Companies continuously look for new ways to streamline operations. One way many organizations choose to do so today is through the use of DevOps. Implementing DevOps helps to deliver software and updates rapidly and accurately. However, countless businesses have yet to make this move because they are unsure of how to do so effectively.
For those businesses that have started implementing DevOps, problems continue to arise that interfere with successful implementation. Don’t make these changes without carefully planning the implementation process and understanding how the change will affect the overall organization.
Ensure the right people are in place to handle this task. Provide them with Infrastructure as Code (IoC) tools to make the process easier. Furthermore, use the following tips to help the process run smoothly.
Culture Changes
Many organizations are looking to DevOps to improve operations, as previously mentioned. However, they struggle to implement them successfully. To do so, they must change the culture of the organization. A change in culture ensures the right teams are using the processes effectively. It’s not just a matter of hiring the right people and investing in the right set of bi tools, although many businesses continue to believe it is.
Share with all employees the new direction the organization is taking. Set a small goal that is easily achievable and build on that. When a company tries to change everything at one time, they disrupt operations. This may lead to the organization turning away from DevOps. Build slowly and watch DevOps help the company grow.
Establish Metrics
Knowing how much progress the organization is making serves as a challenge without key metrics in place. Furthermore, it makes it harder to determine obstacles that are holding the company back and address them. When determining which metrics to use, focus on three areas. Lead time, deployment time, and mean time-to-recover serve as the things to concentrate on during implementation. In addition, think about the people using DevOps. What will benefit them? What are they looking for? How can the company encourage them to use DevOps fully?
Turn Control Over to the Developers
Developers prefer to test early and often. Doing so allows them to see the software delivery in progress and follow the program throughout its entire life cycle. They can locate any bottlenecks and inefficiencies early in the process and make changes where needed.
Although developers will remain in control of the process, they must communicate with management regularly. Sharing responsibility allows all to collaborate and find solutions that work for the organization.
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Collaboration
Collaboration goes beyond management and the DevOps team. When new people join the organization, bring them into the fold. They may have a different vision of what DevOps means, and this serves as an obstacle to integration. Bring everyone together to communicate what DevOps means for the particular organization to avoid this issue. Consider investing in a communication platform and collaboration software to make sharing information easier for all parties.
A successful DevOps implementation requires communication among all parties. As many departments are coming together to achieve a common goal, communication becomes essential to minimize errors and delays. Continuous delivery remains a hallmark of DevOps, and a lack of communication could lead to tasks piling up rapidly.
Regular communication allows employees to remain informed regarding changes. Their operational efficiency improves and they can adapt quickly to these changes. This helps to minimize mistakes.
Automation
One reason many companies turn to DevOps is the automation features. To benefit the most from modern technology, automate wherever possible. Automation streamlines operations, whether you opt for automated testing, scans to detect code misconfigurations, or other processes. Using these tools, companies find they can see how their software will deploy across platforms while providing teams with self-service capabilities.
Again, implement automation slowly. Companies that automate multiple processes simultaneously find their teams struggle to keep up. Choose a manual process employees dread because it takes a lot of time and effort to automate it. Have the employees monitor the process for a period to see how it works. Make changes where needed and use the feedback when automating the next process to allow the transition to run smoothly.
One area businesses may wish to focus on when automating tasks is software patching. Equifax exposed itself to a major data breach by failing to update a software platform. Although nobody can say for certain why they didn’t perform the update, the results were disastrous.
DevOps helps keep software patches updated by maintaining patching schedules. This ensures vulnerable versions don’t enter production. They are detected before this happens.
Deploy Confidently
Software developers live by the mantra “never deploy on Friday.” Companies establishing DevOps correctly feel confident deploying any day of the week because they know they won’t experience problems over the weekend. They know DevOps will prevent these types of issues.
Companies that implement DevOps find they are better able to meet the needs of different markets. They do so with efficiency, speed, and quality. However, this requires collaboration and communication among different departments, so make this a focus on the implementation for overwhelming success.