DevOps, The SDLC, and Agile Development

It is hard to imagine life without software. Software has entered almost all the aspects of life, and there is an unending race to be at the top and move faster and be more Agile without having to compromise on security and dependability. This has led to increasing pressure about the completion of projects in a timely manner and that they should not be put on hold. This is the point where DevOps comes into play by getting various groups which are working in an organization to meaningfully collaborate over a set of shared goals of timely delivery of software to customers. The basic practices are getting the Dev and Ops teams to come on a common platform on a group of various Agile processes and tools for the delivery of software stated below:

• Testing and management of automated configuration.

• Application and infrastructure code version control for enabling collaboration and rollbacks.

• Automation of code builds by Continuous Integration for enabling quick feedback and even iteration via more frequent and releases with low risks.

DevOps thus presents a cultural perspective on how should everyone be engaged correctly.

What is DevOps Culture?

All businesses want to take up DevOps although not everyone who talks about it so frequently can understand it meaningfully. DevOps is focused on collaboration encouraged by culture, one of the basic pretexts on which this is founded in communication. The information flow is basic to shared understanding and also connecting different IT departments. As the whole team is working towards a common goal, various barriers are broken, and the friction between developers is removed.

Thus, DevOps has a mutually beneficial relationship with Agile development, thus offering more flexibility than the other rigid structures which were present in the IT arena. The whole idea is directed at people working together and accepting change. It is this which allows the release of high quality software, and at a faster delivery speed. In addition to the coordination, the people-centric culture of DevOps is built on a particular viewpoint. It encourages a culture of open-mindedness, predictability, cross-skill training, and trying to do something extra. Thus, there is a development of shared identity between different teams.

Software Development Life Cycle

SDLC stands for a process which throws light on the development, design, and even maintenance of the software project, making sure that all the functional and other user requirements are met. This methodology ensures the improvement of the quality of the software project and the whole process of development of software.

SDLC has four phases:

Requirement Gathering & Analysis Phase: This is the first and vital phase of SDLC, which is for the success of software. This is a typical phase where there is communication between various stakeholders of the project team as various requirements are gathered from the clients.

Design Phase: The design of the architecture is proposed for the project and is further caught in a design document.

Development Phase: Being the longest project this forms an important step, as here the actual project is both developed and erected.

Testing Phase: This strategy of testing is seen in almost all stages of SDLC but in this phase testing only refers to the practice where bugs and other defects of the system are reported, found and then corrected. The whole project is shifted to a particular test environment, and many different types of testing processes are taken up like functional, system, integration, and acceptance testing.

Maintenance Phase: Once the system undergoes testing, it will go live. The system is first restricted to a limited user and then finally tested in a real business environment for UAT.

Agile Development

Agile software development is a blanket term used for various set of frameworks and other practices which are based on values and principles. Agile, unlike other software development, has its focus on the people teams and how they are knit together. Solutions which are reached evolve through coordination between various cross-functional teams which use proper practices for their context. The focus thus lies on collaboration and self-organization of teams as the team together decides the next approach on things. Agile is hence a mindset which is made up of values which are contained in the Agile Manifesto. The whole idea behind Agile can be deduced from the first sentence of the Agile Manifesto, which says, “We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and adjust accordingly."

Agile software development thus focuses on the following core values:

• Team interactions

• Working software

• Customer collaboration

• Response to change

Development at Agile: A Brief Design and development are considered as the primary activities, and they also include other activities like requirements elicitation and results.

• Iteration spans all the activities.

• All the steps are executed in a series of increments.

• Agile model is flexible.

• Focus is on the development of code and not documentation.

Agile thus provides a full and exhaustive set of software requirements. It curates the needs of the highly dynamic environment, and via an incremental development approach, it helps to develop the final product.

Conclusion

DevOps is a culture and not just a role. It has to be implemented across the company for it to work. Senior leadership also needs to be involved along with everyone. DevOps is thus concerned with continual learning and improvement. You thus develop more products and services with improved speed and quality.

The Software Development Life Cycle is an intricate process which involves various steps for delivering goals and objectives.

Agile plays a vital role in this era of fast-changing technology, enabling the global software companies to adjust to the above with incremental development for producing the final product.