Agile and DevOps: Enemies or Complementary?

The two methodologies, combined, could empower the development of flexible applications with high speed, high quality and high performance.

So close and so distant. Agile and DevOps methodologies share objectives, among which the most important are to promote agility, accept error as an instance of learning and evolution, stimulate innovation, give prominence to collaboration between people and improve the final product or service.

We understand DevOps as a methodology for the development and improvement of software, based on the integration of the culture of application development with the culture of the operation – in general in charge of system administrators – to create faster, higher quality solutions, with a high frequency of updates and controlled costs. Its philosophy is based on four pillars: culture, automation of tasks, collaboration and permanent measurement of results.

In terms of working mechanisms, DevOps is divided into planning and monitoring, development, compilation and testing, delivery and monitoring, and operations. The software creation, operations, quality engineering and security teams work together to increase the efficiency of the product to be delivered, whether it is a new tool, an update of an existing software or a version that has little variations with respect to its predecessor.

Agile methodologies, on the other hand, are the key for a company to review its practices and adapt more easily, an essential virtue in the context of such a rapidly changing context as the one we live in today. The benefits speak of a more rewarding teamwork, a greater drive for innovation and, of course, a notable increase in efficiency. An interesting fact is that agility does not have to be limited to software development: the concept is increasingly applied at a scale level to be implemented throughout the organization.

Its mechanisms aim at the creation of a functional prototype within the framework of a reality in which the requirements of the end customer change with high frequency. The priority, in all cases, is the needs of the users.

They are often thought of as concepts that are impossible to integrate and make compatible: they lack common definitions and each has its own jargon. However, it is possible to find points of intersection that act synergistically in the face of continuous improvement in the organization.

For example, they can complement each other so that DevOps promotes frequent releases from a fully automated deployment, while Agile adds adaptability to changing requirements and proposes better collaboration between teams. Using both concepts in combination could result in a significant increase in development speed. Agile benefits include user-centric development, great flexibility, and fast product delivery. DevOps accelerates innovation, ensures the highest quality and optimal performance. The result, if everything proceeds normally, should tend to be much better than the sum of the parts.

Another point in common is that neither DevOps nor Agile propose magic recipes: Success depends on effective culture change. As Peter Drucker used to say, «culture eats strategy for breakfast.»

It is common for organizational teams to have developed deeply ingrained habits or ways of working. Therefore, it is a transformation that requires a careful communication plan, so that all those involved are aware of the risks and benefits, and a roadmap that does not exceed ambitions at the beginning: they are the small steps – and the consequent tangible results – those that drive the attitudinal change necessary for transformation to be possible. The fundamental thing is to produce in the teams the desire to undertake this exciting path.

The agility component is essential for companies in the region to continue growing. Latin Americans are anxious and, in that eagerness, we tend to confuse “agility” with “vertigo”. But it’s not about getting things done quickly, it’s about doing them right. With careful planning, significant and pronounced change can be achieved.

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