Development (and) operations, or DevOps as it is better known and generally referred to, is a relatively new and modern way of doing things in numerous businesses relying on software development and IT in general. This is a set of practices that automates and integrates the processes between IT teams and software development they are doing. DevOps allows them to develop, build, test and release their software much faster and improve its reliability, security, and everything else really. It is much more than a set of rules however, as it started a whole new shift in the industry and the general IT and software creation culture. Development and operation teams were not nearly as connected as they are now.
Since it is a philosophy of doing things the right way, the different sections of companies that are development and operations have adopted it with open arms. This new shift in their collective mindset equaled a higher level of collaboration and a tighter integration. Innovation is done faster, operations are more efficient, and the value to both the business and the customers is on a whole new level.
In this article there will be more word about how development operations can help continuous development improvement. If you are looking to find out more about this topic and educate yourself further on the issue, do make sure to check out Grid Dynamics.
Collaboration and Trust
As mentioned, before the adoption of these new mechanisms, the operation managers and developers worked separately, without much contact. Therefore, they could not bounce ideas off of each other and work towards a common goal. Their contact was very limited, and in turn the collaboration and trust suffered dearly. Then DevOps kicked in and solved the problem and gave everyone better quality of released software.
Real-time feedback, shared responsibility, overall transparency, and mutual respect include the most basic foundations upon which all DevOps stands. A team that utilizes these is a high-performing team in most cases, simply because they are a much better unit. As everyone is included in each stage, there are no mishaps due to poor communications and a lack of trust.
If there is no shared goal among the two equally important groups of professionals, the things they do will only affect their own part of the job and not at all complement the others’. As you can guess, this is hardly the best way to do any business. The “that’s not our problem” and “the other guys should’ve done it” mentality is non-existent here. Every barrier is knocked down and it does not matter who does what, but how everyone can come together and complete the task at hand
Working Smarter and Releasing Faster
When a company utilizes development operations with a goal to increase their volume and quality, it is almost exclusively a good decision since it is effectively the smarter way of working. Naturally, the speed at which any kind of stage is completed is much faster due to the complete lack of drawbacks due to easily avoidable errors in communication and collaboration. According to some researchers, elite teams that use DevOps tactics deploy their software about 200 times more frequently, and about 100 faster than others.
If you opt not to adopt review cycles, automated tests, and the rest of these methods, the release and production slow down immensely. Poor response between employees further kills the confidence and focus, slowing everything down and bringing the morale to an absolute minimum. Momentum is everything in IT and software development, which is one of the biggest reasons why you should definitely think about these tactics. Think of it as the best way to increase your productivity, as well as the average speed of meeting important deadlines. Less hiccups along the way means a job well done sooner.
Accelerated Time-to-Solution
A team that works together so much that everyone is let in on the problems at hand takes much less time to find the right solution. If the issue is at the development side, it does not mean that those working on releasing the product cannot help, and vice versa. Minimizing your downtime is the best way to maximize efficiency of course. If everyone is looking to find a solution to a joint problem, everyone benefits and moves with their own task.
Remember, customers love companies that resolve problems faster, and they will always devote their trust and money to them over others that take longer than acceptable. If there is no open communication and a sort of a meeting room where everyone is briefed, some important things could become lost and forgotten about, until they creep up later and set you back weeks. Ask yourself if you wish your operation and development teams to fix incidents, unblock the pipeline faster, and surround the issue faster. If you do, look no further than development operations.
Management of Additional Work
If some unplanned or additional work comes up along the way, an organized team in which the members trust each other, it will never be an obstacle or a bump on the road. As they are used to tackling problems together and as a unit, the most efficient solution will be found rather quickly and the side mission will be dealt with in record time. Prioritization of certain tasks that is in place will guarantee that the main, planned work continues at optimum speed while the sideline project is also being finished at the same time.
Taking some of the personnel from one project and appointing them to the other is no problem if everyone already knows what their strengths and weaknesses are and where they can benefit the overall success of every operation that is taking place. Fully embracing DevOps means that the team is smarter and faster in every single way. It means that each individual has no problem to fill in for their absent or swamped coworker, because they know that it is the most efficient way of handling the everyday operations.
Last but not least, we must mention MTTR particularly. MTTR, which stands for mean time to recovery, is improved with development operations because the complexity of the work and potential errors are reduced. Automation and cross-team collaboration are the best things that could happen to an IT firm in the 21st century.
