Think through what a typical week looks like for you. Maybe you’re pulling down pull requests to review, sending out builds for an internal team to test, keeping tickets up-to-date, or signing and distributing builds to clients or the App Store (maybe all of the above?). How much time would be released back to your week if these tasks were automated? This talk will explore how Float has successfully automated many components of its workflow using Jenkins. We’ve enjoyed improved team communication, faster releases, and fewer bugs being released into the wild since adding Jenkins to the team. It has even begun submitting its own pull requests to our code bases.

1. Copyright © 2016 Float. All rights reserved.www.gowithfloat.com
Automating Your Workflow
Daniel Pfeiffer • @mediabounds

2. Copyright © 2016 Float. All rights reserved.www.gowithfloat.com
Meet Floatbot

3. Copyright © 2016 Float. All rights reserved.www.gowithfloat.com
Lay of the Land
Git
Source Control
(We roughly follow
git-flow as our
branching strategy)
Assembla
Ticket Management
(also hosts our git
repositories)
Slack
Facilitates team
communication
HockeyApp
Distributes builds
internally and
externally
Jenkins
Automation server

4. Copyright © 2016 Float. All rights reserved.www.gowithfloat.com
An effective automated workflow
works where your developers work.

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Jenkins

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An automated workflow goes
beyond generating builds;
it facilitates team communication.

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You don't need a fancy set of
servers or hardware to begin
automating your workflow.

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Installing Jenkins

9. Copyright © 2016 Float. All rights reserved.www.gowithfloat.com
Installing Jenkins

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Installing Jenkins

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Installing Jenkins

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Jenkins Overview

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Jenkins Overview
Node Node

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Jenkins Overview
Node
Executer
Executer
Node
Executer
Executer

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Jenkins Overview
Node
Executer
Executer
Job
Node
Executer
Executer
Job
Job
Job

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Jenkins Overview
Node
Executer
Executer
Job
Node
Executer
Executer
Job
JobJob

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Jenkins Overview
Node
Executer
Job
All you need to get started is
one node and one executor.

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Plugins
• Assembla merge request builder
• Build Monitor View
• Checkstyle Plug-in
• Environment Injector Plugin
• Git plugin
• Google Play Android Publisher Plugin
• Gradle Plugin
• HockeyApp Plugin
• JUnit Plugin
• Managed Scripts
• promoted builds plugins
• Slack Notification Plugin
• Static Analysis Collector Plug-in
• Task Scanner Plug-in
• Warnings Plug-in
• Xcode integration
and many, many more

19. Copyright © 2016 Float. All rights reserved.www.gowithfloat.com
Demo
Creating a job in Jenkins

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Three Types of Jobs

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The CI Job (Continuous Integration)
• Triggered automatically when a merge request is opened
• Performs a static analysis and runs all available tests
• Generates a .ipa file and links to it in the merge request
• Upvotes or downvotes the merge request based on result
Provides an immediate review of new code
and allows human reviews to be be focused
on logic and not on style.
1

22. Copyright © 2016 Float. All rights reserved.www.gowithfloat.com
An aside: Code Reviews
• We are a team
• Every line of code should be seen by at least two humans
• No one is individually responsible for shipping a broken app
• We are a team of experts
• Each member offers unique perspectives on how to solve problems
• Builds shared knowledge throughout the team

23. Copyright © 2016 Float. All rights reserved.www.gowithfloat.com
The Nightly Job
• Triggered automatically each night
(if there are new commits)
• Performs a static analysis and runs all available tests
• Uploads build to HockeyApp and sends to team
• Updates tickets impacted by the build
• Posts notifications in Slack
Provides the QA team with an always up-to-date
build so that feedback loops are short.
2

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The Nightly Job
• Triggered manually requiring release notes to be entered
• Automatically waits for QA team to approve nightly
• Re-signs nightly build using client’s distribution certificate
• Uploads build to HockeyApp and sends to client
• Posts notifications in Slack
Provides clients transparency to the progress
of the project with frequent beta builds.
2
Promoted

25. Copyright © 2016 Float. All rights reserved.www.gowithfloat.com
The Release Job
• Triggered manually when client approves builds
• Requires build parameters for version and release notes
• Uploads debug symbols to HockeyApp
• Distributes build via App Store or MAM
• Posts notifications in Slack
Reduces the effort of shipping to users so we can
rapidly add new features or respond to bugs.
3

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Having an automated workflow
is not like having an employee...
it's more like having a puppy.

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Tips for Effective Automation

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Use the Release build configuration1

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Verify your App ID settings2

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Verify your App ID settings2

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Publish and track build warnings3
Warnings plugin

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Build warnings eventually
become build errors.

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Scan source files for TODO or FIXME4
Task Scanner plugin

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Scan source files for TODO or FIXME4
Task Scanner plugin

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Scan source files for TODO or FIXME4
Task Scanner plugin

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Implement a static analysis process5
Analysis Collector plugin

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Mark substandard builds as unstable6

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An effective automated workflow
focuses on providing clear,
detailed information.

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Beyond Automated Builds

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It is important to truly understand a
process before it can be automated.

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Daniel Pfeiffer • @mediabounds