The matter of DevOps vs. Agile is sort of like debating iPhone vs. Android—everybody has an opinion, and feelings can change into heated, particularly if folks disagree.
After writing DevOps v. Agile: What’s the difference? and studying the feedback on the article, I needed so as to add some extra ideas—together with how a few of my considering has modified on the subject.
My perspective comes from the place I’m now but additionally the place I’ve been. I was a programs administrator and infrastructure engineer, and now I’m a senior scrum grasp with a significant utility firm in Missouri. (I really was a scrum grasp earlier than I used to be an admin or engineer, however I digress.)
My workforce consists of six frontend software program engineers and IT programmer analysts, a enterprise analyst, two product homeowners, and me. Recently, we discovered that administration needs our workforce to change into a DevSecOps workforce, so our core scrum workforce is working with a DevSecOps workforce that’s serving to us make the transition. No one is naive to the truth that this won’t be straightforward, however the DevSecOps workforce’s expertise offers us confidence that we are able to succeed.
Our workforce’s supervisor not too long ago employed a senior software program engineer who will drive the DevSecOps purpose. As a scrum grasp, I’ll proceed to deal with steady enchancment. The workforce is pretty younger, so they do not have expansive work expertise, however they’re sensible and pushed, and there may be a lot room for greatness. In addition, our total group goes by an Agile transformation, so most individuals are new to all issues Agile, together with the Agile Manifesto and the Five Scrum Values.
Agile, Scrum, DevOps, and extra
There is a transparent relationship between DevOps and Agile. Agile is the methodology, Scrum is the framework, and DevOps falls below the agile umbrella together with kanban, lean, large-scale Scrum, Extreme Programming, Crystal, and extra. For instance, our Scrum workforce is an Agile workforce that can function as a DevSecOps workforce.
Neither DevOps nor Agile is concerning the instruments. Rather, each are concerning the mindset and culture. When it’s carried out proper, groups assume and act otherwise and obtain larger outcomes, together with sooner software program supply, steady integration (CI), steady supply (CD), steady enchancment, working software program, sooner options, extra collaboration, and fewer silos. Additional outcomes are seen in high quality testing, higher automation, and improved programs, processes, and practices.
Common ideas
Some of the Agile ideas they’ve in frequent are related to the Agile Manifesto; essentially the most acquainted of the 12 rules are the primary 4:
- Individual and interactions over processes and instruments
- Working software program over complete documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiations
- Responding to vary over following a plan
Some of the DevOps ideas they’ve in frequent are the CI/CD pipeline, optimizing software program supply and high quality, a tradition of innovation, service-level targets and indicators (SLOs and SLIs), collaboration throughout groups, and automation.
DevOps and Agile advantages
DevOps quickens issues between builders and operations. Furthermore, despite the fact that DevOps is not concerning the instruments, the truth that the dev and ops groups use the identical tech stack creates a shared language and empathy between the 2. Our Scrum workforce makes use of Jira to trace all bugs, enhancements, and workforce efficiency. Common DevOps instruments are Jenkins, AWS, SonarQube, GitHub, Splunk, and Ansible. While the instruments differ from workforce to workforce, the mindset and tradition needs to be frequent throughout all.
DevOps additionally creates much less division between dev and ops and a way of understanding of what it is prefer to stroll in one another’s footwear as a result of now they operate as one.
Agile groups constantly ship typically and quick, adapting incrementally alongside the way in which. Working in two-week sprints seems to be the candy spot for many software- or product-delivery groups. Agile groups could make the most of DevOps rules of their work (e.g., implementing a CI/CD pipeline), and dev groups that work with ops are more likely to work in the identical two-week increments.
DevOps historically results in steady deployment, supply, and integration. Teamwork is built-in; issues and failures are collectively owned by growth, operations, and different entities, akin to high quality assurance (QA), testing, automation, and so forth.
Summing up
I imagine that Agile and DevOps breathe the identical air, with many ideas and theories crossing between them.
While I’ve no doubts that there will likely be counter opinions and even some sharply worded disagreements with my opinions, I feel we’d all agree that Agile and DevOps search to deal with complexity, enhance high quality, and innovate round software program design.
