Do we need DevOps?
DevOps is a set of operations that includes software development and IT operations to build, test, and release applications faster and more reliably. The term DevOps was formed from "development" and "operations" to establish a bridge between those two teams. Combining the DevOps model with agile methodologies like SCRUM or Kanban helps developers and operators to be more efficient, innovative, and deliver higher value to their customers and company.
The first time the term DevOps was used, was at the conference DevOps days (2009) founded by Belgian consultant, project manager, and agile practitioner Patrick Debois. Since then the DevOps is constantly evolving and creating stronger connection between different teams in the company, and thereby providing better results in the application lifecycle.
DevOps doesn’t solve tooling problems, it solves problems between human communication by increasing collaboration and trust. Most common problems without using the DevOps model are:
- Lack of solid product management strategy - A lack of knowledge about customer needs, missing features and competitive pricing leads to bad product management strategies.
- Long time to market - Poor coordination of all teams involved in product lifecycle leads to inefficient and slow production causing a long time to market.
- Low design quality and reliability level - Without CI & CD, which are the basic elements of DevOps, the key feedback bringing knowledge about product performance and stability is missing.
DevOps cycle
DevOps cycle consists of 8 consecutive process steps:
- Plan
- Code
- Build
- Test
- Release
- Deploy
- Operate
- Monitor
Planning, Coding and Building
Each product development starts with requirement analysis, constraint and feature definition. Then the developers write the code and build the product.
Verifying and Testing
After the product has been built the quality assurance team must verify if the requirements have been implemented as specified and find all present bugs by testing the build thoroughly.
Releasing, Deploying and Configuring
After the product has been successfully verified and tested the release takes place. Operators deploy and configure the product in the production environment.
Operating and Monitoring
Deployed and configured product can now be started and operated. Continuous monitoring is also performed.
Conclusion
Utilizing DevOps you will achieve better collaboration between your teams, faster time to market and shorter lead time between fixes, higher deployment frequency, which all results in a high-quality and reliable product, but most important satisfied customers.
If you have any further questions, or simply need help by the analysis to make your decision, please contact us. We offer you a free consulting.
