A Practical Guide to DevOps

Authors

Patrick McClory – Principal Consulting Analyst

Abstract

From the first “DevOps Days” events,to current marketing and trends in the space;the concept of DevOps is focused on improving the flow of software from development to production by reducing or even removing barriers between the teams responsible for handling the process.

It is important to understand that practical DevOps is not the utopian vision that some vendors and even thought leaders often portray. Simply put, DevOps is not a cure-all, it will not solve world-hunger nor is it a ‘get out of jail free’ card. That said, with proper planning and alignment DevOps can offer distinct benefits to the enterprise.

This practical enterprise DevOps guide builds on three basic perspectives; we look at DevOps from a tactical point of view, a strategic perspective while considering the culturalaspects essential to successful DevOps programs. Key characteristics of each perspective include:

• Tactical DevOps: A pervasive and disruptive use of automation
• Strategic DevOps: A means of aligning all the constituents in the software development lifecycle–including those that create and those that manage software
• Cultural DevOps: A shift in how people interact in-and-around technical work as a result of the tactical and strategic outcomes

This report further develops these aspects and contains a set of pragmatic adoption guidelines and common hurdles that organizations will need to address as they progress with their DevOps program. This includes the organizational and cultural changes, the governance challenges associated with these new models, the integration and migration issues and approaches to building the right engineering and technical culture while ensuring the focus on business outcomes.