DevOps strategy: 3 resources for CIOs

Source – enterprisersproject.com

TechRepublic asked its CIO Jury whether they had implemented DevOps or if they had plans to do so, and this week they reported that the results were split down the middle. The six IT leaders on the pro-DevOps side of the coin cited improved communication, smoother testing cycles, increased productivity, and speed to market as its benefits. On the other side, tech executives said they were either not ready to implement DevOps, or they weren’t convinced of its value.

In this week’s news roundup for IT leaders, we bring you a few more articles on DevOps to help you decide which side of the fence you may fall on.

DevOps: Where it’s going and how to make the most of it [ZDNet]: Speaking for the pro-side of DevOps, Mark Samuels outlines four key benefits of adopting the approach through his conversations with IT leaders. For instance, Paul Pogonoski, director of cloud foundation services at consultant Capgemini, commented “businesses that embrace iterative development can expect to see several plus points. He says Agile allows organizations to break up their work and to inherently fail fast. He also points to the opportunity to encourage experimentation and learning.”

9 big mistakes DevOps teams make [InformationWeek]: The benefits of DevOps are not guaranteed, however. Cynthia Harvey points out that there are several mistakes DevOps teams make that can significantly hinder a company’s ability to achieve benefits like agility, improved customer satisfaction, greater employee morale, greater productivity, and business growth. She lists the nine most common mistakes, such as emphasizing speed over quality and failing to change the culture.

Which comes first: DevOps or culture change? [InformationWeek]: Speaking of culture, for those on the fence who feel not quite ready to dive into DevOps, culture change doesn’t have to be a barrier to adopt. In an article for InformationWeek, Eric Bruno proposes the question: “Is it better to change corporate culture at the time you adopt a DevOps practice, or wait for your DevOps practice to influence cultural change organically over time?” Ultimately, he says, “regardless of whether a specific cultural change is listed as either ‘before’ or ‘after’ DevOps is implemented, all of them should be considered subject to continuous improvement.” Bruno provides suggestions for a smooth transition.