DevOps Lifecycle: Definition, Phases and Key Components

DevOps is a software development concept that’s been around for a while. It’s transformed from a trendy buzzword, the most recent in software development, to a tried-and-true method used by businesses of most sizes. However, it can be challenging to understand the DevOps Lifecycle, its Key components, and management best practices for individuals and organizations considering adopting a DevOps approach or who have just done so.

To assist in overcoming this obstacle, DevOps Solutions kicks in. This blog post will offer an in-depth overview of the DevOps lifecycle, including the stages involved. So, whether you are new to DevOps or looking to enhance your existing knowledge, this Ecosmob guide will provide you with a complete understanding of the DevOps lifecycle.

Let’s get started!

What Is The DevOps Lifecycle?

The DevOps lifecycle includes continuous software development, integration, testing, deployment, and monitoring. To fully utilize the DevOps technique, a competent DevOps lifecycle is necessary. The software lifecycle must plan, build, integrate, deploy, monitor, operate, and offer continuous feedback throughout the software’s lifecycle. The DevOps technique supports scalability, agility, and constant innovation. It promotes a mentality that constantly learns, experiments, and receives feedback to reinvent products, DevOps consulting services, and processes. However, execution requires a deep understanding of the various stages of the DevOps development lifecycle.

Developers must understand DevOps to produce faster results. The development process may become more accessible and convenient if they are.

What are the Different Phases of the DevOps Development Lifecycle?

The DevOps development lifecycle has phases, each with goals and activities. The following are the typical phases of the DevOps lifecycle:

1) Plan

The planning phase deals with planning the project’s lifecycle. Compared to conventional DevOps solutions to the development lifecycle, this model assumes that it repeats every stage accordingly. In this way, the DevOps workflow makes plans taking into account both likely prior versions and the likelihood of future iterations.

It implies that individuals will probably have information from past iterations that will better inform the following iteration and that the current iteration will likewise inform the next iteration. This stage often involves all teams to ensure every part of the planning is addressed and remembered.

2) Code

During the coding stage, the programmers will write and prepare the code for the following step. Developers will verify that the code registers with the project’s operations in mind and that it adheres to the standards in the planning phase.

3) Build

Code is likely to be introduced to the project through the construction phase, and if necessary, the project will likely be rebuilt to allow for the newest code. It is generally used via GitHub or an equivalent version control site in several ways.

The developer will request the code’s addition, which you can review, and will likely approve the request if the code prepares to be uploaded and put into the project. Even though this process involves adding new features and addressing bugs, it is effective.

4) Test

Teams will do any necessary testing during the testing phase to ensure the project functions as intended. At this point, teams will also test for edge and corner case issues. A “corner case” happens when several conditions are met, unlike an “edge case,” which only arises during an extreme operating event.

5) Release

The release phase begins when the code confirms deployment-ready and a final review for production readiness. If the project satisfies all requirements and appropriately checks for bugs and other issues, it will proceed to deployment.

6) Deploy

The application deploys to the production environment in this phase. The deployment process may involve various tasks, such as configuring the infrastructure, setting up the database, and deploying the code.

7) Operate

The application is monitored and maintained in the production environment. It includes monitoring system performance, troubleshooting issues, and applying patches and updates.

8) Monitor

Through the monitoring phase, product usage and any feedback, issues, or possibilities for improvement are recognized and documented. These details are then conveyed to the next iteration to assist in the development process. This phase requires planning another iteration and streamlining the pipeline’s development process.

Overall, the DevOps development lifecycle is an iterative process that involves continuous application planning, development, testing, deployment, and monitoring. Following this cycle, DevOps teams can deliver high-quality software applications more quickly and efficiently.

DevOps Lifecycle: Key Components

The DevOps lifecycle engages the organization in continuous development and optimizes development processes from beginning to end, leading to quicker delivery times. The seven stages that comprise the majority of this process are as below.

Continuous Development

The program’s continual development is planned and coded. The entire development process divides into smaller development life cycles. This method allows the DevOps team to accelerate the whole software development process. During this phase, the development cycle’s vision lays out, allowing developers to understand project needs appropriately. When everyone has come to an understanding of the business needs, the development team begins building code to achieve those objectives. Developers must keep up with the ongoing coding process if the project’s requirements change or performance problems arise.

Continuous Integration

The DevOps lifecycle’s most significant phase is continuous integration. New functionality and features are created and integrated into the updated code. In addition, during this stage, errors in the code are discovered and acknowledged, and the source code is changed appropriately. In this phase, integration transforms into an ongoing procedure with code tests before every commit—additionally, the required test schedules during this time frame.

Continuous Testing 

While some teams complete the continuous testing step after integration, others do so first. Quality analysts continuously check the software for flaws and problems using Docker containers during this stage.

The code is sent back to the integration phase for revision in case of a fault or an error. Additionally, automation testing minimizes the time and effort needed to obtain reliable results. Teams use Selenium-type technology throughout this phase. Continuous testing also lowers the cost of supplying and maintaining test environments and enhances the test evaluation report.

Continuous Deployment

The finished code releases in the production servers during this crucial and active stage of the DevOps development lifecycle. Ongoing development uses configuration management to ensure correct and seamless server code deployment. Development teams provide code to servers and plan server updates throughout the production phase, keeping consistent configurations. Tools for containerization enable uniformity throughout the development, testing, production, and staging environments, in addition to easing deployment. This strategy made it possible to continuously release new features for use in production.

Continuous Feedback

Constant feedback is implemented to assess and boost the application’s source code. In this phase, client behavior routinely examines for every release to promote future releases and deployments. Companies can collect feedback using structured or unstructured strategies. Underneath the structural method, input gathers using questionnaires and surveys.

In comparison, feedback received in an unstructured manner is via social media marketing platforms. This phase is essential in making continuous delivery possible to push out a better program version.

Continuous Monitoring

Every operational aspect of the DevOps process is involved in the monitoring phase, where crucial data about how the software is used and meticulously examined to uncover patterns and pinpoint issue areas. It could continuously generate significant data about the application parameters or appear as documentation files. System issues, such as unreachable servers and low RAM, are rectified at this phase. It preserves the security and accessibility of the DevOps consulting service.

Continuous Operations

DevOps Development lifecycle’s final stage reduces planned maintenance and other downtimes. Updates are frequently performed by developers who have to shut down the server, which prolongs downtime and may be expensive for the company. The ongoing process eventually automates the app’s initial launch and subsequent updates.

The 7Cs of DevOps provide a comprehensive framework for organizations looking to implement DevOps practices. Organizations can achieve faster time-to-market, improved reliability, and reduced risk by focusing on continuous development, integration, testing, deployment, feedback, monitoring, and operations.

Read More: Ultimate Guide To DevOps 2023 For Your Business

Best Practices for DevOps 2023

Implementing best practices that cover the full scope of a project, from cultivating a collaborative culture to adopting the appropriate toolchain, is required if you want to capitalize on the advantages of DevOps fully. DevOps’ best practices for 2023 as mentioned below.

Develop a Collaborative Culture

Organizations must foster a DevOps development lifecycle culture while strongly emphasizing teamwork, collaboration, and the empowerment of each team member across departments. DevOps’s primary goals are moving away from the conventional siloed approach, removing barriers to cooperation, and promoting an inclusive culture.

Practice patience

Implementing DevOps may appear simple, but it’s pretty tricky. Like moving, implementing DevOps lifecycle practices within your organization, and letting go of outdated ideals to embrace new ones.

Set Performance Metrics

Setting goals is a necessary step in the DevOps transformation program; otherwise, there would be no sense in starting the journey. Here, the project teams can collaborate with stakeholders to create performance measures, using the DevOps transformation software development approach to work backward towards attaining those goals.

Metrics can also be used as evidence when you need enough data to explain to senior management how your DevOps transformational efforts are progressing.

Use the Appropriate DevOps Toolchain

A DevOps toolchain is a group of tools that makes it simple for the development and operations teams to collaborate on the development, building, testing, measurement, and deployment of projects. One of your most crucial choices is which DevOps tools to use. Although there are many tools on the market, it’s vital to remember that employing more tools than necessary can complicate your approach and lead to misunderstandings. It makes sense to utilize toolkits that are compatible with your system and are simple to integrate to achieve good configuration management practices.

Find Long-term Objectives

The DevOps development lifecycle is not a magic bullet, which businesses must understand. The company will only benefit from some of its solutions using DevOps. Transformation projects that are bigger and more complex require a lot of time and resources. The firm must also invest a lot of money to complete these projects. Therefore, before hopping on the DevOps bandwagon, firms thinking about it must evaluate their needs.

Implement Automated Dashboards

For engineers, an automated dashboard is a blessing. Automated dashboards can be helpful in this situation. They offer a comprehensive overview of all the finished updates and modifications. These specifics comprise each test’s duration, success, failure rates, overall test completion rate, etc. Automated dashboards also offer a comprehensive overview of all the modifications made.

Prioritize Security Practices 

Organizations must be aware of the risks and deploy failsafe protection to protect their software because of the alarming rise in data breaches and security threats. Organizations should adopt automated security monitoring and assurance practices and understand that implementing automatic security controls won’t limit DevOps’ agility.

Organizations should ensure that only trusted users with confirmed credentials have access to the source code of the intellectual property, and test and build scripts shouldn’t contain any credentials on any system.

Summing Up

The most crucial element in the DevOps lifecycle is continuity. Skipping stages will divert attention from the development system. Discontinuity will prevent issues from being found in time, hurting the software’s overall performance. The DevOps methodology design is to improve the productivity of the software. Business organizations must adhere to the DevOps lifecycle’s best practices to succeed and remain innovative; however, if you are wondering about maintaining the DevOps Development lifecycle’s continuity and implementing the best DevOps practices for your business, Ecosmob can be a competent option. Connect with us to comprehensively discuss your business requirements. With 15+ years of experience, our experts would gladly assist you and provide an on-time satisfactory resolution.