5 DevOps Best Practices That You Need to Know

The world is now living in the DevOps era — but what exactly is it? – In simple terms, DevOps is a modern approach to software development. The focus is primarily on collaboration, with developers and IT teams collaborating more closely so that applications can be finished and provided to customers much faster than in the past.

Some of the most exciting benefits of DevOps include:

Greater innovation
Improved collaboration
Happier customers (due to better and faster product delivery)
Less technical problems and faults
Stronger security

Really, it’s a no-brainer to follow a DevOps approach. This is true no matter the size of your business, whether you have 10, 100, or 1,000 employees.

So, with all that said, you need to know about these five DevOps best practices. This way, you’ll be able to ensure that your DevOps efforts are highly effective moving into the future. Finally, you’ll be able to get that all-important competitive edge over your rival companies, which you’ll no doubt look forward to.

IMAGE: PEXELS

1. Use Database Version Control

One of the biggest mistakes that businesses make is forgetting to use database version control for their DevOps. In short, this is when you keep track of every single change that’s made to the database during the software development process. The result of this is that you get to reduce potential downtime, as there’s much less chance of your databases being improperly updated.

2. Switch to Automated Testing

Automated testing in software development is often a lifesaver. Instead of having to rely on tiresome manual testing done by human developers, organizations can instead rely on automated testing during the development process. These tests can be repeated as many times as needed, which is great for saving time and reducing costs. Plus, it also helps businesses to reduce their software failure rate, as problems get identified quickly.

At this moment in time, some of the best automation tools in the DevOps world include Puppet and SaltStack. Remember, it’s incredibly important that you provide your team members with the tools they need so that the DevOps process can continuously keep improving.

3. Communication is Key

Successful DevOps is all about excellent communication between team members.

For example, the last thing you want to happen is that communication becomes a baton. Product engineers are passing the baton to test engineers, then the test engineers are passing it to management, and so on. Instead, everyone needs to be in tune with each other so that messaging doesn’t get lost — which is why communication is incredibly important.

These days, most businesses have office-based, remote, and hybrid workers. Therefore, not everyone can work in the same room. However, it’s still possible to hold daily meetings so that changes, new ideas, and everything else in between can be discussed, whether it’s via Microsoft Teams or Zoom.

4. Keep Track of Metrics

You can’t put a price on how important metrics are.

From software update costs to how many customers are using each new product, metrics should be readily available for your team to look at whenever they need to.

It’s also worth noting that metrics are great for preventing bottlenecks during the development process, which (again) is great for saving both time and money.

5. Focus On the Customer

Lastly, make sure your focus always remains on the customer.

The modern customer is changing constantly. In response to new customer trends and expectations, you need a solid DevOps system in place so that you can keep providing products to the highest possible standard. If you take your eye off the customer at any point, your DevOps could start to collapse, so make sure that this doesn’t happen.