Why is DevOps important?
Each function of DevOps is essential for delivering and maintaining IT solutions. Below is a list of each field including an overview of the value they deliver:
Infrastructure, Platforms, Environments, and Access Control
- Provides isolated environments for each stage of the development process
- Manages access control so the DevOps process cannot be broken
Source Code Management and Version Control
- Maintains a history of each code change, including who, when, and why
- Allows for collaboration on individual features as well as parallel development of multiple features, fixes, and projects
- Critical to release planning and the flexibility to deploy any individual feature
Building, Compiling, and Packaging Code
- Pre-processes and packages code for quick and efficient deployments or installations
- Maintains a history of application versions
Releases and Deployment Pipelines
- Provides a workflow for new features to progress through each development environment all the way to go-live
- Increases stability by creating a repeatable and testable deployment process
Testing
- Catches bugs and issues prior to go-live
Software Life Cycle Management
Tracks work progress through the various phases of development
- Analysis, Estimation, and Prioritization
- Design and Implementation
- Testing and Remediation
Provides project status and KPIs, such as:
- Status of releases, features, and tasks
- Team velocity, estimation accuracy, bug frequency, stability
The aim of DevOps is to automate and fuse each of these fields into a well-oiled machine which churns out value and solutions ever faster. DevOps is essentially the analysis and improvement of the supply chain and assembly line of IT work.
It’s time to take DevOps seriously
Without an eye on DevOps, projects will suffer from sluggish development, lousy quality, inaccurate estimates, cost over-runs, and a high risk of failure. If any of these issues sound familiar, perhaps it is worth analyzing your DevOps process and looking for areas of improvement.
It’s not hard to understand why this concept has gained popularity within the IT community. Who in IT doesn’t love automation and efficiency? Everyone understands the value. IT professionals are often tasked with delivering the same kind of automation for business processes. Why wouldn’t IT experts want to give themselves the same gifts they deliver to their customers time and time again?
Substantial benefits can be gained by enabling and growing DevOps within an IT organization. The next question is: What’s the best way to invest? Be on the lookout for part 2 of the series for how to facilitate and advance DevOps within your team or organization.
