system (internal vs. public-facing) affect deployment decisions?

For internal systems or systems with lower usage on weekends, deploying on Fridays might be less risky since fewer users will be affected by any potential issues. In contrast, public-facing systems with global users may require more caution around deployment timing.

What does the speaker mean when they say, 'Context matters' in deployment decisions?

'Context matters' means that deployment decisions should be based on the specific circumstances of the system, the team's workflow, and user behavior, rather than following blanket advice that doesn’t account for these variables.

What are the potential risks of deploying on days when developers are not available?

The main risk is that if something goes wrong after deployment, there might not be enough resources available to quickly fix the issue, leading to potential downtime, user dissatisfaction, or a delayed response.

What is the speaker's stance on whether you should be able to deploy every day?

The speaker believes that ideally, deployment should be possible every day, but only if the underlying processes are robust enough to ensure that deployments are not risky, regardless of the day of the week.

What does the speaker say about process in relation to deployments?

The speaker stresses that a solid deployment process is key to ensuring that deployments are safe and manageable, meaning that with the right process, deployments can be done at any time without unnecessary risk.

What factors may affect the frequency and timing of deployments in different industries?

Factors like compliance requirements, industry-specific regulations, system downtime risks, and the availability of developers or support teams can all influence the frequency and timing of deployments. Not every organization operates in an environment where quick, daily deployments are possible.

What is the significance of the speaker’s poll about how often people push to production?

The poll highlights the variability in deployment practices across different industries, emphasizing that there's no universal answer to how often one should deploy to production. The frequency of deployments can depend on factors like system type, user needs, and organizational constraints.