Design Principles
Following Blender's mission, Blender Studio pursues creative content creation and knowledge sharing. For this reason, the entire production pipeline is built around free and open source software. When it comes to the final visual content (rendered frames), the only software used is Blender.
The pipeline and workflows are designed to facilitate a small production unit (10-20 people) so that artists can create and deliver content as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
Editorial-centric workflow
While storytelling is the main driver for a production, and the most direct way to convert it into production processes, is to create and edit. For this reason, the editorial (and previz) department plays a key role during all stages of production.
Pushing Blender Development
Only use add-ons that are workflow/process specific and that won't be beneficial to a wide audience if included in Blender. Any other feature required to deliver a production should be considered a development target, and designed, reviewed and planned as part of the blender.org public development activities.
Data Management
Rely on Blender's linking system, limit the usage of caching as much as possible.