Software development and IT operations are actually completely different areas. Following the DevOps approach, these areas should now move closer together. The result: accelerated development and a high quality product.
General explanation of terms
The term “DevOps” refers to a process improvement approach that is mainly used in system administration and software development. DevOps is a so-called suitcase word made up of the words "Development " and "IT Operations".
The aim of this approach is to ensure more efficient and effective collaboration in the areas of development, IT operations and quality assurance. For this purpose, special incentives, tools and processes are used.
The speed of software development and the cooperation between the individual teams should be improved through the optimized cooperation of the various sub-areas.
Interpretations of the term
The term DevOps is now interpreted in different ways. In general, it is understood as a kind of philosophy according to which the areas of software development and IT operations are to be closely interlinked with regard to their culture, their practice and their tools.
This procedure is intended to react as quickly as possible to any changes in the development process. The approach thus supports agile software development. While agile software development is only successful if the team makes a change in the way they program, the implementation of DevOps requires a change in corporate culture.
The process improvement approach can also be understood as a cross-functional collaboration between developers, managers, administrators and testers. Under these conditions, the customer is also included in the development process.
DevOps supports continuous integration
When software is developed, one usually follows a certain procedural model. Well-known process models are, for example, the V-model or the waterfall model. The Rapid Application Development model (RAD model) has also existed since 1991, which is based on an iterative development approach and the principle of prototyping.
Agile software development, in turn, takes up aspects of the RAD model with the aim of accelerating the development process. In addition, agile software development ensures more flexibility and faster adaptation to changing requirements. The development of the code and its execution are closely combined in order to be able to find and correct errors quickly.
The dovetailing of code development and execution is known as continuous integration. There is now also special continuous integration software, the use of which is intended to improve the code quality and make the software more robust.
DevOps enables continuous delivery
DevOps processes and methods combine the approach of agile software development with other principles, such as that of "systems management", for which IT operations are responsible. The result is a highly agile overall concept that enables the continuous delivery of the software. "Continuous Delivery" means the continuous delivery of software versions that are characterized by their high quality despite their short development time.
Implement DevOps successfully
In order to implement DevOps successfully, various measures should be taken. The creation of business cases is recommended. These business cases serve to demonstrate the need for the process improvement approach. In addition, successful business cases increase acceptance by management and users.
It is important to establish a culture of cooperation in the company and especially in every team involved in the development process. The development of the software should also be supported by the use of automation technologies. Last but not least, a common metric should be used to measure the success of the dev team and the ops team.
No comments yet