DevOps: Why People (Not Tools) Are Transforming Software Development

Summary

The term DevOps has acquired many different definitions that have to do with all aspects of development and operations. This article claims that the true impact of DevOps comes down to shaping a company’s culture for better performance.

Chris Cancialosi, author of the article, tells the story of the company BlazeMeter which provides advanced tools to help companies launch high performance applications while minimizing the risk of failure after launch. The C.E.O. of Blaze Meter, Alon Girmonsky, contends that, back in 2010, he was able to see the revolutionary shift that DevOps was bringing to the technology industry. Although he suggests that a company must first evaluate itself to decide whether the culture of DevOps is truly for it, Girmonsky provides a list of thoughts to keep in mind when adopting this methodology.

         Why

Understand the real reasons for adopting DevOps and make sure that they are aligned to the company’s mission.

      Find the right talent

Make sure that the talent that will carry out this movement is willing to adapt to the change or simply adopt the DevOps culture because they truly understand the benefits.

          Infrastructure is Key

Organizational culture can be manifested through many different aspects of work. Designing an infrastructure that supports the collaborative and high velocity nature of DevOps is very important.

         DevOps = culture

In order for this system to work, it must be adopted into the work culture of all employees. It is imperative to have a clear understanding of “why this new way is critical to success.” Therefore, unless the culture truly embraces DevOps, it will be difficult to operate seamlessly and reap the ultimate benefits of this system.

Relevance

DevOps is one of the core concepts that evolved from Agile, which is another concept heavily covered in our Systems Analysis and Design course. It is important to note how much emphasis the author and Girmonsky give to culture, when they speak about implementing DevOps in a company. In class, we have learned about the importance of understanding the different facets of Agile development, which is a system designed to be implemented with high collaboration, flexibility and on-going improvements. This article highlights a very pronounced overlap between the approach that a company must take to adopt DevOps and the approach companies are taking when adopting Agile. It seams that DevOps should be heavily infused to culture not only because it is essential for DevOps to work, but also because it will integrate seamlessly to the other fast-adapting and high-collaborative methodologies that follow this same approach.

Importance

As an MIS student and CIO of WorkSphere, a company founded through the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship, it important that I understand all of the different methodologies that competitive technology companies currently implement to develop and perform as best as possible. Learning the methodology of Agile was crucial for me and my company to begin thinking about the process of developing our next prototype. Now that I have learned more about DevOps, I can begin to think about the importance of focusing on high collaborating between our operations team and our development team throughout the entire development process.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/chriscancialosi/2016/02/29/devops-why-people-not-tools-are-transforming-software-development/#e04086a28859