We use the DevOps methodology in our software development, but is DevOps also something you can benefit from as a business? What can this software development model teach us about business?
DevOps in a nutshell: breaking down silos
DevOps in software development management means integrating development (programming) with operations (client/project management).
When the wall between development and operations is dismantled, teams are empowered to work together to create innovative products at a higher velocity. DevOps brings the doers closer to the managers and the controllers and breaks down traditional hierarchies.
DevOps methodologies support rapid iteration and deployment. Everything is tightly integrated in DevOps. We use it because it ensures we can deliver better tech products and be better team players.
DevOps is not just a set of processes and practices, it’s also a culture and a mindset.
Appreciate the DevOps principles
DevOps is as much a mindset as a set of practices. Here are some of the ideologies that underpin DevOps and that can be easily integrated into commercial decision-making, team development etc.:
- Collaborative culture: in DevOps, development is harmonised with operations to break down silos and create better products. You can approach collaboration in your business in the same way by ensuring that marketing speaks to sales, finance to HR etc. Don’t tolerate closed doors at your company and share interdepartmental knowledge freely.
- Transparency and documentation: DevOps principles are all about transparency and documentation, which is a great way to ensure accountability and continuity. Document processes in a lean and continious way.
- Be deploying constantly: in DevOps, you don’t sit around – you deploy! Take the same approach and be constantly iterating, improving, and collecting feedback. Don’t sit on new ideas or features.
- Automate repetitive and low-value tasks, e.g. in your editorial processes, use AI to automatically categorise and create metadata such as image alt tags and page titles.
Figure out your baseline
Auditing your business and its processes is a worthwhile investment as it will give you a realistic baseline for optimisation.
Internal reviews, external consultants, financial records, team workshops – these are all tools you can use to figure out how agile and DevOps ready you are.
Look at everything: documentation, output, team structure, and roles and responsibilities. Is there a clear path to collaboration? Can people deploy new ideas freely (and fast enough)?
An audit will help shine a light on where your business needs the most help and transformation. You may need to dismantle as well as build.
Feedback is king
DevOps is all about the feedback loop.
It’s very easy to forget to tap into a robust feedback culture in the chaotic day-to-day, so ensure that you have feedback processes and frameworks that you can lean on. Having a feedback culture means making feedback easy and a natural part of everyone’s work.
- Smaller and more frequent feedback is generally easier to manage and more agile than long surveys and feedback sessions.
- Retrospectives: involve stakeholders and teams in discussions on how certain projects went and collect ideas for improvement. Incorporate client feedback, resourcing, and financial data to get a proper 360-degree view of the situation.
- Testing: proper deployment and testing are essential to creating great products and services. Have you got a testing process set up? Who reviews your tests?
Encourage learning and foster a DevOps culture
It can be challenging to let go and let people experiment, but this is another DevOps principle that can be great for business. A culture of learning means people can innovate, but it also means they are less afraid of making mistakes.
- Create smaller slimline teams to investigate new topics and iterate quickly when a good idea comes along. Get people to self-report and pitch new ideas on a regular basis.
- Let people go out to do R&D on key hot topics. Be open to external ideas and influences, while also maintaining a clear vision of where you’re headed. R&D does not mean accepting any new idea or trend without some evaluation first!
Foster a culture of information
The DevOps mindset means fostering a culture that’s anchored in information. Actionable data is something you will need to get comfortable with.
Alerts, automated updates, streamlined environments: these are things that everyone, not just coders, can appreciate. DevOps data management is lean but powerful, and you can also encourage a similar mindset to data and information-sharing in your organisation.
- Empower teams and stakeholders to manage their own budgets and resources.
- Share successes and failures openly.
- Involve everyone in data collection and analysis to reduce barriers.
Security and compliance should be built-in
Despite the inherent agility and flexibility of DevOps, there is no slacking off when it comes to security and compliance. DevOps takes ongoing security and security culture very seriously – as all businesses should!
- We like to ensure that any platforms or tools that we use, such as Microsoft Azure, are top of the line in security. The right tools will literally save you time and money.
- Being agile does not give you license to be sloppy: have clear security processes and principles baked into everything you do.
- The teamwork approach in DevOps helps keep egos in check and makes everyone responsible for security, which is usually a safer model.
In conclusion: Review your processes and increase your agility
The key is to figure out how you can make this mindset work for your business. Not every business can act like a startup, but the DevOps mindset can be fruitful for any business.
Severing siloes, creating a culture of sharing and feedback, and striking a balance between iteration and security are all worthwhile investments.
