Low-ITF as a continuous integration platform

The benefits of adopting a continuous integration approach are well known and well documented: " It improves quality, reduces risk, and establishes a fast, reliable, and sustainable development pace ." < https://scaledagileframework.com/continuous-integration/ > Specifically, in the short term the Low ITF Integration Event test efforts are currently impeded by a lack of confidence in the system, due to insufficient testing cadence of a rapidly evolving software system. Automatically running an integration test suite whenever newer versions of subsystems become available will address this. If not addressed, the problem will worsen, as we commence Verification Event testing activities in parallel to continually re-testing new software versions; and again it will worsen when we integrate a succession of stations into the AA0.5 array. In the medium term, there is an opportunity to increase quality across the project, by providing software teams with rapid feedback on their releases. Also, having a CI platform in place at the Low ITF lays the foundation for us to be able to do low-risk, managed Release-on-Demand into production. In the long term, we want to ensure the continuing relevance and value delivered by the Low ITF by providing it with a clear function and purpose (with respect to software) beyond the running of formal integration and verification event test cases.