Developers want to solve problems and create strong code foundations that prevent bugs. Operations managers want to make sure a product is working and improvements are being made. Stagnation, or a lack of activity, is a worst case scenario for any technical team. DevOps reduces stagnation by building a team where development and operations engineers are constantly collaborating.
DevOps’ basic definition is pretty easy to understand. It’s a combination of Development and Operations. But what exactly does it mean when you combine your Development and Operations teams?
"DevOps is the practice of development and operations engineers participating together in the entire service lifestyle, from design through the development process to production support." The Agile Admin
Development + Operations = A more involved system where everyone starts on the same page and (hopefully) sticks to it. Developers know when something is going wrong and can help troubleshoot solutions. Operations managers are more informed of new updates and features that will help make a better product.
And, the key part of DevOps is automation. Testing systems work to identify which changes and updates improve the product, and which cause a glitch. When everyone is on the same team, there can only be increased efficiency. Combining teams and encouraging collaboration between departments is the best way to build products that work and adjust to change.
Amazon Web Services explains the various benefits and practices of DevOps. Here’s a summary of how all these components contribute to results that minimize workflow confusion and maximize productive output.
Communication → Improved Collaboration
This correlation seems obvious, but it's the most important aspect of a DevOps team. People with different responsibilities and skill sets need to have effective communication methods in order for the team to reach their goals - and to do so with limited scrambling. Collaboration is essential in any team, but absolutely vital for a DevOps team to succeed.
Monitoring and Logging → Security
Monitoring and logging performance is the easiest way to catch bugs and make sure they don’t interfere with all functions on a site. This practice ensures that potential faults in the website’s security are monitored throughout development, and your team can speed up the process of fixing these issues before attempting to launch a prototype.
Infrastructure as Code → Reliability
Infrastructure as Code is exactly what it sounds like: infrastructure managed by software development and based on the code itself. By making the foundation of the product the foundation of the infrastructure, you can reduce confusion and focus on making the product better throughout the entire product's lifecycle.
Continuous Integration → Scale
Continuous integration allows engineers to deploy code to a central repository. Through constant updates, it’s easier to identify bugs and how to fix them. The practice of constant testing and updating ensures your product works as it should, and can handle growth. Utilizing open source development is the best way to ensure success for the client's site and your DevOps team. Check out our analysis of how open source development helps companies grow to scale.
Continuous Delivery→ Speed
Continuous delivery is the big brother of continuous integration. Continuous delivery conveys code changes to a testing environment that ensures that some prototype is always ready to launch. The engineers on the team can test various changes, and the client can check in to see how you're making their product vision a reality.
Microservices → Rapid Delivery
Microservices are added together to form a multi-functional single product. Microservices contribute to rapid delivery by providing individual supportive components and allowing the team to build scalable products. This also applies to continuous delivery, which increases the rate of delivery.
Keep It Moving
DevOps is a more modern and less hierarchical process for development. Instead of looking at a set of stairs, think of it as more of a ramp. Everyone works together to keep a project moving, instead of pausing at each step.
Zivtech is passionate about standardizing DevOps in order for teams to increase their productivity. That’s why we built Probo.ci, an automated QA system. Read more about Probo, or feel free to contact us about how we can help your DevOps team.