For me year 2015 started with a list of resolutions that included shedding few kilos (both personally and professionally) and this time I was keener than ever before. I wanted to be lighter (leaner), faster & reliable (sounds like Agile and DevOps guy) I was very clear of one thing that I will never resort to any short term solutions of hanky-panky “diet-plans” to show off as a fad but rather change my lifestyle to ensure a definite and long term success to my initial resolution. I followed this strategy strictly and here I am with a permanent loss of 9 kilos since more than a year and continue to be leaner, faster and reliable.
Almost same time, similar strategy applied to Software Engineering lifestyle @ Inuxu. Developers, testers, and Ops need to change their mindset and not resort to using ad-hoc latest tools in fad to shed the SDLC weight. In order to be more agile and embrace DevOps, one needs to understand the broader scope and breathe it every moment. You might lose some process weight by using ad-hoc tools, but unless DevOps becomes your lifestyle permanent long-term benefits won’t start flowing in. Click here to understand more about what DevOps is.
Roles for both developers, testers and Ops have never been so challenging with overlapping responsibilities in a DevOps culture:
- A Developer should be fully aware and be able to ensure the code is production ready all the time delivering more frequent but stable releases.
- QA team is no longer just testing the code but coding test cases ensuring all the STLC is adhered to.
- Ops is now more application centric.
Thanks to the cultural change, we have a more collaborative team!
The famous Venn diagram for DevOps should show the fourth circle, highlighting management’s commitment as well, that will ensure the DevOps is part of the overall culture for any Engineering team.
The above diagram (Image Source: Wikipedia) at times appears flawed in the perspective of involving only 3 teams and missing out on other teams like compliance and security.
Thankfully we did not have any legacy systems that still remains a challenge for many. Frequent, repeatable and stable deployments are a reality and are being done seamlessly with almost no manual intervention, giving Inuxu a sustainable competitive advantage.
One of the biggest questions is who owns it? Let me try and answer one of the challenges posed in DZone last year. Certainly onus has to be on the engineering head to drive it. Engineering head is the one rightly placed to differentiate between fat and muscle weight from the SD(T)LC cycle and make those critical and right decisions.
We @ Inuxu are “DevOps’ed” and have embraced this cultural shift. We are already seeing the benefits of critical thinking, creativity and innovation. Now we have an integrated, collaborative team as against to teams working in silos – Wow!!! – Thanks DevOps for helping to shed my weight @ Inuxu. As a startup if you need any help to get DevOps culture at your organization, get in touch for tips.
Who says New Year resolutions don’t work!!!