Supportsoft Glossary

Integrated Development and Operations Workflow

DevOps provides collaboration between software development and IT operations. In contrast to a traditional Software Development Lifecycle (“SDLC”), where each phase is considered a series of siloed tasks (i.e., Development builds functionality, Operations manages deployment), DevOps advocates continuous communication, shared responsibility and an automated workflow across the two disciplines.

Therefore, the main goal of DevOps is to shorten the time it takes to deliver an application to market while also increasing the quality of that application. Through practices such as Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Delivery (CD), Automated Testing, Infrastructure As Code (IAAS) and Real-Time Monitoring: development teams have increased visibility into operational constraints earlier in the process and can therefore make more frequent updates. As a result, the risk associated with operational downtime is minimised, innovation accelerates and the stability of an evolving system can be preserved.

DevOps also promotes a cultural shift within the organisation. People in Dev and Ops begin working together in a collaborative manner, and therefore, their ability to experiment, be transparent and receive rapid feedback is enhanced. Developers are now more aware of the operational constraints of their applications, and the same goes for operations engineers, creating a shared view of what goes into deploying an application. By creating an understanding of how applications function and the functionality they provide, teams can deploy faster, troubleshoot better and create more resilient systems.