Which statement best describes the difference between Continuous Delivery and Continuous Deployment?

Which statement best describes the difference between Continuous Delivery and Continuous Deployment?

• A. Continuous Delivery automatically deploys to production; Continuous Deployment requires manual release.
• B. Continuous Delivery means code is always in a releasable state and can be released with a manual trigger; Continuous Deployment means changes are automatically released to production.
• C. They are the same.
• D. Continuous Delivery means there is no testing; Continuous Deployment means there is testing.

Answer: (D)

Release control is what differentiates them. In Continuous Delivery, the codebase is kept in a releasable state at all times, but releasing to production is triggered manually when you decide it’s the right moment. In Continuous Deployment, every change that passes automated tests and quality checks is automatically deployed to production without a manual release step. This distinction hinges on who initiates the production release, not on whether testing occurs—testing is a core part of both approaches, but the manual versus automatic release decision is what sets them apart.

Release control is what differentiates them. In Continuous Delivery, the codebase is kept in a releasable state at all times, but releasing to production is triggered manually when you decide it’s the right moment. In Continuous Deployment, every change that passes automated tests and quality checks is automatically deployed to production without a manual release step. This distinction hinges on who initiates the production release, not on whether testing occurs—testing is a core part of both approaches, but the manual versus automatic release decision is what sets them apart.