Plotting a Course to DevOps

The concept of DevOps is simple, but implementing it can be difficult. One of the most common misconceptions is that there is a finish line for the process. DevOps is an ever-evolving approach to application development, and in most cases, the key is to move forward to a point where DevOps is delivering measurable business value.

Some commitments need to be part of the strategic plan, including:

• Reliance on cloud-native development
• Support for continuous improvement/continuous delivery (CI/CD) processes
• Utilization of automation wherever and whenever possible
• Integration/coordination with SecOps and IT Ops

Some organizations may add other conditions, but these four provide a foundation for moving forward.

Many DevOps practitioners recommend starting with a manageable list of projects. Besides bringing fundamental change to development teams, DevOps impacts many aspects of the business. Starting small lets the team better understand the organizational issues that need to be managed.

As with any technology initiative, the most important result is delivering business value. While there are many internal DevOps metrics (deployment frequency, change failure rate, etc.), those with a focus on business benefits include:

• Improvements in business metrics: Has the new app improved sales or profits? Does it reduce costs? These are ideal outcomes that easily show DevOps benefiting the business. They aren’t always achievable, but they should never be lost sight of as the most valuable benefits to the business.
• Faster time to response and time to delivery: How fast does the development effort yield business results? One of the primary benefits of DevOps is that it can deliver a minimally viable solution much more quickly than traditional waterfall development processes. Comparability may be difficult between projects, since each has its nuances, but it is possible to measure time to solution.
• Better responsiveness to requests for changes and enhancements: DevOps teams can react much more quickly when requests for improvements are made, just as they are faster at delivering a minimally viable solution.
• Reduction in customer and employee tickets: No release is perfect, but if DevOps is succeeding, fewer tickets should be seen than when using traditional methods. It is worth noting that the number of tickets can drop quickly with DevOps, since a missing feature or function that results in a ticket may be added in the next release.

Clearly, adopting a DevOps framework is a positive change. What holds back many organizations is that they have few staff that can drive this change beyond the technical issues. Leveraging the experience and knowledge of a partner or external team that has already made the transition to DevOps helps speed up the journey and reduce false steps. Maverick Technology Partners can support your migration to DevOps. We can provide both on-shore and off-shore consultants, as well as managed services that are focused on driving DevOps business value. Read our case study “DevOps Company Reduces Operating Budget with Maverick” to learn how we helped a global pharmaceutical organization make this change.