Successful IT teams have one thing in common; they are always ready to implement and adopt industry best practices and tools. Because of this kind of approach, the teams overcome industry challenges faster, which helps them stand out from the competition.
In software development, speed, reliability, and the quality of outcomes are everything. To achieve this, most developers adopt a DevOps approach to build faster by facilitating alignment between internal development teams.Â
But adopting a DevOps approach in itself is not enough if it doesn’t have the right elements. Below are the five most important elements that any DevOps strategy should have.
Having the Right Tools
A DevOps strategy refers to a combination of tools and processes that help developers collaborate with operation engineers to achieve an end product that meets a client’s needs. A good DevOps approach should enhance development speeds, quality, and security.
While DevOps may not be a tool in itself, a DevOps strategy involves using automation to enhance speed, quality, and security. If you are unsure about the tools to incorporate into your DevOps strategy, you may want to look at this list of enterprise DevOps tools.
Realistic Goals
Every operational strategy should be based on goals. Even with the best DevOps strategy, it may not help much if you do not have a plan. So, set realistic objectives and a timeline of the results you want to achieve.
While an overhaul of your entire process can feel like an enticing idea, it is not and can cause massive disruptions in your workflows. Instead, you need to set simple, achievable goals, monitor the progress closely, and only move on to another goal after achieving expected results.
Collaboration
The ultimate goal of any DevOps approach is to ensure collaboration between developers, operations managers, and any other persons playing a role in software development.
Often, project managers pay a lot of attention to workflow and development tools. While they are a critical part of a DevOps strategy, they may not enhance productivity unless there is collaboration among team players.Â
The best approach to ensure collaboration is by adopting reliable communication and collaboration tools.
Creating an environment where every team member’s input is given the attention it deserves is also an excellent way to encourage communication among team members and enhance collaboration.
Metrics Tracking
Keeping track of the metrics that matter in your DevOps strategy should start at the beginning of adopting a strategy. Without tracking your metrics, there may be no way of knowing the progress you have achieved or the lack of it.
Common examples of the metrics you will need to pay close attention to are delivery/deployment time, lead time, defect rates, and mean time to recovery.
Besides measuring your progress, tracking your metrics can help you identify the areas of your strategy that may be causing ineffectiveness and come up with solutions for the same.
Feedback and Process Monitoring
While the goal of a developer is to create the best tools possible, there is no way of guaranteeing that the product will meet a client’s needs 100 percent, at least not in its very first days of release.
Thankfully a release doesn’t mean that you are done with a tool; there is always room for improvements that the client can enjoy through updates.
The best way to get ideas for improvement besides running tests is to get user feedback. This means being attentive to the feedback given by clients and the tickets sent to your IT help desk.
That way, you can identify the most common problems and ensure you arrest them in future releases.