by Jeffrey Walker
| Dec 30, 2013
So far we’ve established that DevOps is an epic new approach to software app development and deployment. Quite simply, businesses need to keep up with growing consumer demand. And in order to do that effectively, they need a more transparent path to planning, building, testing, and deploying software. This is the heart of DevOps!
But exactly how do you kickstart a DevOps strategy?For example, say your organization is tied down to a very sequential, but cumbersome Waterfall approach to software development that is wasting precious dollars and hindering productivity? DevOps is as much about changes in culture as it is about changes in technology and process. Managing multiple versions and upgrades of products and services requires a new approach to software release and deployment.
Before you jump to discussions about continuous delivery, integration, and automation on the road to a DevOps strategy, it’s important to begin with executive buy-in. These new adoptions can’t be expected to happen overnight, and the road is not going to be easy. The first step is to get your executive team onboard with the vision of what DevOps can accomplish.
Get Executive Buy-In
Whatever steps your organization takes on the DevOps path of rolling out software faster and more effectively and deployment will require the support of your senior level management team. Explain the advantages of DevOps to the executive team in terms that they can easily understand. Provide an outline of how DevOps and cloud computing can save on ROI and get your new mobile application into the hands of the customer faster and more effectively with higher quality.
Bring together business owners of Development and Operations together and setup a demonstration of some cloud-based testing and automation tools that can show cost savings. This can and probably should involve a series of meetings. Create several weekly lunch and learns for the executive team. Be creative but ensure that the message gets across that DevOps is about saving the organization time and money!
Once the executive team sees the value and is aligned with your DevOps vision, this will smooth the path for other business stakeholders across the organization.
Build a DevOps RoadMap
In order to implement DevOps effectively, you’ll need to organize your strategy and outline the scope and approach. In the process, ask yourself what is the endgame, what do you want to achieve in 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 5 years? Obviously, you want to produce higher quality products and services faster and more efficiently, but you’ll need to wrap some context around that. To monitor your progress on the path to DevOps, pay attention to these KPIs:
- Time to set up an environment
- Time from change request to release
- Number of deployments per week or month
- Mean time to resolution
As you organize your roadmap document, keep an eye on use cases of what other organizations have done. Also keep in mind that your roadmap is going to relate to people, process, and technology working in unison and harmony. It’s meant to be a dynamic document, not a static one written in stone. Keep it updated and iterate often as you and your team develop new insights.
We’ve started with some practical solutions to jump start your DevOps strategy. Stay tuned as we continue this discussion in Part 3.
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