In simple terms, Trunk Based Development is about working in small batches and then merging those changes back into a master or main branch in quick iterations.

These small batches of work can be merged in multiple times a day, instead of developers checking out a feature branch and only merging them in after the entire feature is complete (which can often take days or even weeks to complete).

By working in small batches, developers are able to merge their work in quickly without merge conflicts and with limited change risk.

Trunk Based Development has been demonstrated by Google's DORA team to drive higher software delivery and organizational performance.

Doing Trunk Based Development requires working in small batches, having a streamlined code review process and a Continuous Integration pipeline that runs automated tests prior to merge.

References

• Google Cloud - DevOps tech: Trunk-based development
• Trunk Based Development - Introduction