Shifting to a DevOps approach can significantly improve the workflow and productivity of an organization, by bringing two parallel teams together to get things done. However, it’s not as simple as implementing the structure change; additional work must be completed to ensure everything works as planned.
Improving DevOps productivity has the same basic considerations as creating efficiency in any team, with a few subtle nuances. Here are five ways to improve DevOps productivity.
Use the Right Tools
Having the right tools in place to track performance and manage projects is essential if DevOps is expected to be efficient. For example, having kanban reporting in place will help build a consistent workflow that will keep the DevOps teams on track by collecting analytics and turning the data into useful knowledge about the workflow’s effectiveness.
Additionally, there are various tools to implement that help with the productivity of any team. Instant messaging services such as Slack keep everyone on the same page, even if they’re on different parts of the globe. Smart scheduling software can keep track of everyone’s work hours and ensure that all gaps are covered.
Get Alignment with Business Objectives
Sometimes it helps teams to know how their efforts impact the bigger picture. To do this, project managers and leaders must ensure that the connection between the project and the business objectives are clearly identified. This information should be shared with the team so that they’re aware of the domino effect their actions will have throughout the company.
As with any project, it helps to know the negative implications as well as the positive ones. For example, one person failing to complete their task until one day past the deadline, but it could have a ripple effect that pushes the project launch date months down the road.
Implement Automation
Despite the negativity and controversy that the term “automation” sparks, it has benefits that will drastically improve the output of the DevOps team. Automation tools complete repetitive tasks so human workers can focus elsewhere. This means that valuable resources aren’t being allocated to something that’s necessary but time-consuming and simplistic, such as recurring workflow tasks.
Not only does implementing automation improve productivity by freeing up the DevOps team to focus on the task at hand, but it also boosts morale and individual productivity. The team will appreciate being able to focus on high-value tasks rather than the monotonous tasks that keep things moving forward behind the scenes.
Slow Implementation
Regardless of what protocol is being put in place, too many businesses make the mistake of trying to make the shift at once. Implementing a DevOps philosophy that brings the development and operations teams together is one of these changes that would benefit from a slow implementation or backtracking when changes are made too fast.
For organizations that are new to the DevOps approach, focus on a per-project basis or adopt a few key aspects of the process at a time. For organizations struggling with productivity after implementing DevOps, backtrack and audit where the bottlenecks are occurring. Then, make a plan to correct them.
Work in Sprints
Working in sprints keeps everyone’s eyes fresh and ready to handle the complexity of a development project. For programmers, this means engaging in bursts of coding and taking time away to get refreshed before frustration sets in. This philosophy can be applied to the DevOps team as a whole.
Start each sprint with a clearly defined list of things that should get accomplished during the allotted time and remove distractions. Take time after the sprint to review what was achieved and what went wrong, to better plan the next sprint.
DevOps is meant to improve the workflow and productivity while trying to bring a development project from ideation to implementation. By taking a team-centric approach and ensuring the right processes and tools are in place, DevOps teams can boost their productivity and effectiveness.
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