DR-012: Layered CI/CD Model with Dependency-Aware Orchestration

Status

[x] Accepted
[ ] Proposed
[ ] Rejected
[ ] Deprecated
[ ] Superseded

Date: 2025-01-10

Context

21 modules with dependencies need coordinated CI/CD, dependency-aware build order, change detection, artifact caching, and evidence generation for compliance.

Problem: How to orchestrate CI/CD for multi-module monorepo with dependencies?

Decision

Layered CI/CD model with 7-stage pipeline, dependency-aware orchestration, and reusable workflow templates.

7-Stage Pipeline:

Checkout and setup
Dependency resolution
Build
Test
Security scans
Evidence generation
Artifact upload

Key Capabilities:

Per-module workflows (ci-eac-commands.yaml, ci-r2r-cli.yaml)
Reusable template (_module-ci.yaml)
Change detection (file ownership → affected modules)
Dependency-aware execution (build order, parallel layers)
Artifact caching and resolution
Evidence generation (test results, security scans, SBOM)

Release Orchestration:

Multi-module release coordination
Dependency-aware release order
Release bundle aggregation (r2r-eac-bundle)

Commands for Orchestration:

get-changed-modules - Detect affected modules
get-execution-order - Determine build order
get-ci-dispatch-layers - Parallel execution layers
pipeline-run - Execute CI respecting dependencies
release-execute-layers - Release in dependency order

Consequences

Positive: Efficient builds, parallel execution, artifact reuse, dependency safety, compliance automation, scalable CI/CD

Negative: Workflow complexity, orchestration overhead, GitHub Actions limitations, debugging difficulty

Alternatives Considered

Single Monolithic Workflow: Rejected - slow, no parallelism, all-or-nothing execution
Per-File Change Detection: Rejected - too granular, excessive builds, noise
Jenkins/GitLab CI: Rejected - GitHub Actions integration benefits, ecosystem, familiarity

Tutorials | How-to Guides | Explanation | Reference

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