In agile software development, you need some type of process for operations to keep the development and deployment of software flexible and continuous. This is where DevOps comes in. According to Atlassian: “DevOps is a set of practices that automates the processes between software development and IT teams, in order that they can build, test, and release software faster and more reliably.”
It is part of the agile software development culture that promotes team collaboration. Hence, if a business practices agile software development, chances are they also practice DevOps, regardless of what it means to them and how they implement these processes. DevOps focuses on combining development and operations efforts through continuous feedback, planning, building, integration, deployment and IT operations to enhance the speed and quality at which the software is delivered.
So Why Does it Matter?
DevOps matters because it boasts many benefits and solves quite a few problems in an application’s lifecycle. Operations, development and other teams can be combined to work together on the entire application’s lifecycle. This means processes where certain steps can be automated and the team can be more efficient. As a result, this leads to increased velocity, reliability, speed, delivery, security and more. There is less room for error and manual processes that would slow things down. Obviously, collaboration between teams is key. Therefore, collaboration between teams leads to decisions being made together to improve efficiency.
Most Popular Options
Git – A popular method of version control, such as GitHub, rely on Git. They are one of the most popular form of DevOps. Git utilizes directories that are complete repositories. These repositories track any changes to the source code after its initial upload. That means that any and all updates to the files in a repository can be reviewed at any time. There are options to merge branches, compare past versions, split branches, and commit new changes.
This change-tracking feature is especially helpful in the agile method. This is because, with continuous feedback from the client, changes can be monitored for their effectiveness. As well as, it is especially helpful with offshore development because of the ability to review changes before merging them to the source code.
Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI / CD) – Tools such as Jenkins, allow for the automation of various components of the standard CI / CD pipeline. The CI / CD pipeline walks a developer through the standard practices for building software, which are coding, testing, and deploying. Some of the features included in tools like Jenkins are log files provided upon error, and continuous automated testing. As well as, a similar version control offered with Git.
Conclusion
In conclusion, technology is ever-evolving and has become an integral part of many businesses day-to-day operations. This is why organizations will need to consider how they build and deliver software. Furthermore, to deliver quality solution to the market, teams should incorporate the DevOps model.
Ready to embrace the power of DevOps and take your software delivery to the next level? Contact us today to learn how our experienced team can help you implement and optimize DevOps practices for your organization’s success. Let’s revolutionize the way you build and deliver software together!