Devops can help reduce technology debt in ten ways

translator |  Li Rui

Reviser |  Sun Shujuan

For most businesses , Technical debt is inevitable , but DevOps Practice can help minimize it .

If we don't solve the technical debt , It may hinder the development process and product quality of the enterprise . Although it takes more time and money to repair the accumulated technical debt , But prevention is better than cure . According to the research organization Gartner A research report released by the company , Infrastructure and operational leaders who can actively manage and reduce technology debt can reduce delivery time 50%.  

DevOps Has become a IT Solutions to many challenges in the industry . It can also solve the technical debt challenge . Here are DevOps Can help enterprises manage and reduce technical debt 10 Ways of planting .  

1. Testing in the early stages of software development   

DevOps A key practice of is left shift testing or early software development lifecycle testing （SDLC）, It helps to find and prevent errors early in the delivery process . It includes unit tests 、 Static code analysis 、 Code coverage analysis and other code level practices , So that the cost of fixing the error is the lowest , Catch errors early .

  Besides , Testing during development can improve code design , And make it easier for the development team to understand in the future . therefore , Early testing can reduce technical debt , And reduce long-term costs .  

2. First, find and solve major problems   

Due to the strengthened collaboration between the teams of the enterprise ,DevOps The lifecycle has shorter feedback cycles and faster iterations . therefore , error 、 Availability issues and security vulnerabilities do not have to wait until the next feature release to be fixed , And will immediately fix major problems that may affect users or operations .  

Enterprises can further optimize the process by classifying or sequencing problems from high priority to low priority , To determine which problems to solve first . Then work together , First, solve the main problems , But don't leave any problems to be solved later .

 3. Establish better collaboration between development and operation teams   

in the majority of cases , Technical debt arises because the development team takes shortcuts to deliver software before the deadline , And try to cope with constant changes . however , Better collaboration between developers and operators can shorten the software development life cycle and early testing （SDLC）, Accelerate deployment and increase frequency . Besides , Continuous integration （CI）/ Continuous delivery （CD） And continuous testing makes it easier for teams to handle changes . Generally speaking , A collaborative culture encourages code review 、 Good coding practices and mutually supportive robust testing .

4. More emphasis on Automation  

When enterprises automate daily time-consuming tasks and more error prone tasks , Its team will have more time to repay technical debt .  

Besides , Through automated testing 、 Automated build and infrastructure is code (IaC) Embedded into continuous integration （CI）/ Continuous delivery （CD） Automation in helps identify debt earlier , And realize continuous debt repayment . It also enforces code quality standards . therefore , Automation can reduce current technical debt , It can also avoid future debts .  

5. Don't leave it for later   

Technical debt is best managed on an ongoing basis , This is in DevOps It's easier in the middle . Because it promotes continuous communication , Teams can track debt , And solve it as soon as possible . Team leaders can also include technical debt reviews in their to-do list , And arrange maintenance sprint Timely processing . Besides ,DevOps Reduces the possibility of incomplete or delayed tasks in the to-do list , Help prevent technical debt .  

6. establish DevOps Culture   

real DevOps Culture may be the key to long-term management of technical debt .DevOps Culture encourages strong collaboration between cross functional teams , Provide autonomy and ownership , And practice continuous feedback and improvement . It provides an effective platform to track 、 Computing technology debt , And communicate it to other teams . Besides ,DevOps Culture can be used to educate and inform developers that errors will be introduced in the future , And improve the code quality of the code type .  

7. Formulate precise DevOps standard   

Clearly defined DevOps Standards enable enterprises to create quality gates every time code is checked in , Then run the tests and deploy . It frees the enterprise team from duplication 、 Error prone human tasks , And optimize their development work .  

perform DevOps Standards can also prevent corporate teams from taking shortcuts （ For example, cutting corners when writing code ）, This is one of the biggest contributors to technology debt . therefore , The precise DevOps Standards can maintain a high level of productivity and quality , At the same time, keep the team morale high , Indirectly save money for enterprises .  

8. Make the deployment process smoother   

A smoother deployment process can make DevOps It is easier for the team to identify and reduce technical debt . Enterprises can consider using containers to simplify deployment . Containers are lightweight and portable , This simplifies application development and deployment .Kubernetes And other container orchestration tools automatically execute the container life cycle in production , Enable enterprise teams to focus on high-value tasks such as refactoring applications or reducing technical debt .  

9. Realization API Priority model   

The way application components communicate is also important for resolving technical debt , Because technical debt is usually caused by different systems accessing services and data in ways other teams did not expect .  

Realization API Make the interface more visible , And increase the durability of communication . Due to the loose coupling between applications , be based on API Our model enables teams to make changes quickly without affecting existing structures . Besides , Any team that later interacts with related services has a clearly defined set of expectations . therefore , It is easier to launch functions / change , At the same time, reduce the technical burden .

10. Deploy self-service pipelines for common tasks   

Another strategic way to reduce technology debt is to automate or simplify tasks , These tasks will increase the time and cost of the development process , But it will not increase the value of the product . Such tasks can include meeting compliance requirements 、 Activity report and work handover between staff .  

Besides , Enterprises can compile code for 、 Run the test 、 Build containers and other common tasks to deploy self-service pipelines . This saves more time for the development team , Enable them to contribute to managing and reducing technology debt .  

DevOps Cannot solve all the challenges surrounding technical debt . But it can detect debts early 、 Reduce errors and control code quality , So as to slow down the accumulation of technical debt , And help keep it below the maintainable threshold . Although enterprises may not be able to solve all their technical debts immediately , But these skills will certainly help enterprises effectively deal with the challenge of technical debt .

Original title ：​​10 ways DevOps can help reduce technical debt​​​, author ：Hardik Shah​