DevOps Lifecycle

What Is the DevOps Lifecycle?

The word ‘DevOps’ is made from development and operations. While developing the software, the development team and operational engineers work together from beginning to the release of the product. Since these days applications are developed in an iterative environment, the DevOps team goes through many iterations or cycles - known as DevOps lifecycle. The goal of the DevOps lifecycle is to make effective and secure applications.

Stages of DevOps Lifecycle

DevOps’s primary implementation was seen in the development of e-commerce websites, cloud-native applications, and other large platforms. Its multiple phases work continuously which we know as DevOps lifecycle. Here is a list of stages that acts as a cycle:

  • Continuous Development: In the first phase of the DevOps lifecycle, the team prioritizes the application’s objective in accordance with the client’s requirement. Once the priorities are set, the team involves project development. It, usually, starts with the code generation and taking it to the next step. Remember, the same approach is applicable to each objective. Being a continuous process, the DevOps team also works on the existing code after receiving the feedback.
  • Continuous Integration: This phase acts as a bridge between development and testing. As the development phase starts, the integration process starts automatically. The continuous integration process includes planning for the test in the next stage, checking product outcomes based on initial project documentation.
  • Continuous Testing: The application is put to test in the real environment. It is not the deployment phase instead it is known as beta testing. The purpose of beta testing is to find out how the application performs in the real environment. If it shows the intended or unexpected outcome. Based on the results observed in this stage, the team decides whether it will be sent for improvement or not.
  • Continuous Monitoring: It’s the operational phase of the DevOps lifecycle where the data of the application’s usage is recorded and processed to identifies the trends and problem areas. The purpose of monitoring the application while keeping it in continuous use is to enhance the operational efficiency of the application.
  • Continuous Feedback: Based on the application’s final outcome, the performance is improved. Another way of improving the app’s performance is customer feedback. It’s a continuous process and it plays a crucial role in enhancing the current product. Plus, it helps teams to release new and improved versions of the software.
  • Continuous Deployment: This phase involves the deployment of the final code to the production servers. The key challenge of this phase is to maintain consistency with the precise deployment of the code on all servers. Hence, Configuration Management comes into the picture that handles code deployment, updates scheduling, and consistency throughout the production process.
  • Continuous Operations: The goal of this phase is to automate the process of release and subsequent updates. Unlike other phases, this one is the shortest and easiest phase as development cycles in continuous operations are shorter that allows developers to accelerate the time to market for the application.

Benefits of DevOps Lifecycle

  • Better Customer Experience: Customers need quick assistance from the service provider and the DevOps lifecycle ensures it. Be it providing timely updates or making changes in the product, each DevOps lifecycle phase magnifies user experience.

  • Seamless Digital Transformation: DevOps ensures that any industry can transform itself using technology. Apart from the transformation, industries can scale with maximum speed and accuracy.

  • Ensures Consistent Communication: The DevOps lifecycle breaks many barriers that result in confusion and delays. The entire lifecycle is designed in such a way that it improves the collaboration among the team members, and all the teams work together to develop a stable product in less time.

  • Faster Defect Detection: DevOps lifecycle is a continuous process that helps teams to detect the problems faster. Be it preliminary testing or customer feedback (suggestions for improvement), chances are that defects are not only found early but resolved quickly too.

Conclusion

DevOps lifecycle is an innovative way of developing any application. It improves the application’s performance because it goes through an iterative process that allows users to share their valuable feedback from the development phase. No doubt it will replace all the application development processes in the future because it provides agility, scalability, and affordability.