In today’s interconnected world, software permeates every facet of our existence. Across diverse industries and organizations, the proliferation of applications and cutting-edge technologies, driven by vast troves of data, continues to play a pivotal role in enhancing the quality of life for society at large.
Every technology companies commonly employ the Agile methodology for software development, wherein development teams construct the code, while operational teams handle deployment and maintenance tasks. Agile is essentially a methodology characterized by iteration to deliver the product.
In corporate settings, it’s quite common for individuals to encounter a familiar phrase when a code issue arises in production: “The code runs perfectly on my laptop.”
A wall of misunderstanding often exists between the development and operations teams. This highlights one of the limitations of the Agile methodology. To address this challenge, DevOps emerged as a solution.
So, what exactly is DevOps? Is it a distinct role, tool or a different methodology altogether?
DevOps is a practice that enables a unified team to oversee the complete application development lifecycle, i.e., development, testing, deployment, and monitoring.
DevOps is a state of mind
It fosters the integration of both development and operations teams, enhancing collaboration and productivity through the automation of infrastructure, workflows, and the measurement of application performance. Making it easy to release new features or bug fixes. Implementing it is no simple task; it necessitates a transformation encompassing culture, processes, and technology to achieve full automation.
DevOps adoption in companies
Considering the rapid evolution of the IT landscape, nearly all companies now demand a high-velocity development environment. Embracing DevOps culture in the workplace requires patience and resilience to sustain a positive and open workplace environment amid the ongoing implementation of changes. Departmental silos run counter to the concept of software pipelines although, technologies need to continually align with current trends to ensure seamless coexistence between new systems and existing infrastructure.
Effective integration of all tools is essential to ensure that testing, deployment, and building processes operate cohesively in a continuous manner, this practice is known as continuous integration and continuous delivery(CI/CD).
Automates everything!!
DevOps Lifecycle
The DevOps lifecycle signifies an unceasing software development process, employing DevOps' finest methodologies for the entire software lifecycle, encompassing planning, coding, building, testing, deployment, monitoring, operations, and continual feedback.
The planning phase aligns with its name, involving the strategic planning of the project’s entire lifecycle. Unlike traditional development methodologies, this model operates on the assumption that each stage may need to be reiterated as required. Consequently, the DevOps workflow is designed to accommodate potential future iterations and any previous versions that may be relevant. During this phase, it’s common practice to engage all teams to guarantee comprehensive coverage and prevent any aspect of the planning from being overlooked or omitted.
Developers adhere to the specifications established during the planning phase and ensure that the code is crafted with the project's operational requirements in consideration.
The build phase involves creating executable code that is prepared for deployment. Automation tools are employed to generate release artifacts. The codebase undergoes end-to-end, integration, and unit tests to detect any regressions.
If the build or any of the tests encounter failures, it is deemed unsuccessful, and the developer is promptly alerted to address the issue. By consistently submitting code changes to a shared repository and running builds and tests, we can reduce integration problems that often arise in collaborative coding projects and identify critical issues early in the development cycle.
After deploying the application to the test environment, a comprehensive set of tests, both manual and automated, is conducted.
The release phase stands as a pivotal milestone within a DevOps pipeline - it is initiated once the code has undergone verification, confirming its readiness for deployment, and a final check for production readiness has been executed.
During the deploy phase, the project is readied for the production environment and operates as intended within that setting. Traditionally, this responsibility would fall upon the operations team, but in the DevOps approach, it becomes a shared responsibility. This shared accountability encourages team members to collaborate closely to ensure a smooth and prosperous deployment.
Operate is the pivotal stage should not be mistaken as the ultimate step; instead, it serves as the foundation for future development cycles. It involves overseeing the configuration of the production environment and addressing any runtime requirements.
The latest release is currently live and in use by our customers!
The FINAL phase of the DevOps cycle involves monitoring the environment. This phase expands upon the customer feedback gathered during the Operate phase by gathering data and offering analytical insights into customer behaviour, performance, errors, and additional metrics.
This phase plays a vital role in preparing for the upcoming iteration and optimizing the development process within the pipeline.
As a result, DevOps necessitates a bona fide paradigm shift in organizational culture and team composition. DevOps delivers its highest value to enterprises in situations where the swiftness of delivery confers a notable competitive edge.
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