In the face of increasingly demanding customer requirements and the rise of digitalization, developers play a crucial role in businesses. They enable the enhancement of the online customer experience.
To meet consumer expectations, development and operations teams must be agile. This is where Lean DevOps comes into play.
DevOps and Lean: Two Similar Cultures in an Agile Environment
To understand the Lean DevOps approach, it’s essential to revisit the two concepts that define it.
What is DevOps ?
In the field of software development, it’s common to distinguish between two roles:
1. Development and product design teams.
2. Teams responsible for the maintenance and management of these products.
However, this was before the emergence of the DevOps movement. Now, developers and infrastructure administrators work together. Their goal: the quality of the final product. Strengthening collaboration improves the software development pace and integrates it more closely with deployment.
While the introduction of new technologies like Cloud Computing and Software-Defined Networks (SDN) promotes DevOps development, companies looking to embrace this approach must change their mindset. DevOps is not just a working method but a genuine corporate culture. It’s closely associated with Agile methodology and Lean management, emphasizing a holistic approach to software development and operations.
What is Lean management ?
Lean is a concept that originated in Japan in the 1950s, primarily in the industrial sector. The central idea is to improve productivity by developing simple processes. Instead of making significant changes, Lean organizations focus on small actions that can have a substantial impact on their performance.
Due to the success of this management method, Lean principles have spread worldwide. Currently, it is not limited to industries but is applicable to all types of businesses, regardless of their sector.
In practice, Lean aims to reduce production lead times, waste, and costs. These principles align perfectly with the DevOps approach.
Applying Lean principles to DevOps
Lean DevOps is characterized by the use of similar principles and tools.
Lean DevOps principles
Since its inception in the 1950s, Lean management has spread its principles to many successful companies, especially those adopting a DevOps approach.
1. Continuous Improvement: At the core of Lean DevOps, continuous improvement allows companies to constantly optimize processes and methods, aiming to become increasingly efficient. The goal is to provide customers with high-quality products that meet market demands.
2. Automation: Automation involves using machines to perform manual and repetitive tasks without human intervention. In Lean, this principle, known as Jidoka, originated in Toyota factories. Automation is also a key aspect of DevOps culture with modern tools like Jenkins, Git, Docker, Ansible, Nexus, Artifactory, Kubernetes, and more.
3. Just-in-Time: The idea is to deliver products or services as quickly as possible, minimizing delays in delivery.
4. Dialogue: Whether in Lean management or the DevOps culture, communication (among teams and with customers) is essential to improve company performance and product quality.
All of these principles contribute to the development of a Lean DevOps culture.
Lean DevOps tools
To achieve performance and quality objectives, tools and methods play a crucial role in Lean DevOps. Here are some that are found in both approaches:
1. Value Stream Mapping: Also known as the mapping of value streams, this tool involves analyzing the current state of a product or service and designing its future state (up to delivery to the final customer). This visualization tool fits perfectly within the iterative approach, describing the different stages of the value chain.
2. Unit Testing: The idea is to test the software at each stage of the process to ensure its proper functioning.
3. Retrospectives: At regular intervals, DevOps teams hold retrospectives to identify new methods aimed at further improving productivity.
Why develop a Lean DevOps approach?
The implementation of a Lean DevOps culture within companies is not only necessary but crucial for several reasons:
1. Market Responsiveness: The goal is to provide the fastest possible delivery time to perfectly meet market needs.
2. Customer Satisfaction: Different versions are regularly delivered to the customer, allowing for feedback to improve the delivered product and remain aligned with customer needs.
3. Quality Improvement: By fostering collaboration between development and operations teams, DevOps quickly rectifies errors. Over time, the rate of change decreases until reaching the final deliverable.
4. Efficiency: Through process automation, DevOps teams reduce the number of human errors, enabling them to focus on what truly adds value.
5. Cost Reduction: In the long term, Lean DevOps helps reduce costs. As corrections are made throughout the development process, teams don’t need to start from scratch if the customer isn’t satisfied.
In short, the Lean DevOps culture is essential for any organization aiming to achieve high performance. Understanding its nuances can be advantageous for your career. To do so, we invite you to explore the training offered by DataScientest.
