Source Control Management

Grade My Investments' trunk-based development approach using a single Azure DevOps Git monorepo for streamlined development and production releases across all 32 .NET projects.

BRANCH STRATEGY

rendering diagram…

flowchart TB
    DEV[Developer<br/>local commit]:::app

    subgraph MONO[Azure DevOps Monorepo<br/>32 .NET projects]
        FB[Feature Branch<br/>created from develop]:::svc
        PR_D[Pull Request<br/>to develop]:::svc
        DEV_BR[develop branch<br/>integration - staging]:::data
        PR_M[Pull Request<br/>to master]:::svc
        MASTER[master branch<br/>production-ready]:::sec
    end

    subgraph CI[Automated Gates]
        BUILD[Build Validation<br/>compile - unit tests]:::ext
        REV[Code Review<br/>approval required]:::ext
    end

    subgraph DEPLOY[Deployment]
        STG[Staging Env<br/>auto deploy]:::data
        PROD[Production<br/>auto deploy]:::sec
    end

    DEV --> FB
    FB --> PR_D
    PR_D --> BUILD
    BUILD --> REV
    REV --> DEV_BR
    DEV_BR --> STG
    DEV_BR --> PR_M
    PR_M --> MASTER
    MASTER --> PROD

    classDef app fill:#1f2630,stroke:#C0894E,color:#F3EFE8;
    classDef svc fill:#241c14,stroke:#E2B583,color:#F3EFE8;
    classDef data fill:#22201a,stroke:#C0894E,color:#EBD3AE;
    classDef ext fill:#1b1f27,stroke:#5A616B,color:#C4C0B8;
    classDef sec fill:#1d2733,stroke:#5cc8e0,color:#eafaff;

Trunk-based flow: feature branches merge to develop for staging, then develop merges to master for production.

Trunk-Based Development Strategy

Development Philosophy: Grade My Investments uses a trunk-based development model with two primary branches to ensure stable releases while maintaining rapid development cycles.

Monorepo Architecture

Grade My Investments utilizes a single repository (monorepo) approach that contains all 32 .NET projects in one unified codebase:

Benefits

Unified Versioning: All projects share the same version lifecycle
Atomic Changes: Cross-project updates in single commits
Shared Dependencies: Common libraries and packages centralized
Simplified CI/CD: One pipeline for entire platform

Management

Coordinated Releases: All components deploy together
Cross-Project Refactoring: System-wide changes easily tracked
Dependency Management: NuGet packages managed centrally
Build Optimization: Incremental builds across projects

Branch Strategy

Master Branch

Purpose: Production-ready code
Stability: Always deployable
Updates: Via develop branch merges only
Protection: Direct commits blocked
Deployment: Automatic to production environments

Develop Branch

Purpose: Integration and staging
Stability: Feature-complete builds
Updates: Feature branches merge here first
Testing: Comprehensive CI/CD validation
Deployment: Staging and testing environments

Development Workflow

Feature Branch Creation: Developers create feature branches from develop
Development & Testing: Features developed and tested in isolation
Pull Request to Develop: Code review and automated testing
Integration Testing: Features tested together in develop branch
Production Release: Develop merged to master for production deployment

Azure DevOps Git Repository

The following screenshot demonstrates Grade My Investments' Azure DevOps Git repository structure, showcasing our trunk-based development approach with master and develop branches:

Repository Overview Analysis

This Azure DevOps interface showcases the Grade My Investments repository structure and development workflow:

Branch Structure

Master Branch: Production-ready releases
Develop Branch: Integration and staging
Feature Branches: Individual development work
Branch Protection: Pull request requirements enforced

Development Features

Pull Requests: Code review and approval process
Build Pipelines: Automated CI/CD integration
Work Items: Azure DevOps work item tracking
Security: Branch policies and permissions

Quality Assurance Process

Automated Testing: Unit tests and integration tests run on every pull request
Code Reviews: Mandatory peer review before merge to develop
Build Validation: Successful builds required before branch merges
Staging Deployment: Develop branch automatically deploys to staging environment
Production Gates: Manual approval required for master branch deployments

Branching Model Visualization

Master

v1.0

v1.1

v1.2

Develop

feat-1

feat-2

merge

feat-3

Feature Branches

new-report

api-update

ui-enhancement

Flow Description

Green Flow: Feature branches → Develop → Master
Blue Flow: Continuous integration and testing
Red Flow: Production releases and hotfixes

GitKraken Visual Repository Management

GitKraken provides an intuitive visual interface for managing Grade My Investments' complex repository structure, making branch management and merge operations seamless across all 32 .NET projects:

Grade My InvestmentsGitKraken Repository View

GitKraken Interface Analysis

This GitKraken screenshot demonstrates the visual repository management capabilities for Grade My Investments' monorepo:

Visual Branch Management

Branch Visualization: Clear graphical representation of master and develop branches
Commit History: Timeline view of all commits and merges
Merge Tracking: Visual indicators for merge points and conflicts
Branch Relationships: Easy identification of feature branch origins

Development Workflow Features

Pull Request Integration: Direct integration with Azure DevOps pull requests
Conflict Resolution: Built-in merge conflict resolution tools
File Staging: Visual file staging and commit preparation
Remote Sync: Easy push/pull operations with Azure DevOps

Monorepo Management Benefits

Project Overview: Visual representation of all 32 .NET projects in single view
Cross-Project Changes: Easy tracking of commits affecting multiple projects
Dependency Tracking: Visual identification of shared library updates
Release Coordination: Clear visualization of release branch merges
Developer Productivity: Intuitive interface reduces Git command-line complexity

Visual Clarity

Graphical representation of complex branch relationships

Conflict Resolution

Built-in tools for merge conflict management

Enhanced Productivity

Streamlined Git operations for development team

Development Tools Integration

Azure DevOps Features

Git version control
Pull request workflows
Branch policies and protection
Automated build pipelines
Work item integration
Code review tools

Development Benefits

Rapid feature development
Stable production releases
Reduced merge conflicts
Continuous integration
Automated quality gates
Streamlined deployments

Repository Statistics

Projects: 32 .NET projects
Repositories: 1 monorepo
Primary Branches: 2 (master, develop)
Contributors: Active development team
Platform: Azure DevOps Git

Branch Policies

Pull request required
Build validation
Code review approval
Work item linking
Comment resolution
Up-to-date branches

Release Cadence

Feature Releases: Weekly to develop
Production Releases: Bi-weekly to master
Hotfixes: As needed
Version Strategy: Semantic versioning

Monorepo Benefits

Single repository strategy provides:

Unified versioning
Shared dependencies
Coordinated releases
Cross-project refactoring
Simplified CI/CD
Atomic changes