A CI/CD pipeline consists of two phases: build and deployment. The build phase, among other activities, runs automated test cases at the following test levels: Component Testing (CT) and Component Integration Testing (CIT). If the build phase is successful, the deployment phase is started. The deployment phase first provisions the test environment infrastructure needed to deploy the SUT, then deploys the SUT to this environment, and finally triggers another separate pipeline that runs automated test cases at the following test levels: System Testing (ST) and Acceptance Testing (AT). Which of the following statements is TRUE?
Correct Answer: A
TAE describes quality gates as defined checkpoints in pipelines where objective criteria determine whether the pipeline may proceed (e.g., thresholds, pass/fail rules, coverage, or risk-based acceptance). Automated tests at multiple levels can serve as such gates. In the build phase, CT and CIT are commonly used as strong, fast quality gates because they provide quick feedback on code correctness and integration of closely related components; failures typically block promotion. In the deployment phase, after provisioning and deploying into a test environment, automated System Testing and Acceptance Testing can also serve as quality gates for promoting a build to later stages or release candidates, especially when the organization relies on automated regression and automated acceptance criteria for release decisions. While ST/AT may take longer and may be more prone to environmental factors, TAE still supports using them as gates when they are sufficiently stable, relevant, and aligned with release risk. The scenario explicitly places ST/AT in a separate triggered pipeline, which still qualifies as a gating mechanism if downstream promotion depends on its outcome. Therefore, both CT-CIT and ST-AT can act as quality gates.
