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Thinking of DevOps As a Philosophy - A Great Way to Implement DevOps
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Chen Qi
2021-12-07 09:51:03
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Summary : People are determined to implement DevOps in their environment and expect more significant benefits from it. DevOps can indeed make the journey of software development fast, but in this article, we will show the other side of DevOps, that is, DevOps is regarded as a philosophy. The fact is that relying on tools alone can't help achieve goals. There needs to be a change in mentality. DevOps is not entirely for faster software development and delivery. It promotes a collaborative environment in which software can be more efficient, fewer bugs, faster, and, more importantly, user-centered.
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After introducing previous articles, I believe everyone has a simple understanding of DevOps. (Review what DevOps is and its life cycle. Click here: DevOps life cycle, all you want to know is here). The concept and tools of DevOps have shown a trend of full swing in recent years, and it is predicted that they will continue to grow. However, DevOps cannot be realized overnight but needs to be more skilled and perfect in the gradual use.


You may have noticed that people are determined to implement DevOps in their environment and expect more significant benefits from it. DevOps can indeed make the journey of software development fast, but in this article, we will show the other side of DevOps, that is, DevOps is regarded as a philosophy. The fact is that relying on tools alone can't help achieve goals. There needs to be a change in mentality.

Yes, DevOps is not entirely for faster software development and delivery. It promotes a collaborative environment in which software can be more efficient, fewer bugs, faster, and, more importantly, user-centered.


Source：DevOps as a philosophy


The definition of DevOps points out that DevOps bridges the gap between development and operation & maintenance. The ultimate goal of DevOps is to shorten the software development life cycle, but the quality of software should not be ignored. Many key technology organizations, such as Amazon, Netflix, NASA, IBM, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc., use DevOps as a methodology in their development environment.


But do you understand the word DevOps and its whole concept?

You can't just say you're doing DevOps or agile by reducing software delivery time. If your organization is doing DevOps, everyone on the team must participate in the whole DevOps discipline, which focuses on solid collaboration and early feedback.


A DevOps Journey Grow Out of Nothing


According to Gartner's survey, by 2023, 90% of DevOps plans will fail due to the limitations of leadership methods rather than technical reasons. DevOps journey from scratch will require everyone's efforts and attention because DevOps focuses on the entire team rather than individuals. This is where ideas can play an important role in adopting a successful DevOps process.

When you think about conceptual issues, you must have the following:


●Be able to reason about specific problems
●Be able to think independently and clearly
●Analyze and solve problems from a broader perspective


When you accept "DevOps as a philosophy" and practical DevOps tools, the software development method will be transferred to far-reaching and rapid software delivery, consistent with user feedback at each stage.

There are much traditional software development models, such as the waterfall model, spiral model, iterative model, extreme programming model, etc. On the other hand, DevOps is a new culture based on agile principles. It pays attention to the method, process, and quality of software quickly.

Why is DevOps transformation so tricky for organizations? The journey of DevOps is painful for most organizations. This is because:

●People resist change
●Uncoordinated team and limited energy
●Unrealistic expectations for automation
●By focusing on the above factors, we can gradually create a constructive atmosphere for DevOps in the organization.


Automation is misunderstood


We often hear that DevOps uses CI (continuous integration) and CD (continuous delivery) to automate the software development pipeline. But this is only part of the truth.

There is no doubt that DevOps refers to the automation of software development, testing, and deployment, but this does not mean that artificial intelligence and collaboration are not required. While some processes can be automated effortlessly, some methods require advanced functionality. Remember that "it's frequently people, not processes, who cause DevOps to fail," says George Spafford, research director at Gartner.


Source: DevOps


To gain an advantage in the competition, we should pay attention to software development quality. Automation is essential and saves you time and effort by eliminating redundant tasks.


However, more important is the quality standard, which people and machines maintain. Here, people can help match the proposed development diagram with the developed system to pay more attention to customer satisfaction.


Change doesn't happen overnight. It should be done step by step


You can't expect to implement DevOps in a day or two successfully. It may take days, weeks, or even months to mature. Here, "thinking DevOps as a philosophy" can help build a slow and firm mindset to help enterprises achieve fundamental change.

The software no longer only stays in the scope of web pages and mobile terminals. It surpasses the rise of machine learning, artificial intelligence, big data analysis, and the Internet of things.

In the digital age, continuous connection and a quality-oriented attitude are needed. In such a scenario, concepts such as DevOps can give you the benefits of synchronization to deliver value through customer-centric software solutions.


Instead of implementing DevOps just for faster delivery, what you need to do is:


●Identify the true strengths of DevOps
●Rely on "DevOps philosophy" to bring cultural change
●Define automation and collaboration for your organization
●Pay attention to the overall infrastructure before moving on to the next step
●Setting goals and metrics
●Don't be afraid of failure
●Develop the entire tool chain and train employees


People and processes must work in a standard way of thinking to deliver value to end-users. This principle applies to any software development.


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Author bio


Chen Qi, a senior agile test consultant, as a team member of ZenTao, a well-known domestic project management software, is mainly responsible for the open-source automated test management framework- the development of ZTF. With more than ten years of practical experience in the agile process, he is now committed to the practice and research in test automation and DevOps.


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