Outer Loop - CI/CD Glossary Definition
The outer loop starts when code leaves the developer machine: pull request, CI, review, merge, and release.
The outer loop is the cycle that begins when a developer shares code: pull request, CI checks, review, merge, and deploy.
The outer loop is where collaboration and integration happen. Its latency is largely CI and review time.
In CI
CI pipelines are the automated core of the outer loop; their duration directly sets how long a change waits before it can merge.
Related guides
Inner Loop - CI/CD Glossary DefinitionInner Loop: The inner loop is the fast, local cycle a developer repeats while coding: edit, build, run, and t…
Feedback Loop - CI/CD Glossary DefinitionFeedback Loop: A feedback loop is the cycle between making a change and learning whether it worked; shorter l…
Lead Time - CI/CD Glossary DefinitionLead Time: Lead time for changes is a DORA metric measuring the elapsed time from a code commit to that chang…