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Configuration Review Preparation Snapshot Project Metrics 1) Gather Project Metrics The UI can be used to gather metrics, but when doing multiple config reviews it is helpful to write a script that uses the CircleCI API.…

Finalize the Config Review Document Opportunities Document opportunities as they are found throughout the review. You will most likely find yourself referencing all sorts of documentation both internal and external in th…

Outside a Config File Project Settings Security Review project settings to ensure they are set correctly, this can be done via the UI or API. Confirm that the following Advanced settings are toggled off unless needed fo…

Outside a Config File Storage Usage Caching Inspect the output of caching steps in jobs to ensure cache keys are regularly being found. If not, consider changing the cache key to be less specific or use a fallback key. F…

Outside a Config File Secrets Management OIDC Attempt to replace any static credentials used in CircleCI for connection to cloud environments with authentication using OIDC tokens. This is not available for all tools so …

Outside a Config File Security Settings Project Settings Review project settings to ensure they are set correctly, this can be done via the UI or API. Confirm that the following Advanced settings are toggled off unless …

Inside a Config File Dynamic Configuration Why Dynamic Config Dynamic configuration is an easy way to not have to run a full pipeline when it’s not needed, saving credits and time. Most projects can benefit from dynamic …

Inside a Config File Reusable Config Opportunities 1) Config SDK CircleCI config files are written in YAML but that doens’t mean they have to be built using YAML. The Config SDK is a javascript/typescript SDK that can be…

Inside a Config File Config Security Opportunities 1) OIDC OIDC tokens are available in any job and is a great way to replace static credentials used to connect with cloud services. For example, a Vault instance in AWS. …

High Level Improvement Opportunities Record High Level Recommendations High level recommendations are identified opportunities that affect more than one workflow. These opportunities typically exist throughout the organi…

Review Each Workflow for Improvement Opportunities 1) Review Job Placement Job order can be the largest impact on workflow duration. Review the workflow for opportunities to run jobs in parallel and note which jobs are b…

Review Each Job for Improvement Opportunities Opportunities for Jobs with High Duration 1) Resource Allocation Optimizing the resource classes of your jobs is an easy way to attempt to reduce the duration of a job. Each …

Review Each Job for Improvement Opportunities Execution Environment Opportunities 1) Resource Allocation Optimizing the resource classes of your jobs is an easy way to ensure credits aren’t being wasted. Each job has a r…

Review Each Job for Improvement Opportunities General Job Opportunities 1) Review Step Outputs Review each step’s output to ensure it is completing as expected. This is important because steps can silently fail or not wo…

Review Each Job for Improvement Opportunities Why Review Job by Job It is important to review a config file line by line and job by job to ensure no opportunities are missed. After gathering metrics and gathering pain po…

Configuration Review Preparation Review CircleCI Features 1) Look at New Features CircleCI releases features at a fast pace and there may be something new that can help your project. Check the changelog for new features …

Configuration Review Preparation Document the Config Review 1) Create a Document for the Review Most organizations have more than one project on CircleCI and will most likely need to do more than one config review. Creat…

Configuration Review Preparation 1) Select the Project Config reviews should be scoped to one project. In some cases scoping them to one larger workflow can be helpful, but some opportunities may be missed. Top 3 reason…