DevOps and Agile Methodologies in your Software Development Life Cycle

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC):

SDLC process involves planning, analysis, design, building, testing, deployment, and maintenance of software. It might turn out to be an inconceivable task to lay down a plan for getting the software built as desired on the very first try as it may lead to some unexpected issues and errors. Companies follow various methodologies or implementations to develop or implement software referred to as SDLC methodology. Every approach has some distinguished stages, that eventually are aimed at achieving the purpose of delivering cost-effective software, while also being cautious about the timelines and not compromising with the quality. Of all the existing methodologies, Agile, and DevOps are adopted by most of the companies due to their distinctive benefits. It is very rare these days that companies follow traditional waterfall methodology.

AGILE in SDLC:

Diving back to its basics and its role in SDLC, we can find that Agile is not a software or methodology. It is more about values and principles that help in product development. Agile manifesto clearly explains the values and principles that lay the foundation to bring out a product. It focuses more on the values to the left, over right. Unlike previous models of SDLC like the waterfall model, Agile provides a different approach to SDLC. Project requirements keep changing with each project. Different projects require different methods and need to develop and implement. Based on the requirements, laid down values and principles in the manifesto, the Agile team works and delivers the product. Unlike other methods/methodologies in SDLC, Agile requires a small team to develop the product. Lesser people, rapid delivery is the crux of Agile.

So what is the role of Agile in SDLC?

Agile is more focused on small, continuous iterations and incremental builds. When a customer approaches the Agile team with a project, it’s broken into small incremental builds and these builds are administered in iterations. In these iterations, various functional teams work simultaneously on stages involved in SDLC. At the end of each iteration, a working product build is displayed to the customer and important stakeholders. Each build is incremental and the final build holds all features required by the customer. Agile prioritizes the working system over documentation and it focuses on constant and rapid changes.

Agile model in a nutshell is,

AGILE = ITERATIONS and INCREMENTAL BUILDS

Agile is more focused on small, continuous iterations and incremental builds. When a customer approaches the Agile team with a project, it’s broken into small incremental builds and these builds are administered in iterations.

DevOps in SDLC:

DevOps is no new word in 2020, although it’s a newcomer in the SDLC world. DevOps methodology is a paradigm shift, shining light on the importance of collaboration between development and operations in the SDLC process. Many big companies including Amazon, Target, Netflix employ the DevOps model.

So what exactly is the role of DevOps in SDLC?

DevOps isn’t a new software or framework to learn. It is more about the way of working and adopting it. It is a disciplining change that focuses on communication and collaboration between teams in the organization. It ensures utilizing the right tools at the right time. In a DevOps environment, Developers and Operations teams work together or as a team depending on the need to accelerate the process and deployment. Continuous feedback, performance improvements, and automation of manual development procedures are core of the DevOps model.

Amazon Web Services outlined this methodology as, *“DevOps is the combination of cultural philosophies, practices, and tools that increase an organization’s ability to deliver applications and services at high velocity: evolving and improving products at a faster pace than organizations using traditional software development and infrastructure management processes.”

With DevOps approach — efficient, reliable products are developed successfully by various companies over the years. Challenges faced using traditional SDLC models/methodologies are wiped out. High quality and cost-effective products are delivered.

Find out more about DevOps and its latest trends here

Conclusion:

When it comes to opting for the right SDLC model, there are a lot of crucial factors to consider. Few of them being the size of the project, timelines and pacing of deliverables, locations of the team, outsourcing the required contractors, and so on and so forth. This requires a great deal of planning and decision making with the consent of all the stakeholders. But the most important factor would be to recognize and understand the underlying importance of choosing the methodology for your software.

*Source: https://aws.amazon.com/devops/
http://agilemanifesto.org/