In modern times, application development and deployment have become an extremely critical part of enterprise services. Because of this, various things have sought to optimize their product development method.
This has resulted in the rise in demand for DevOps, which is designed to help companies meet that goal. In short, using DevOps in the software development process diminishes the number of actions necessary to bring software to the end-user. These faster releases and smooth operations mean quick user feedback.
DevOps implementation also focuses on software scalability, how well it can be deployed, and also monitoring and supporting the software after the releases. However, there is also a downside to traditional DevOps as the system does not cover the kind of constant testing and development that Agile offers.
This has resulted in Agile practices focusing solely on what is defined as the development aspects of software delivery. However, this has led to less focus on the operational aspects of software delivery.
Hence, for the SDLC of any product, the most efficient way is the combination of both DevOps and Agile methodology.
By doing so, you can optimize the development lifecycle and support of your product both incrementally. It helps to improve an imbalance but has little control over the applications that happen through the constant development stage.
What is Achieved by DevOps and Agile Combination?
The combination of DevOps and Agile helps in the following fields:
- Streamlines the release process and increases product contributions
- Provides greater collaboration
- More power and fewer risks in each release
- Fewer errors and quick fixes
- Increased visibility
- Higher user satisfaction rate as the products are more qualitative
What to Pay Attention to When Integrating DevOps and Agile
To simplify the method of implementing DevOps into Agile product development, we have listed the most frequent traps that might arise and how to evade them, which will make your process work faster and more effectively.
Improve Teamwork Flow
Managing the DevOps structure and Agile approach together makes it essential that team members have full knowledge of all development phases. You get DevOps business advantage and the practicality of the Agile method.
Team divisions such as the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and the PM, along with employment, Infrastructure, and sysadmin roles, need to think not only the software development method but also delivery and maintenance. Your teams should be provided with the information of release, service, and change in management, along with background provisioning, automation and accessories, and application deployment. By doing this, build-and-run product-centric companies can solve the puzzle of effective development-to-operations hand-off.
Determining the Lifecycle
Successfully trying a DevOps implementation strategy with an Agile framework means learning the product lifecycle. This increases the flexibility, decreases cost as it reduces loss, and speeds up the time required to take it to the market.
Companies will now focus more on the operational aspects of the whole lifecycle. Therefore, it’s excellent if you begin to implement some of the DevOps systems right at the origin of your development method.
DevOps Adoption in Sprints
Agile workflow focuses on the software development method to be divided into sprints, therefore it’s essential to combine DevOps management while managing sprints.
Follow these directions as you begin running the DevOps way into your sprints:
- Invite ops/infrastructure/support staff in planning gatherings
- Discuss result functionality and operability points
- Include them in the future race
- Involve the DevOps organization in sprint reserve planning and regular meeting, as well as sprint report and scrum and plan adjustment
The duty and collaboration of your development duo and operations duo also keep track of the ops teams’ level of functionality propaganda timelines. The ops team can then help the dev team in preparing the release program with greater efficiency and can support the dev team in releasing the product quicker.
Including QA in Every Stage
Making the QA section of the whole development lifecycle is an added benefit that comes with combining DevOps and Agile. Testing becomes an essential point when combining the two. Besides functional measurement used in Agile, DevOps approach requires performance and pressure testing of the software. Hence, regular testing is fairly as crucial as continuous development.
Implement Service Backlog Under DevOps
When performing DevOps and Agile collectively, you need to restore your service backlogging manner. As under DevOps structure, it should cover:
- Expandability of the software
- Deployment ability
- Logging
- Setting informing
- Software trial
- Security and compliance features
- Operational review
Leveraging the Right Tools
Using the top tools is the key to flourishing Agile and DevOps combination into your software development. For example, management tools can be used to replicate the infrastructure that uses the Infrastructure as a Code (IaaC) concept, which is needed for DevOps, during the software development process. Hence, by making use of different types of tools, developers can build the software without undergoing multiple reworks.
Automation
Automation of workflow is a different aspect of Agile combining with DevOps. Try to automate all the code scanning methods and avoid any possible vulnerabilities. Build artefacts in a repository, or automate the release out the door. Automate these factors entirely, so your end-to-end goalposts are the only places where employees need to check thoroughly for issues manually.
Documentation
Generally, in the Agile method, teams don’t document their conference minutes or other communications. Instead, they prefer lo-fi techniques such as pen and paper. DevOps, on the other hand, needs complete design documentation and specs to learn a software release. Using the latter will not only ensure a more secure documentation process but will also make it easier to sure notes with other team members, thereby increasing communication.
Measurement and Analysis
After building DevOps into the Agile method, management should keep track of its improvement. Hence, you need to consider creating the metrics to measure its effectiveness. This allows for the secure enablement of various releases to production quicker. As under the Scrum Alliance Organization support, some of could be:
- Percentage of discharge time adherence.
- Percentage increase in relief numbers.
- Time taken from discharge to production.
- Defects attributable to platform/support obligations.
- Rate of NFRs met.
Though these systems serve to streamline and clarify the product creation and deployment methods, combining Agile and DevOps demands a shift in the company’s approach. Individuals and enterprise teams need to be trained in both DevOps courses and Agile training programs to properly scale Agile and DevOps together. But putting efforts in connecting Agile and DevOps management in the right way, as you will see how it can change your development process and deliver results in a secure, scalable, and sustainable manner.
