Understanding the Principles and Purpose of DevOps

For most people around the world, technology is something they use in their everyday lives without really digging too deeply into how and why it works as it does. While some are inevitably going to be more interested in studying it a little closer than others, the more you go down the rabbit hole, the more questions tend to pop up as each preceding question gets answered. Part of the reason that most systems work so well is due to the principle of DevOps, which is the way in which teams of developers and IT teams effectively communicate with each other in order to complete whatever project is being created successfully. Here, we’re exploring what DevOps means in practice and the basic principles that underlie this philosophy.

What Is DevOps?

To put it as simply as possible, DevOps is a guiding philosophy among those working within the software and technology development worlds that enables different teams to work together most effectively. It emphasizes team empowerment, cross-team communication and collaboration, and technology automation. It’s such a critical component of any development cycle that many businesses will look for consultants who specialize in DevOps to assist them in creating a viable final product that lands on time, on budget, and achieves the desired outcomes that the team has planned for. There are many “guiding principles” that make up this discipline, but most tend to focus on ensuring a seamless process through all stages of development. 

Key Principles Guiding DevOps Practices

While it’s always good to have a cursory understanding of something, it’s almost always better to dig a little deeper to get a complete grasp of what’s involved. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at how DevOps works to ensure that the very things we use every day work as they’re intended to without costly crashing and wreaking havoc around the world.

Collaboration Between Development And Operations Teams Enhances Efficiency And Productivity

Collaboration is really at the heart of this idea, as it ensures that everyone working on a project is on the same page and is able to see how a project is progressing. It used to be that each department would work in a silo that separated them from other departments. This siloing can cause all kinds of issues when it comes to a project, but for projects that involve a high level of understanding and attention to detail, it can be catastrophic.  

Continuous Integration Ensures Code Quality And Faster Delivery Cycles

Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) is another fundamental part of DevOps being such a successful asset for development teams. It enables teams to frequently integrate code changes and deliver updates to production in a reliable and automated manner. Because development projects tend to be more of a “living” thing than something created in a vacuum, it requires a constant touch from all involved to ensure success. This might involve multiple layers of code analysis as well as a procedure for those responsible for correcting and updating things on the fly while updating the rest of the team in real time (using various tools and platforms).

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Automation Reduces Manual Errors And Boosts Deployment Speed

Through process automation from start to conclusion, DevOps greatly speeds the software development lifecycle. Starting the building process, this automation guarantees consistent and error-free builds by automatically compiling and packaging codes. Automated testing comes next, running several tests, such as unit, integration, etc., automatically to offer fast comments on code quality. Early on, the identification and fixing of problems made possible by this rapid feedback loop helps engineers lower the likelihood of bugs finding their way into production. Needless to say, by utilizing the right automated tools for the job, teams can massively increase accuracy and deploy whatever they’re creating in a much shorter time frame.

Version Control Maintains Code Integrity And Facilitates Collaboration

When it comes to software development, various versions will inevitably be created over the course of the project to eventually become the perfect final product. Version control is a cornerstone practice that enables teams to manage and track changes to their codebase efficiently. It guarantees that everyone is working on the correct version of the code and that modifications are correctly documented and handled, therefore offering a far more disciplined approach to cooperation than might otherwise be achieved in another way.

From something as simple as better collaboration to the far more complex version control process, DevOps ensures that teams of disparate developers work together to achieve a shared outcome free of bugs that can be delivered on time. By enacting it as part of an ongoing or continuous project, businesses are able to boost efficiency and productivity among their teams and profit from the outcomes rather than having to recall and repair broken creations that have been forced out into the wild without proper oversight.