Process & Design
Version control is a system that records every change made to source code over time, enabling teams to track history, revert to previous states, and collaborate on the same codebase simultaneously without overwriting each other's work.
Modern version control systems — overwhelmingly Git — use a directed acyclic graph of commits to represent the full history of a codebase, where each commit captures a snapshot of all tracked files along with the author, timestamp, and a descriptive message. Branching allows developers to work on features or bug fixes in isolation from the main codebase, then merge their changes back via pull requests that undergo code review before integration. Remote repositories hosted on platforms like GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket serve as the canonical source of truth and collaboration hub, enabling distributed teams to work asynchronously across time zones. Version control is foundational to CI/CD pipelines, which are triggered by repository events (pushes, merged pull requests) to automate testing and deployment.
Example
A team of eight developers works on a SaaS product simultaneously: each engineer creates a feature branch from main, submits a pull request when done, receives code review feedback, and merges only after automated tests pass — all tracked permanently in Git history.
Related terms
CI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery)
CI/CD is a DevOps practice in which code changes are automatically built, tested, and deployed through a pipeline, enabling teams to deliver software updates rapidly and reliably.
DevOps
DevOps is a set of practices, cultural principles, and tooling that unifies software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to shorten delivery cycles, improve deployment frequency, and increase system reliability.
Agile
Agile is a software development philosophy that prioritises iterative delivery, collaboration, customer feedback, and adaptability to change over rigid upfront planning and documentation.
Scrum
Scrum is an Agile framework for managing complex work in which cross-functional teams deliver working increments of a product in fixed-length iterations called sprints, guided by defined roles, events, and artefacts.
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