Every developer struggles to create products quicker in an increasingly competitive software landscape. As a result, cloud native DevOps is quickly becoming the go-to option for companies looking to upscale. To keep up with the competition, many organizations are turning to DevOps to help them speed up the software development process. But successfully implementing a DevOps Lifecycle can be tricky.With that in mind, here are a few steps you should take to successfully implement a DevOps lifecycle.
Define the goals of your DevOps initiative
What are you hoping to achieve with DevOps? The first step to successfully implementing a DevOps Lifecycle is defining your initiative’s goals. Understanding your goals can put you on a positive trajectory and increase your likelihood of achieving them.
One of the most important things to keep in mind when defining your goals is that DevOps is not a one-size-fits-all solution. As such, it’s essential to tailor your DevOps implementation to fit your specific organizational needs.
Some common goals that organizations hope to achieve with DevOps include:
- Increasing speed and agility: In today’s ever-changing business landscape, the ability to move quickly is essential for success. How quickly and efficiently you move can mean the difference between a successful outcome and a failure.
- Improving communication and collaboration between development and operations teams: One of the biggest challenges in software development is getting the development and operations teams to work together effectively. By improving communication and collaboration, companies can speed up the development process and enhance the quality of their software products.
- Reducing the time it takes to go from idea to production: The time it takes to bring a new idea to market can be critical for success.
Assess your current infrastructure and development processes
The second step is to assess your existing infrastructure and development processes. This will help you better understand the changes necessary to incorporate the DevOps methodology. It’s essential to take a close look at your development and operations processes and identify areas that could be improved.
Some common areas of improvement include:
- Automating repetitive tasks
- Improving communication and collaboration between teams
- Streamlining the software development process
- Implementing a continuous integration/continuous delivery pipeline
Once you’ve identified areas of improvement, you can start to put together a plan on how to address them.
Select the right tools for the job
There are a wide variety of DevOps tools available, so it’s essential to select the ones that are best suited for your specific needs. These tools include:
- Configuration management tools such as Chef, Ansible, and Puppet
- Continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) tools like Jenkins and Travis CI
- Monitoring tools like Nagios and New Relic
- Cloud management tools like AWS OpsWorks and Azure Resource Manager
Communicate updated processes and tools
This step is crucial for ensuring a successful DevOps implementation. Some tips for training your team include:
- Providing comprehensive documentation: Make sure your documentation is clear and concise. It should cover all the basics of the new tools and processes.
- Offering training courses: Many online courses are available that can help your team learn the new tools and processes.
- Creating a test environment: Set up a test environment where your team can practice using the new tools and processes. This will help them get familiar with them before using them in a production environment.
Implement A Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery Pipeline
One of the most critical steps in implementing a DevOps Lifecycle is setting up a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline to begin automating the software development process across different cycles.
You can set up CI/CD pipelines through various methods. Some common CI/CD tools include:
- Jenkins
- Travis CI
- CircleCI
- GitLab CI
Monitor And Optimize Your DevOps Implementation Over Time
The final step is to monitor and optimize your DevOps implementation over time. Pay attention to how your DevOps implementation is performed and make changes based on your observations.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Tracking metrics: Collect data on the performance of your DevOps initiative.
- Doing regular reviews: Conduct periodic reviews of your DevOps implementation.
- Making changes: Be prepared to change your DevOps initiative as needed. This will help to keep it up-to-date and improve its overall effectiveness.
Samantha Cortez
Samantha has written for several reputable publications, including Business Insider, the New York Daily News, and American Express. She has also written for private SaaS companies and honed her ability to understand how software development and tech can accelerate internal goals and position companies competitively.
