ware as it moves through the processes . DevOps provides the ability to automate the acceptance of change requests that come in either from the business or from other parts of the DevOps teams .
Examples include changing software to accommodate a new tax model for the business , or changing the software to accommodate a request to improve performance of the database access module .
Step 3 : Use agile Kanban project management for automation and DevOps requests that can be dealt with in the tooling
Kanban is a framework used to implement agile development that matches the amount of work in progress to the team ’ s capacity . It gives teams more flexible planning options , faster output , clear focus , and transparency throughout the development cycle .
Kanban tools provide the ability to see what you do today , or all the items in context with each other . Also , it limits the amount of work in progress , which helps balance flow-based approaches so that you don ’ t attempt to do too much at once . Finally , Kanban tools can enhance flow . In Kanban , when one work item is complete , the next highest item from the backlog gets pushed to development .
Step 4 : Use tools to log metrics on both manual and automated processes
Select tools that can help you understand the productivity of your DevOps processes , both automated and manual , and to determine if they are working in your favor . You need to do two things with these tools . First , define which metrics are relevant to the DevOps processes , such as speed to deployment versus testing errors found . Second , define automated processes to correct issues without human involvement . An example would be dealing with software scaling problems automatically on cloud-based platforms .
Step 5 : Implement test automation and test data provisioning tooling
Test automation is more than just automated testing ; it ’ s the ability to take code and data and run standard testing routines to ensure the quality of the code , the data , and the overall solution . With DevOps , testing must be continuous . The ability to toss code and data into the process means you need to place the code into a sandbox , assign test data to the application , and run hundreds — or thousands — of tests that , when completed , will automatically promote the code down the DevOps process , or return it back to the developers for rework .
Step 6 : Perform acceptance tests for each deployment tooling
Those charged with DevOps testing processes should spend time defining the acceptance tests that will be a part of each deployment , including levels of acceptance for the infrastructure , applications , data , and even the test suite you ’ ll use .
These tests may be changed at any time by development or operations . And as applications evolve over time , you ’ ll need to bake new requirements into the software , which in turn should be tested against these new requirements . For example , you might need to test changes to compliance issues associated with protecting certain types of data , or performance issues to ensure that the enterprise meets service-level agreements .
Step 7 : Ensure continuous feedback between the teams to spot gaps , issues , and inefficiencies
Finally , you ’ ll need feedback loops to automate communication between tests that spot issues , and tests that process needs to be supported by your chosen tool . The right tool must identify the issue using either manual or automated mechanisms , and tag the issue with the artifact so the developers or operators understand what occurred , why it occurred , and where it occurred .
The tool should also help to define a chain of communications with all automated and human players . This includes an approach to correct the problem in collaboration with everyone on the team , a consensus as to what type of resolution you should apply , and a list of any additional code or technology required . Then comes the push to production , where the tool should help you define tracking to report whether the resolution made it through automated testing , deployment and finally , operations .
58 | THE DOPPLER | SPRING 2016