General rule: The fewer environments a web app has, the better
General rule: The fewer environments a web app has, the better.
Why? Environments = overhead.
Environments are a sign of manual processes. They exist to support unpredictable, slow, manual checks.
The solution?
1. Automate checks
2. Continuously deploy
Clarification: Pre-prod environments aren't bad. But many pre-prod environments with manual checks often is.
Result:
More WIP
Fewer deploys
Slower feedback
Batching and management overhead
Summary: Robust automation + CD can eliminate the need for many pre-prod environments.
A related principle:
Treat environments like cattle, not pets.
Environments are ideally short-lived, created automatically for a specific purpose, and torn down automatically after a short period.
Example: Automatically deploy each branch to a separate URL to support review.