1. Introduction & Overview

✅ What is Production Readiness Review?

Production Readiness Review (PRR) is a formal checkpoint or assessment conducted before a software system, feature, or infrastructure is deployed to production. It ensures that the product is stable, secure, scalable, and operable under real-world conditions.

It addresses key concerns like:

• Is the system secure?
• Are there monitoring and alerting in place?
• Does it meet compliance and availability requirements?

Think of PRR as the last gate before pushing code live — the ultimate validation of Dev + Sec + Ops working together.

🕰️ History & Background

• Originated from ITIL and traditional change management practices.
• Adopted widely in large enterprises and cloud-native environments.
• PRRs evolved from manual checklists to automated pipelines in modern DevSecOps setups.

🔐 Why is PRR Relevant in DevSecOps?

PRR aligns security, operability, and deployment confidence in a shared DevSecOps culture:

DevSecOps Pillar	PRR Contribution
Development	Validates readiness of code, APIs
Security	Ensures vulnerability scans passed
Operations	Confirms logging, monitoring, HA

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2. Core Concepts & Terminology

🧩 Key Terms and Definitions

Term	Definition
PRR Checklist	A structured set of readiness questions
Go/No-Go Decision	Outcome of PRR review process
Operational Readiness	State where systems are monitored, scalable, and fault-tolerant
Compliance Validation	Legal or policy checks (e.g., GDPR, SOC 2)
Rollback Strategy	Plan to revert in case of failure

🔄 How It Fits into DevSecOps Lifecycle

graph TD;
  A[Code Commit] --> B[CI Pipeline];
  B --> C[Security Scanning];
  C --> D[PRR Evaluation];
  D -->|Go| E[CD to Production];
  D -->|No-Go| F[Fix Issues];

• Happens after CI and before deployment.
• Involves cross-functional review (Dev, Sec, Ops, QA, SRE).

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3. Architecture & How It Works

🧱 Components

• PRR Engine (manual or automated)
• Checklist Repository (YAML/Markdown/Google Form)
• Approval Workflow (Slack, Jira, GitHub PR, ServiceNow)
• Gate Logic (blocks deployment if failed)

⚙️ Internal Workflow

1. Trigger PRR during CI/CD (e.g., post-success of staging tests).
2. Populate checklist (automated + manual inputs).
3. Review & Approve by stakeholders (DevSecOps).
4. Gate control determines Go/No-Go for deployment.

🧭 Architecture Diagram

(Descriptive format for text-based guide)

CI/CD Pipeline
    |
    v
[PRR Trigger Step]
    |
    +--> Pull automated metrics (e.g., test coverage, vulnerabilities)
    +--> Notify reviewers via Slack/Jira
    |
    v
[Manual Review/Approval]
    |
    +--> Approve/Reject decision
    |
    v
[Deploy to Production OR Reject]

🔗 Integration Points with DevSecOps Tooling

Tool	Integration Example
GitHub Actions	PRR step in workflow.yaml
Jenkins	Post-build PRR stage
Jira/ServiceNow	Approval workflows
Slack/Teams	PRR decision alerts
AWS/GCP/Azure	Deployment gates

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4. Installation & Getting Started

🧰 Prerequisites

• CI/CD pipeline (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI)
• A basic PRR checklist (YAML/Markdown or Jira form)
• Notification tool (Slack, Email, MS Teams)
• PRR approvers configured (DevSecOps team)

🛠️ Hands-on: Setup PRR in GitHub Actions

✅ 1. Create PRR Checklist (example: prr-checklist.yml)

production_readiness:
  - description: Are all security scans passed?
    status: pending
  - description: Are all secrets removed from code?
    status: pending
  - description: Is there an automated rollback mechanism?
    status: pending

✅ 2. Add PRR Step in GitHub Workflow

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Run PRR Checklist Verification
        run: ./scripts/prr-check.sh

      - name: PRR Manual Approval
        uses: hmarr/auto-approve-action@v2
        if: success() && github.event_name == 'pull_request'

✅ 3. Notify via Slack

Use Slack Notify Action

- name: Notify Slack
  uses: rtCamp/action-slack-notify@v2
  env:
    SLACK_WEBHOOK: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK }}
    SLACK_TITLE: "PRR Pending Approval"

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5. Real-World Use Cases

1. Banking Application Deployment

• PRR ensures PCI-DSS compliance.
• Reviews include encryption validation, access logs, and DR plans.

2. Healthcare App Update

• Security review includes HIPAA checks.
• Operational readiness validated for HA and failover.

3. E-Commerce Flash Sale

• PRR checks scalability, auto-scaling, caching, and observability before going live.

4. Government Portal Launch

• PRR includes audit logging, multi-factor auth, and access controls validation.

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6. Benefits & Limitations

✅ Key Advantages

• Reduces production incidents.
• Ensures compliance and security early.
• Brings accountability via checklists and approval logs.
• Encourages collaboration across DevSecOps.

⚠️ Limitations

Limitation	Mitigation
May delay deployment	Automate wherever possible
Can be subjective/manual	Standardize checklists and approvals
Resistance from fast-moving teams	Educate on long-term value of stability

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7. Best Practices & Recommendations

🔐 Security Tips

• Auto-check CVEs and secrets.
• Require security sign-off in PRR.

⚙️ Performance

• Include latency benchmarks and stress test results.

📜 Compliance & Auditing

• Store PRR decisions in version control or Jira.

🤖 Automation Ideas

• Automate PRR with GitHub Actions + Terraform + AWS Lambda.

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8. Comparison with Alternatives

Feature	PRR (Manual/Automated)	Change Advisory Board (CAB)	Feature Flags
Deployment gate	✅	✅	❌
Security focus	✅	✅	❌
Operational metrics	✅	❌	❌
Speed	⚠️ Manual slowdowns	❌ Slow	✅ Fast
DevSecOps alignment	✅	❌	✅

🧠 Use PRR when risk is high, compliance matters, and collaboration is needed.

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9. Conclusion

Production Readiness Reviews are an essential practice in any DevSecOps pipeline. They foster a shared responsibility for operational excellence and production stability across developers, security engineers, and operations teams.

🔮 Future Trends

• Full PRR-as-Code
• AI-based PRR suggestions
• Integration with SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)

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