Continuous delivery (CD) is a software development practice that enables developers to release small but frequent software updates reliably and safely. Closely linked to the broader DevOps cultural movement, CD consists of a set of practices that aim to automate and streamline the software delivery process. These practices, in turn, allow developer teams to innovate faster by collecting regular user feedback and prioritising the product features and fixes that matter. But to what extent, really, have developers embraced continuous delivery practices and the DevOps culture to increase the effectiveness of their software development and release process?

In this report, commissioned by the Continuous Delivery Foundation(CDF) and authored by SlashData, we explore the current state of the CD developer ecosystem and how this has evolved over the past year and a half. We will look at what proportion of developers are involved in the broader DevOps space and how many work with continuous delivery technologies in particular.

Moreover, we will see how developers’ software delivery performance has changed over time. Finally, we will explore how developers’engagement with modern cloud technologies, such as microservices and containers, and the breadth of their DevOps tool and technology usage contribute to software delivery performance.The findings in this report are based on data from SlashData’s past four Developer Nation surveys, which reached more than 70,000respondents worldwide over 18 months, from Q3 2020 to Q1 2022