DevOps best practices: 10 useful tips for a successful implementation

Rapid advancements in technology have prompted businesses to focus more on their IT departments for a better understanding of new systems and harnessing their full power. Besides technology, customer needs and expectations have increased as well. Thus, the demand for DevOps implementation is at an all-time high as it provides a solution to fulfill marketing requirements.

But a company’s transition into fully utilizing DevOps is a journey that involves many elements, including organizational structure, culture, processes, technologies, and even staff habits. For effective DevOps implementation, there must be collaboration between the operations and development teams, which is possible via the following DevOps best practices:

Focus on improving communication

DevOps implementation

Proper communication is necessary for successful DevOps implementation. With several departments collaborating and working together to meet a specific goal, good communication is key to avoiding errors and dead ends later on. The DevOps environment stresses the importance of continuous delivery, which means that the lack of established communication can cause multiple tasks to pile up quickly throughout the day. Organizations interested in implementing DevOps must also develop a clearly defined internal communications strategy to help employees share information. Smooth communication also lets workers improve their operational efficiency and stay updated on current changes, helping them adapt faster and avoid mistakes, both minor and major.

Avoid going too big

The more expansive the software development project, the more difficult it is to finish DevOps implementation on schedule and test it as thoroughly as required. Companies often get carried away when working on a large DevOps project, as they believe they can add a few more changes without affecting the scope, not caring for the consequences of deployment or testing. Picking software changes that are smaller in scope but more frequent gives firms sufficient time to test every software change and tell people that even though you can’t add it right now, you plan on adding it in the following release.

Ask developers to check in every day

DevOps implementation

During document management or software development, one of the worst problems arises from the tendency of employees to check out documentation or code, working on it for days or hours before checking it back in. If someone else attempts to work on it, they original programmer is blocked by the data management software or, worse, they end up accessing what is already an outdated version. For this reason, developers need to check in their code daily to the trunk once their work is complete. Moreover, professionals working on project documentation, test scripts, and test notes must check in their progress every day so that the whole office is on the same page when starting work daily.

Arrange for sufficient human resources

There is a common misconception among organizations that successful DevOps implementation is possible by providing proper training to a handful of individuals. But the truth is, the company needs the full force of dedicated human resources on their side to successfully pull off such a large-scale transformation. This is not a task that can be handled by a single employee, no matter how many workshops they have attended or how much training they have had. The interdisciplinary nature of DevOps means that your organization will have to arrange for a network of professionals that can facilitate collaborations among closely knit teams.

Never undermine the importance of rigorous testing

You must test each code repeatedly before rolling it out for production. Testing must be conducted across various environments, browsers, and hardware configurations. Why? Because what works successfully on, say, Android may fail miserably on a Linux box. So test everything across the hardware used by your customer base and across all major operating systems. Also, it’s a good idea to run beta tests whenever possible of upcoming OS and run the software on it.

Take your time for scaling

DevOps implementation

A successful DevOps implementation procedure hinges on smaller cycles and operations. After all, it is impossible for employees to adjust and adapt from the silos-based culture prevalent in most organizations to DevOps in one day. The right pace will foster collaboration and trust among different departments and the entire organization will have enough time to get used to this new approach to doing things. Test any newfound environment before you adopt it throughout the company. If you rush DevOps implementation, the culture can backfire, not only breaking down the process but creating bottlenecks — none of which the firm is prepared to deal with.

Get support from developers

Keep a development team handy to support operations and resolve deployment issues at the earliest. They must be available throughout the workday when tech support and operations may approach them with questions. In exchange, appreciate and reward them.

Maintain a realistic implementation schedule

Many enterprises mistakenly presume that DevOps implementation takes just a few months to complete. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case. It should be made clear to the company that they will soon experience a full-fledged renovation, and this level of change requires a vast timescale, usually measured in years instead of months. Also, let them understand that this journey is without any end as the organization will strive for perpetual improvement.

Sync software development and environment

The environment and code must be developed at the same time so that everyone is working on the same thing, and there is no confusion among the coding team regarding changes made to the environment. Ensure a common, controlled production environment creation and software development process. When you get the key files and backup codes, backup the environment too. Consult an experienced, qualified DevOps firm if you’re unsure about the implementation process.

Never outsource DevOps implementation

Numerous companies are of the opinion that hiring skilled external consultants will make DevOps implementation easier. But the DevOps journey affects the entire organization and cannot be handled externally. The bulk of the work needs to be completed by in-house development teams. However, you can approach an external entity for advocating changes, speeding the implementation process, and guiding the path.

A matter of trust and respect

Implementing DevOps enables a company to fulfill the demands of different markets with quality, speed, and efficiency. However, proper implementation is possible only if the different departments learn to respect and trust one another and collaborate to achieve their common targets.

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