Learn more about both the advantages and disadvantage of implementing a DevOps workflow in your development process.
As more businesses rush to beat the competition with the help
of technology, software development has become more than just a sound
investment. It is a major revenue channel and the main strategic benefit
of a modern business.
That is why it is crucial to ensure the quality, performance, and security of your product, as well as a fast time to market.
For the last decade, businesses and software development
teams around the world have been relying on the agile methodology as a
way to improve team efficiency and adaptability.
However, with the increased focus on the business value of
software products, traditional methods are no longer enough. There is a
need for more effective ways to build and deploy software.
As a result, the DevOps methodology has emerged as an attempt
to create a more holistic, end-to-end approach to software development
and delivery.
What is DevOps and how does it work? Why do you need it at
all? And, most importantly, how do you implement DevOps in your
organization?
Read on to find the answers to these questions.
What is DevOps? How It Works and Why You Need It
Being a relatively new phenomenon in software development, it
often causes confusion. In fact, there is still no unified DevOps
definition.
For example, Atlassian explains DevOps as a “set of practices that automates the processes between software development and IT teams.”
According to Sam Guckenheimer at Microsoft, the term means “the union of people, process, and products to enable continuous delivery of value to our end users.”
And both definitions are correct.
You can say that DevOps allows you to deliver value to the
end users by automating the processes and improving collaboration within
the engineering and IT teams.
All in all, DevOps shifts the emphasis on people, removing
the barriers between the development and operations and giving them the
tools and practices to work together as one multidisciplinary team.
How DevOps Works
DevOps, as a software lifecycle management model, focuses on
the end-to-end process by removing the gaps between engineers, IT
staff, and stakeholders.
This means DevOps covers all the activities that are
required to deliver the software to the end users, i.e. development,
deployment, maintenance, and scaling.
As a result, the organizations that adopt the DevOps model
become more product-centric, embracing the “you build it, you run it”
philosophy.
How Can DevOps Benefit Your Business?
The wide adoption of this methodology and its growth in popularity can be attributed to a variety of reasons.
Namely, here are some of the advantages that DevOps can have for your business:
- Reduced chance of product failure. Software delivered by DevOps teams is usually more fit-for-purpose and relevant to the market thanks to the continuous feedback loop.
- Improved flexibility and support. Applications built by DevOps teams are typically more scalable and easy to maintain due to the use of microservices and cloud technologies (we’ll get to that later).
- Faster time to market. App deployment becomes quick and reliable thanks to the advanced Continuous Integration (CI) and automation tools DevOps teams usually rely on.
- Better team efficiency. DevOps means collective responsibility, which leads to better team engagement and productivity.
- Clear product vision within the team. Product knowledge is no longer scattered across different roles and departments which means better process transparency and decision making.
The listed benefits of DevOps implementation bring tangible
ROI to your business. In the long run, adopting this approach can save
your time and resources while helping you grow your revenue through
increased business velocity and competitiveness.
DevOps Challenges and How to Overcome Them
Despite all the benefits, DevOps implementation is no easy task.
Namely, there are several key DevOps implementation
challenges you should be prepared to face (and some tips on how to cope
with them):
1. Transition Challenges (Both Technical and Organizational)
Dealing with legacy systems and re-building your
applications to implement microservices architecture or moving them to
the cloud is probably what stops most businesses from adopting DevOps.
In addition to adapting your product, you might need to
rebuild your team and change the internal processes to fit the DevOps
model. This includes changing team roles, hiring new team members,
adopting new tools, etc.
Solution: To test the waters and see if this approach is good for your organization, launch a pilot project first. Thus, you will see if your team is ready for the challenge and will be more prepared for creating a full-scale DevOps implementation roadmap.
2. Lack of Talent
DevOps specialists with hands-on experience are hard to
find. Most specialists in the field have 1-4 years of experience,
according to Payscale. That is why DevOps engineer positions are among the top most difficult jobs to fill.
Moreover, such specialists typically come at a price: the
average DevOps Engineer salary in the US ranges from $121,583, based on
the data by Indeed, to $143,707, according to Glassdoor.
Solution: Consider hiring a dedicated team offshore or partnering with a trusted technology consultancy to guide you through your transition.
3. Toolset Choice
There are many DevOps tools you can consider when switching
to this model, which some can consider a benefit. However, this also
makes it even more difficult to choose the ones that perfectly meet your
team’s needs.
Moreover, switching the tools down the road can be a real
challenge and a major waste of time. You will need to transfer all of
your projects as well as give your team the time to get used to them.
Solution: Appoint an experienced CTO or consultant to help you with making the correct choices, as well as assembling and putting to use the required tools.
Taking into account the listed DevOps disadvantages, you
shouldn’t blindly follow the trend and rush to implement this approach
within your organization. If you only update your product once a year
and don’t plan to build any new ones soon, DevOps implementation might
not be the best idea.
How to Implement DevOps in Your Organization
Considering the pros and cons, a DevOps strategy does seem
like a reasonable investment, in most cases. So, if you are looking
to build a DevOps roadmap for your organization, consider the following
high-level plan as a starting point.
Assess the Risks and Understand the Potential Benefits
Before you start working on your DevOps plan, think about
the real reasons why you want to implement this approach. Do you want to
speed up your deployment? Do you feel that the team isn’t working to
its full capacity? How often do you face the problems caused by
communication gaps between various departments?
Understanding the real motives behind your DevOps initiative
will help you choose the optimal path that will lead to a solid
implementation strategy and outcome.
In addition to that, knowing your current bottlenecks and
challenges will help you set benchmarks and track progress down the
road.
Start with People
Your team members, from the developers to managers and
executives, are the ones who will be in charge of your DevOps
implementation strategy. That’s why it is so important to ensure
everyone understands the potential benefits of this transition and is
ready to contribute to the required changes.
To start with, appoint a lead to curate the process and
assign the roles within your team. Allow your team members to take some
time to process the changes and get used to their new roles. Plus, you
might need to fill several new positions too, so it is important to
start this process early.
Change the Culture
Your DevOps implementation plan won’t be complete without
streamlined communication and transparency within your team. Building a
culture of mutual responsibility and adopting effective collaboration
practices should be one of the initial DevOps implementation steps.
To start with, put effective communication and knowledge sharing tools in place.
Adopt DevOps Best Practices (and Choose the Right Tools)
There are several elements of a successful DevOps implementation plan:
- Continuous integration and continuous delivery
- Test automation
- Agile project management
- Constant app data monitoring and logging
- Cloud migration
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
- Microservices architecture
Most of the listed best practices aim to streamline routine tasks and optimize the team’s performance.
For example, Infrastructure as Code (which is currently one
of the hottest DevOps topics) eliminates the manual work when setting up
your deployment environments while helping you keep their configuration
consistent. This allows you to avoid a number of common deployment
issues and speed up the process itself.
Another important aspect that will shape the future of your
DevOps strategy is your choice of tools to implement the above-listed
best practices.
Start Small and Scale Later
Before going all in with putting your whole organization on
the DevOps path all at once, consider testing the approach on a pilot
project first, as mentioned previously. This will help you uncover the
possible roadblocks and avoid them in the future.
Are You Struggling With Your DevOps Strategy?
Before you start your DevOps implementation plan, it is
important to understand that it is an ongoing process. There is always
something to improve, better tools to try, and new practices that you
can adopt.
Yet, the DevOps approach is without a doubt a sound
long-term investment that can help you make your organization more
efficient and future-ready. If the DevOps approach is right for you,
then the undertaking will certainly be worth the blood, sweat, and
tears.
However, having a clear plan is not enough to mitigate the
risks associated with the implementation of the DevOps methodology. You
need to get someone with the relevant skills and proven expertise,
preferably a professional consultancy or an experienced team to guide
you through the process.
