The Why and How of DevOps Integration in Software Development

Back in the 2000s, with the advent of iterative development in the Agile methodology, the global IT ecosystem faced significant disruption. While the waterfall method followed a sequential order, the project development teams could only move forward after completing the previous step successfully. Also, the waterfall method reserved testing for the final build. While traditional enterprises favored this structured method, IT circuits soon realized that it left room for improvement during the development — which was essential.

The dynamics of SDLCs changed rapidly with the integration of Agile, which focussed on automated and continuous testing within the stages of development. It boosted the digital product’s build quality and lessened its time-to-market. However, one development issue remained consistent throughout both the development approaches — the dissension between the development and the operations team.

Modern software development lifecycles require both the teams to work in collaboration as stakeholders for a seamless deployment. As enterprises continue to realize the benefits of continuous delivery, DevOps implementation emerged as an integrated IT culture.

What is DevOps?

In simplest terms, DevOps implementation is simply dechanneling the frictions between the development and the operations team through robust project management. It is all about building a collaborative atmosphere within an IT firm’s internal ecosystem to quicken bug fixes, integrate updated features, and feedback leading to faster deployment.

What challenges do DevOps fix?

The traditional SDLCs has several flaws that make it challenging. Due to internal conflicts and frictions, the software solution’s time-to-market gets eternally thawed, and so does the team’s efforts to resolve dynamic concerns. A flawed SDLC is not only the reason for missed deadlines but also despair within the team.

1. Siloed structures and communication gaps

A traditional SDLC has a couple of teams working within a team, and the desperation to match the deadline pits them against each other. The developers, test engineers, and the maintenance team lack empathetic communication and understanding, which leads to an uncoordinated and faulty development of the software.

2. Periodic tests leading to errors

Traditional SDLCs allow departments to conduct individual tests. The testing team fails to carry out continual automated tests after each stage of development because of the faulty unit structure. The absence of proper testing leads to post-deployment bugs and several other errors.

3. Trouble in feedback integration

The units within the team work at their own pace resulting in unequal development stages. The client is thus intimated about the product at a much later stage. This leads to differences between the client and the team because of gaps in the expectations and the delivered product. Renewed guidelines and feedbacks seem difficult for integration since the team has progressed considerably towards deployment.

4. Glitch in fixes and upgrades

The absence of collaboration and transparency in the development makes bug fixing a hectic task. The flawed structure takes weeks or even months to integrate changes and needlessly elongates the product’s time-to-market.

Why Should CIOs Adopt DevOps?

Different stakeholders of the project will have individual business goals, and DevOps benefits all the participants in distinct ways. The developers, the CIOs, and the CEO will have different sets of benefits to derive from DevOps as a procedure.

The IT point of view

From the developers’ point of view, an improvised and flawless work process is the key goal. The performance output metrics are clear indicators of improved technological metrics.

DevOps bring about the following benefits for the core IT team:

The CTO/CIO perspective

The CTOs and CIOs weigh the benefits of DevOps from people-centric metrics.

Your Transition to DevOps

With time, traditional organizations are gradually leaving behind legacy SDLC and moving towards DevOps. But the transition to DevOps is complex and involves several key steps.

Analyze the need for a new model:

Enterprises must realize that adopting DevOps is not a one-shot solution to successful software development. While the method has brought about significant changes in the market, there are businesses that haven’t yielded as many benefits from it. Before integrating a popular market trend, enterprises must verify and analyze their own business processes and weigh the need for change with a recognized DevOps Consulting Services provider.

Promote a collaborative environment

Teams that have been working as units will have imbibed separatist tendencies. The core concept of DevOps is promoting collaboration, and enterprises must improvise easy access to information and transparency. The differences between the teams should be strategically entangled, and enterprises should promote due and just acknowledgment of resources. Enterprises must also hire dedicated developers with strong collaborative skills.

Chalk a budget plan

DevOps implementation should not mean overhauling your entire system. Enterprises should have a clear blueprint of the transition and set clear milestones. A planned budget for transitioning to DevOps will save on unnecessary expenses. One of your approaches can be hiring dedicated developers to empower your development process with the right tech skills.

Take measured steps

It is crucial to understand that moving from a legacy system will cost time and patience. Enterprises should not let themselves be lured to automate all processes at a go. Automation cannot happen overnight, and it needs to happen under the guidance of a specialist.

Fix your goals

Continuous feedback integration and delivery are crucial to the process of DevOps. An enterprise cannot work with waterfall and expect the teams to adopt DevOps. The concept of DevOps is built on Agile development, where developers build the software solution in small phases and integrate testing to detect and eliminate flaws.

Enhance business process security

An enterprise’s transition to DevOps calls for an amplified security structure. Unit testings should be replaced with rigorous and continuous tests — both manual and automated. Enterprises must hire skilled security teams for monitoring the integrity of resources, the infrastructure, and the configuration of the software solution.