7 Essential Best Practices to Follow When Adopting a DevOps Model

Terms such as DevOps, Agile and LEAN are now used in a single bundle. If a project is created according to the LEAN methodology, all processes become more efficient with DevOps and Agile, making it possible to remain flexible and respond quickly to changes. In this article, we will share seven best practices you need to follow when adopting a DevOps model. 

What Can DevOps Give Your Business?

More than 10 years ago, when DevOps as an approach was just beginning, software development was facing a problem. The team responsible for creating the technical product did not effectively interact with the team responsible for the operation of the application. If bugs were found, responsibility was transferred. DevOps is an approach that makes it possible to work together and accelerate the time of the release of the product without loss of quality.

LEAN allows you to gradually release necessary feature sets while Agile allows you to remain flexible in dynamically changing conditions.  When LEAN and Agile are added to the DevOps approach, we get maximum cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and efficiency of interactions at each stage of development.

Take a look at these 7 best practices for adopting a DevOps model:

Integrate Everything You Can

Combining the efforts of development and operations units is a complex task that requires open communication and transparency to succeed. Forming common goals among teams will help to overcome disunity.

Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI / CD) are main components of the DevOps strategy. The deployment and integration of new software in business units is ongoing. Thanks to CI/CD, developers get the opportunity to combine work tasks and products in one repository.

The main advantages are software deployment is faster, issues are resolved more quickly, and errors are easier to identify. The introduction of automation software will help staff focus on the more important components of designing, testing, and maintaining good quality while spending less time on more demanding tasks. 

Launch a Pilot Project That Will Be Released According to DevOps Methodology

If you want to implement the DevOps model, try step-by-step implementation.  Start with a pilot project where the implementation will not jeopardize the entire business and will not affect the quality of other projects.  This approach will help you immediately clarify what elements of DevOps you need most at this stage, check the readiness of teams for changes, and also evaluate the real effectiveness of the work.

Make Sure You Have an Opportunity to Get Feedback at Every Stage

Considering DevOps primarily as a cultural shift, it is important to establish feedback at each stage.  This will help identify all weaknesses and areas that will require more support.  The use of a balanced approach in the implementation of DevOps implies that all work processes, from design and testing to the release, will be timely monitored and completed. An easy way to get continuous feedback at every stage is to implement feedback tools like Prefix, a dynamic code analysis tool, in the development stage, or Retrace, a full lifecycle APM for the testing and production stages.  You can also ask group and unit managers to provide reports on a weekly or monthly basis to help ensure that everything is going as planned.

Start by Automating the Part of the IT Process That Needs It Most

After testing the DevOps model on a pilot project and collecting feedback, start by trying to automate one process. 

• The first option is to automate the most key process and see what comes of it, but be prepared for errors and setbacks in reality.
• The second option is to start implementing DevOps with a process that runs parallel to the key. In this case, you will get another opportunity to learn and get feedback in the framework of the real process, while not endangering the entire project.

Be Prepared to Learn From Mistakes

During the implementation of DevOps, the organization is undergoing massive cultural change and a change of strategy. Moreover, DevOps cannot be implemented in its pure form – in practice, each company tries to take the best out of this approach, adapting it to its specifics and introducing it gradually.  By adopting the concept of “quick failures,” you can learn from your mistakes. 

Revise your Agile and DevOps Culture

DevOps culture consists of interacting and overcoming the traditional disunity of teams.  It makes sense to make adjustments to the organizational structure. DevOps involves not only using new tools and redrawing processes, but also changing the corporate culture itself. It is necessary to encourage the development of a culture of communication.

Conclusion:

Whether you are just beginning to embrace a DevOps culture or have fully integrated one into your SDLC, remember that there are many tools that don’t require additional resources to enhance your DevOps process. For example, try Stackify Retrace for silent partner in continuous application improvement. 

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