Accelerate Success with DevOps: The Key to Faster Deployment and Improved Quality

Software development typically involves two distinct departments: the development team, responsible for creating and building the system from scratch, and the operations team, responsible for testing and implementing the developed system.

Traditionally, the development team would often have to wait for feedback from the operations team, which could extend timelines and delay the entire software development cycle. In some cases, the development team might move on to the next project while the operations team continues to provide feedback for the previous code, leading to weeks or even months for the project to be completed.

The devops approach seeks to break down the barriers between these two teams and improve efficiency by fostering collaboration and continuous integration. This is achieved through a series of phases, beginning with the planning phase in which the development team outlines a plan for the application, taking into account the objectives to be delivered to the customer. Once the plan is in place, the development team begins coding, with different versions of the code being stored in a repository using version control tools such as Git. The code is then made executable using build tools such as Maven and Gradle, and undergoes testing for bugs and errors using automation tools like Selenium.

Once the code has passed various manual and automated tests, it is ready for deployment and is sent to the operations team. The operations team uses tools such as Ansible, Docker, and Kubernetes to deploy the code to the working environment. The product is then continuously monitored using tools like Nagios, and any feedback is sent back to the planning phase as part of the continuous integration process. Jenkins is a popular tool for managing this process, coordinating the building, testing, and deployment of code.

Many major companies and organizations have adopted the devops approach in order to improve their delivery times and reduce the gap between their development and operations teams. Examples include Amazon, Netflix, Walmart, Facebook, and Adobe. Netflix, for example, introduced a tool called the Simian Army that continuously introduced bugs into the environment in order to motivate developers to build a system that could withstand such disruptions. By embracing the devops culture and implementing the appropriate tools and processes, companies can adapt more quickly to updates and development changes, and deliver consistently and smoothly.