Introduction

Neglecting key considerations when launching to production is like sitting on a ticking time bomb—eventually, something will go wrong. Without the right strategies and mindset, your deployment process can quickly turn into a disaster. Here are five classic missteps that can not only delay your launch but also severely impact your application's performance and reliability when it hits production.

1. Monolith in a Monolith

Description

Deploying a three-tiered monolith is a common approach because it’s straightforward and fast. However, when you move the entire stack—database, UI, and API—onto a single VM, it creates a significant risk in production.

Issue

This setup can lead to performance bottlenecks and makes it difficult to scale each component independently, potentially causing downtime or degraded performance under load.

What Usually Causes It

This mistake typically happens when there’s no experienced architect or cloud specialist involved to properly design the deployment architecture. Developers, under pressure to deliver quickly, might replicate their local environment in production without considering scalability and reliability.

Suggestion

Break down the monolith by deploying each layer (DB, UI, API) separately. Use cloud services to scale each layer independently according to the demands of production.

2. Leaving Your Data Security to Luck

Description

Ignoring data security measures, such as backups and disaster recovery plans, leaves your application vulnerable to data loss and prolonged outages.

Issue

Without backups or recovery plans, an unexpected outage or data corruption could result in significant downtime and potential loss of critical data, affecting your users and your business.

What Usually Causes It

This issue arises when teams focus solely on delivering software quickly, without planning for worst-case scenarios. There’s often a false sense of security, relying too heavily on the cloud provider to handle everything.

Suggestion

Implement a comprehensive data backup strategy and disaster recovery plan. Utilize cloud-native tools to automate these processes, ensuring your data is secure and recoverable in the event of a failure.

3. Too Afraid to Use Cloud-Native Tools

Description

Avoiding cloud-native services due to fear of vendor lock-in can hinder your team’s efficiency and the robustness of your application.

Issue

By not leveraging cloud-native tools, you miss out on optimized performance, easier scalability, and deeper integration with the cloud platform, potentially leading to higher costs and less reliable infrastructure.

What Usually Causes It

This often happens when decision-makers are overly cautious about long-term commitments to a single cloud provider, preferring to use open-source or cloud-agnostic tools even when they may not be the best fit.

Suggestion

Evaluate cloud-native tools on their merits and use them where they offer significant advantages. Remember that switching services is challenging regardless of the tools used, so prioritize what will make your software robust and your team more efficient.

4. Skipping Automated Testing and CI/CD

Description

Neglecting automated testing and CI/CD pipelines can lead to inconsistent deployments and increased risk of bugs reaching production.

Issue

Without automated testing, errors can slip through the cracks, and without a CI/CD pipeline, deployments become manual, error-prone, and difficult to reproduce, leading to instability in production.

What Usually Causes It

Teams often skip setting up these processes due to time constraints or the perception that manual processes are sufficient, particularly in the early stages of development.

Suggestion

Invest early in establishing CI/CD pipelines and automated testing. This ensures reliable, repeatable deployments and catches issues before they reach production.

5. Neglecting Load Testing

Description

Forgoing load testing before going live is a risky move that can result in your application crashing under real-world usage.

Issue

Without load testing, you have no way of knowing how your application will perform under stress. This can lead to unexpected downtime and a poor user experience when your app is unable to handle the load.

What Usually Causes It

This issue typically arises from overconfidence in the application’s performance or a lack of resources to simulate real-world traffic during testing.

Suggestion

Conduct thorough load testing in an environment that closely mirrors production. Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks before they cause issues in a live environment.

By avoiding these common pitfalls, you can ensure a smoother transition to production and a more resilient application. Address these issues early, and your journey to production will be far less perilous.