What Is DevOps?
DevOps is a set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops). It aims to shorten the systems development life cycle and provide continuous delivery with high software quality. DevOps outlines a software development process and an organizational culture shift that speeds the delivery of higher quality software by automating and integrating the efforts of development and IT operations teams – two groups that traditionally practiced separately from each other. Ultimately, DevOps is about meeting software users’ ever-increasing demand for frequent, innovative new features and uninterrupted performance and availability.
How DevOps Works: The DevOps Lifecycle
The lifecycle is a series of iterative, automated development processes, or workflows, executed within a larger, automated and iterative development lifecycle designed to optimize the rapid delivery of high-quality software.
| The name and number of workflows can differ depending on whom you ask, but they typically boil down to these six step: |
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- Planning (or ideation): In this workflow, teams scope out new features and functionality in the next release, drawing from prioritized end-user feedback and case studies, as well as inputs from all internal stakeholders.
- Development: This is the programming step, where developers test, code, and build new and enhanced features, based on user stories and work items in the backlog.