What is DevOps? Discover how DevOps works and where it is used

How DevOps works |

What is DevOps? 

DevOps is an acronym for Development and Operations which refers to a cultural and professional movement focused on communication, collaboration, and integration between software developers and professionals in IT operations.

The term first came up at the Agile 2008 Conference in Toronto during a talk on Agile Infrastructure where Yhens Wasna and Patrick Debois discussed misunderstandings that arose between development teams and systems delaying project delivery. As of 2009, the term became popular due to the celebration of DevOps days in Belgium that have become popular in several cities around the world.

Why DevOps is so important and when it started

As we all know, most software companies tend to operate by keeping departments isolated from each other. That is how the so-called ‘silo mentality’ works.

On the one hand, some developers must develop a product as quickly as possible, without neglecting innovation and guided by a great tendency to change.

On the other hand, operations professionals must implement, configure and optimize resources for the correct functioning of the code, constantly seeking system stability.

As developers complete code packages, they hand them over to operations for deployment in a production environment. During this process, it is quite common for errors to appear, which ends in an exchange of reproaches, blaming each other, and so on.

While operations solve the problem, new code continues to get sent from Development to Operations who try to slow down the process to stabilize and optimize the system as much as possible.

This imbalance normally generates conflicts and delays in project delivery, which means extra costs and customer dissatisfaction.

How DevOps works 

With all that being said, DevOps arises to promote communication between departments, seeking common interests of all parties, automating processes, and facilitating continuous integration. That is basically how DevOps works.

The application of its processes allows developing software more quickly, with higher quality, lower cost, and a very high frequency of releases.

How DevOps works | Lifecycle

The DevOps lifecycle consists of the following phases:

1. Build: In this phase, software development takes place constantly and the whole process gets divided into small cycles. This benefits the DevOps team since it speeds up the software development and delivery process.

2. Test: The QA team uses tools to identify and correct errors in new code on an ongoing basis.

3. Release: Then, the new functionality gets integrated with the existing code, and testing gets carried out. Remember that continuous development is only possible thanks to integrations and testings.

4. Deploy: At this stage, it’s time for the implementation process to take place. It gets done so that any change made to the code should not affect the operation of the high-traffic website.

5. Operate: The operation team will take care of the inappropriate behavior of the system or the errors found in production, always working on a solid and stable system.

6. Monitor: This last stage of a standard DevOps lifecycle is a permanent phase that applies to the entire cycle. The operation team defines the measures to monitor and control the status of the applications and their infrastructure.

Is DevOps a methodology or an engineer profile?

Some techie gurus define it as methodology, others as a set of practices that share many similarities with agile methodology. Some others consider how DevOps works as a combination of several cultures and approaches to modern software development.

In our opinion, DevOps is a set of procedures that requires a cultural change in tech companies and allows building more agile and efficient teams.

How DevOps works | DevOps vs software engineer

You have already seen many DevOps Engineers job offers, and now you’re wondering whether it is a sort of engineer or a methodology. Yes, we know, but the answer is simple. DevOps is all about creating cross-functional teams with systems development and administration profiles. An engineer who wants to work with a DevOps mentality needs a comprehensive vision of technical environments and in-depth knowledge of automation tools. So, a ‘DevOps engineer’ is not a specific profession but a professional who is prepared to adopt a specific way of working.

DevOps vs QA

Since this series of DevOps procedures have been standardized and implemented in companies, Quality Assurance departments have also undergone a ‘transformation’ that is pushing some experts to say that QA may disappear soon.

Traditionally, QA was always in charge of finding the errors of a product already in operation. When working with a DevOps mentality, the objective of QA is not to find out problems but to prevent them, taking forward new releases if everything is working or rolling back if errors get found.

DevOps technologies list

Remember that DevOps means automation. Some tools such as Docker, Puppet, Jenkins, or AWS Lambda are precious technologies that will allow your teems to speed up development processes. They permit us to automatize organizing, testing, and deploying code from integration tools.

Besides, the cloud infrastructure can keep up with the rhythms required by applications in today’s market. Are you thinking of developing a software project but don’t know where to start yet? Then, this guide on business software development sure is for you.

What DevOps engineers do

Here at Tribalyte Technologies, we are expert business software developers and, as DevOps developers, we apply the DevOps methodology to any product we develop. So, if you have any questions or need expert recommendations about your project, contact us now without any commitment.