If you’re new to the world of DevOps, or working with developers and IT professionals, it can be difficult to know where to start. How can DevOps benefit my business? How can I upskill my team, or department, in the busy world of IT development and operations?
The list can be endless and quite daunting, so here are some tips to help get you started.
First, what is DevOps?
DevOps is a combination of software developers (dev) and operations (ops). It enables teams to come together and adopt new cultures, philosophies, and practices that break down silos, focusing on shortening the development life cycle, and providing high quality software through continuous delivery. Developers and operations collaborating and delivering in an efficient manner with shared responsibility.
Top tips
Get to know your developers
Developers are the lifeblood of your business and they need to be understood and respected if you want your project to succeed. Ask questions and get to know how they work - how they think? What makes them tick? What is their motivation at work? All of these questions will help you better understand your developers, which will make it easier for you to work with them in the future.
Understand the development process
The development process is a complicated one, involving a number of different steps and different types of people, so it's important that you understand how it works. For example, you’ll need to know the developer should start working on a project. What kinds of things they’re working on at various stages of the process, and what types of bugs might need to be fixed along the way. A solid understanding of the development process will make it easiest for you to work with your developers on future projects.
Change the Dev vs Ops Mentality
Understand where the role of ‘dev’ stops and where ‘ops’ currently starts and look to see how they can be best integrated together. This would be a great starting point to break the barriers and friction that can result from these separate teams.
Develop your understanding of Continuous Delivery
Become clear on what Continuous Delivery means for your business and how you deliver software at greater frequency. This can be very useful for the team to appreciate what this is and how to achieve stability in this approach. Adopting a Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery approach will enable you to deliver rapidly, in a safe and reliable manner, with Continuous learning being a core theme throughout all stages.
Don’t micromanage
If your developers feel that they are being micromanaged, they’ll more than likely have a difficult time focusing their efforts on the project at hand. Instead, focus on the big picture and make sure that you’re doing the things that will help your team to succeed. Your developers are smart, and they’ll be able to solve most problems on their own if you just give them the time and space to do so.
Improve collaboration across teams
DevOps is all about collaboration and fostering communication amongst all teams within the organisation. A DevOps strategy will bring together development, IT operations, sales, finance, and management. This strategy can bridge the gap between several departments, which can aid in preventing costly errors in the future.
DevOps is a way of working that helps companies move faster and more efficiently through the software development process.
Essentially, DevOps is a way of working that helps companies move faster and more efficiently through the software development process. A DevOps team combines IT engineers with software architects and developers to help them develop and launch new products and services more efficiently. By integrating development and operations teams, businesses are able to better respond to changing market conditions and consumer demands. The end result is higher customer satisfaction and lower operational costs for enterprises.
Use your company’s Apprenticeship Levy to achieve IT transformation
Many business leaders are using their Apprenticeship Levy to fill skills gaps and build digital competency in their organisations. Remember, an apprentice can be at any stage in their career. They can be a new recruit to your business or an established member of staff. What makes them an apprentice is that, in addition to their job role, they’re undertaking an accredited training programme that will improve their productivity and performance.
What Data and Technology apprenticeships are available?
We have a wide range of apprenticeship programmes for those interested in data and technology. Check out our programme page, and the DevOps Engineer Level 4 in particular.