For enterprises looking to deliver high-quality software products faster, and more efficiently, DevOps adoption has become a strategic priority. Yet, 78% of organizations fail to get DevOps right. DevOps is a dramatic shift from traditional software development concepts that demands a fine-tuned coming together of people, processes, tools, and technologies.
Addressing the fundamental challenges and knowing the roadblocks on your DevOps journey that can impact adoption is crucial. Here are 5 hurdles on the way to DevOps success, and how you can overcome each them:
1. Unrealistic Goals:
If you think DevOps is a magic wand that can solve all your development challenges, you are wrong! More than anything, DevOps is a transformational journey that needs to be undertaken the right way. Setting unrealistic goals and just placing milestones and ticking off “accomplishments” will only take your DevOps project down. The more impossible the goals, the more averse people will be to commit to tasks that seem destined for failure.
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2. Automation challenges:
One of the main goals of DevOps is to improve the speed of software development and delivery. And DevOps drives this through increasing collaboration, using the right tools, quickly working on defects, etc. But poor automation can substantially impact the flow of work. Given how susceptible manual processes are to errors, lack of automation can also pose as a major hurdle to DevOps success.
Automation is a major factor in ensuring DevOps processes are successful. Automation is also a primary output or motivation for adopting DevOps. So, make it a thumb rule to invest in automation wherever practicable to get things done faster and more efficiently. From configuration management to automated builds, server provisioning, to automated code deployment and test automation – there are tons of ways you can use automation to improve the accuracy and success of your DevOps project.
3. Human Resistance:
Organizations that focus only on the technical aspects of DevOps implementation usually fail at their efforts. DevOps is far more than just implementing the right tools and technologies. It calls for a cultural shift. Without that, it’s hard to imagine reaping the benefits of a DevOps initiative.
Successful implementation of DevOps is not just about automation tools. It is also about transforming people who make decisions and behavior. Before you begin your DevOps journey, make sure all stakeholders including coders, operations staff, business analysts, quality assurance personnel, and information security team-members are aware of the changes that will occur, the efforts that will be required, and the benefits they will accrue from the implementation. Since DevOps represents a fundamental shift from how individuals and teams will have typically worked in the past, it is important to evaluate existing workflows for disruptions. It is also necessary to have plans in place to handle ego, biases, and resistance as DevOps sets in.
4. Legacy Change management:
Most organizations that look to adopt DevOps do so because they are no longer able to derive value from the existing change management processes they have been using for years. However, with new features and changes being incorporated so frequently today, legacy change management processes can get in the way of your DevOps project success. Even the most automated CI/CD processes compel teams to stop and wait for manual reviews – some of which could even take weeks. Know The Common Mistakes In CI CD.
If you want to get the most out of DevOps processes and hasten software development, you need to model for your legacy infrastructure, applications, and change management processes. When you implement highly automated CI/CD processes, make sure to embrace modern change agents, and avoid a fragmented toolset adoption. Toolchain sprawl can impose operational overhead, and slow your development process. The adoption of modern change management processes can not only help you to effectively handle all the change coming your way but it can also address the costs resulting from poorly managed change and can create consistency in how you handle the flood of change.
5. Operational Immaturity:
Many organizations jump into the DevOps game, without a proper plan in place, and without creating operational maturity. Moving to DevOps isn’t just about integrating your development and operations teams, or adopting tools to drive higher levels of automation. Without making the rest of the organization responsive and results-focused, it will be hard to make the most of DevOps.
When you get into the DevOps game, start by having a clear plan with milestones, and well-defined deliverables. Focus on building a collaborative culture with shared goals; elect champions, identify process owners, and make sure everyone understands his/her role in the DevOps journey. Make continuous integration, development, testing, deployment, and delivery an organization-wide habit. Provide teams with 24×7 access to logging solutions, performance monitoring tools, analytics tools, and advanced alerting and notification solutions. Also, make sure processes for change management, problem management, incident management, and configuration management are modernized to allow for more agility and transparency.
Progress towards Success
As the DevOps buzz grows, many organizations are entering the domain unprepared and ill-equipped. The yare unaware of questions like, how will they actually implement DevOps or what roadblocks they could face. Given that DevOps presents itself more like a cultural shift than anything, it is important to first address the human challenges, and then move on to ensure you have the right plan, the right tools, and the right processes in place to walk toward DevOps success.
