18.9 Continuous Integration

Continuous integration has both advantages and disadvantages. The primary disadvantage is that it can disrupt the development process. A cost is always incurred when you are developing a component and are suddenly forced to deal with integration issues. The advantages, however, outweigh the disadvantages in this case because you can deal with integration issues while the consequences of integration decisions are still fresh in your mind. Continuous integration can also reduce schedule risk resulting from failures to identify integration issues that may cause significant rework to one or more components .