How DevOps Transforms Project Delivery

DevOps is different from the conventional project management technique primarily because it is a practice that optimizes the entire process instead of only the final output. It employs a set of tools and an operational culture that allows the IT teams and the development teams to work in tandem with each other, increasing the speed and the efficiency of the final software. Let’s take a deeper look into how the DevOps fundamentally transform project delivery:

How is DevOps different?

Before delving into the operational details of this new strategy, let’s quickly go over the traditional project management processes and the flaws that might exist in them. Conventionally, there are two teams – software developers and operational managers – for any given software project. The developers are solely focused on the code writing, while the operational personnel deploys and maintains it. Even if – let’s assume – there is no friction between the two teams and no time is wasted in bringing both teams up to speed on what the software truly entails, there are still time lags and inefficiencies. The primary reason is of course bringing the second team (operations) on board in the middle of the production process, so to speak.

Then there is the issue of feedback. Once the developers have done their job, there is nothing for them to do but wait while the operations deploys and tests it. If there are any issues discovered in the process, it has to be sent back to the developers and the whole process repeats. The larger the organization, higher the chance of miscommunication and time delays.

That’s where DevOps comes in!

DevOps combines both the departments, just as its title suggests. This approach brings forth a way of doing things that keeps the developers and operation managers involved from the get-go. There is no time lapse in the feedback and the issues are also identified as and when the code is being developed itself. In broader terms too, DevOps fosters an environment of cooperation instead of critique which has multiple benefits on the company’s health, even beyond efficient software development.

From planning to coding and from deployment to monitoring, DevOps processes ensure collaboration across the entire lifecycle of the project, increasing the velocity of project completion and delivery. It also leads to increased sense of ownership among different teams. The developers get to understand the end customers better. At the same time, the operations team’s understanding of the production process improves allowing them to better communicate with the developers.

CI and CD

Continuous integration and continuous delivery – CI and CD – are the cornerstones of DevOps. CI means that the code changes are incorporated continuously into the company’s central repository, as and when they are made. Simultaneously, automated tests are also run on these newly merged changes, to quickly detect any issues early on. From there, CD takes over by automating the deployment process and ensuring that the code is always ready for deployment to any other project and is always ready to be released.

With these two notions included in the project management processes, the companies are able to streamline their software development and delivery, and remove the bottlenecks associated with the conventional/manual deployment of the projects. More importantly, it also reduces the risk of human error all the while increasing the feedback speed improving the overall service delivery standards as well.

With the operations and development teams working together, the operations get to understand the project from the get go, easing their deployment and monitoring, while the developers get to know the response and quickly introduce alterations to the code etc.

IaC

In addition to the two two-letter applications, this three letter element is another addition of the DevOps project management. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) means that the entire project cycle can be automated – as code – from developing code to testing it. IaC allows the project managers to define the process in codes instead of manual stages. This results in multiple advantages. One, the code once built and deployed becomes readily available for repeated uses in the future, massively saving time and costs. Two, the speed of the development and testing process increases when the need for human intervention is removed. Three, the projects become scalable – based on the increase or decrease in demand, whether in the number of software churned out or the number of users on a particular software at any given time.

DevOps also encourages the use of communication tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack, which may offer an observation tool and a record of the communication for the higher ups in the company as well. This helps in improving accountability and a sense of shared responsibility in the teams.

Competitiveness and customer satisfaction

While the DevOps strategy helps the organizations in improving its internal processes, there are also some advantages from the outside environment. With faster deliveries, quicker incorporation of feedback and scalability, the software development companies become able to cater to a wider array of customers. When the feedback on any shortcomings or needs of the end users are quickly written into the code, and then communicated timely to the end users – facilitated by the DevOps approach – the customer satisfaction and retention also increases.

DevOps has shown tangible potential to increase a company’s efficiency, competitiveness and thereby profitability. Collaborations between teams involved in the same project, as DevOps teaches, not only make logical sense but are also financially beneficial. DevOps has transformed the project delivery processes across the software industry, becoming an essential tool for companies to thrive in the modern day digital age and dynamic markets.