How can non-technical departments participate in Devops?

DevOps  It is a very popular concept , In the past few years, many enterprises have plunged into  DevOps  In relevant practice , Preparing for transformation . however , The successful ones are a few .

Generally speaking , We are joining in  DevOps  Before the army , You should ask yourself ： Why do we use it  DevOps？ undoubtedly , Most enterprises are to reduce costs and increase efficiency 、 Improve competitiveness . However , If we only focus on  IT  The team itself , It is likely to put the cart before the horse .

On a large scale ,DevOps  Transformation should be beyond the existence of development and operation , It must contact other departments of the enterprise

. Some non-technical departments are  DevOps  Important participants in the team

, The different positions they stand on can play a balancing role , Avoid the technical department falling into  “ Only technical traps ”.

This is particularly important for some traditional enterprises facing digital transformation . Because inside the traditional enterprise , The business department is the main body , and  IT  Departments are empowered for business departments . besides , stay  DevOps  In practice , Some legal and financial risks also need to be avoided in advance .

One 、 Why should these non-technical departments participate  DevOps？

Involve non-technical teams  DevOps  In the to , This does not mean that every employee in the organization needs to know  DevOps  And the context of software requirements .

contrary , The participation of some departments is  DevOps  I just need , The core  DevOps  Establishing strategic connections between the team and colleagues in non-technical roles is absolutely worth the money .

1、 Business team let  DevOps  More aim  “ Bull's eye ”

The importance of business teams is self-evident . Some point of view is that , stay  DevOps  There should no longer be business and technology out of sync in culture , Sales organizations can convey customer feedback and requirements to the development cycle , Let the next version contain the functions required by customers faster .

But actually , People know this better than  DevOps  More lagging .2020  year , A group of people who care about this topic posted  “BizOps  declaration ”. The declaration advocates fundamental changes  IT  The way teams and business users collaborate in the software development process .

The specific term ,BizOps  requirement ：1）

Business results

Higher than individual project and execution metrics ;2）

Trust and cooperation

Above individualism and hierarchy ;3）

Data driven decision making

Above opinion 、 Judgment and persuasion ;4）

Learning and transformation

Above following a strict plan .

https://www.bizopsmanifesto.org/

And then ,BizDevOps  This concept came into being , It is called  DevOps 2.0. In this way , Business teams not only set requirements , They also work directly with developers , Set priorities for agile software development sprint and backlog . They become business partners , Work with management to solve problems , Achieving business goals .

2、 The legal team is  DevOps  Escort

“ Software engulfs the world , Open source software .”  This famous saying became a prophecy . The present , Open source software is everywhere , Some statistical results show ,90%  Modern applications of include open source code , Software has been occupied by open source components , Enterprises can neither bypass nor avoid . and , Open source software can also bring cost reduction to organizations 、 Improve code quality and many other benefits , The vast majority of enterprises are also willing to participate .

But it also brings compliance problems , Because of lack of consciousness and other problems , Many developers do not understand the relevant provisions of the open source software license , Illegal use of open source software , It's going to cause trouble . In the face of similar  MIT、Apache  It may be OK to wait for a loose License , But some highly contagious licenses need special attention .

Actually , Not just open source compliance , There are still many patents and process problems in the software industry , Will cause compliance and legal issues , If you don't pay attention , It is likely to become a defendant .

therefore , The legal team is  DevOps  The important role of ：

Ensure that the software is compliant even when it is continuously released .

More time , Legal affairs are more like  DevOps  Non staff personnel of the project , It seems that I can't use it at ordinary times , But the critical moment is indispensable .

3、 The finance department emphasizes value , Work for profit

stay  DevOps  During the transformation , It is inevitable to need the continuous investment of capital and manpower . But the bottom line is this , quite a lot  DevOps  Team building is a  “ Business conduct ”, The purpose is also a commercial purpose , Everyone works for profit . If you leave this aside , It's a bit of a hooligan .

Previously, we mentioned the business department and  DevOps  combination , be called  “BizOps”, That is to say  Business + DevOps; Finance and  DevOps  There is also a concept of the combination of , be called  “FinOps”, yes  “Finance”  and  “DevOps”  The combination of , By helping the project 、 financial 、 Technical and business teams collaborate on data-driven spending decisions , Enable the organization to get the maximum business value .

Now ,FinOps  It is an indispensable part of many enterprises' digital transformation .

This needs to be  DevOps  Cooperate with the finance department as soon as possible , Incorporate financial control and monitoring  DevOps  Planning phase of .

Two 、 These people who don't write code , How to participate  DevOps？

Whether it's business 、 Legal or financial team , In fact, it is difficult for us to find cross industry talents who understand both code and law or finance , It is also unrealistic to blindly pursue such cross-border talents . This will increase our investment in talent recruitment and training .

that , What else can we do to make these people who don't understand the code , Give full play to your professional strengths and join  DevOps  Well ？

First , Documents are always a powerful tool to lower the threshold of communication .

stay  DevOps  The idea of , The collaboration of technical documents should be incorporated into the whole  DevOps  In the life cycle , Document writers must adapt  DevOps  The rhythm and way of . at present , Many open source projects have provided  API  file , This type of document is also used in large-scale enterprises  DevOps  Use in the team , Let document writing follow  DevOps  In the footsteps of .

and , Document in  DevOps  It also plays a vital role in the transformation process , These documents can record some  DevOps  Best practices for achieving efficiency and benefits in . These things can hardly be passed on by word of mouth , Must be preserved by documentation . meanwhile , If there are multiple  DevOps  The team , Documents will also play a unified role , It standardizes best practices , Finally, the benchmark indicators are formed .

If you want to cooperate with other non-technical departments （ Especially the business department ） Carry out basic collaboration , Document transparency must be increased , Open document access to them . Besides , You can also demonstrate 、 Or try the test version , Increase the participation of non-technical teams .

secondly , In the process, we must leave specific for non-technical departments  “ Communication interface ”.

Throughout  DevOps  The top-level design of the process , We should consider the law 、 Finance and other non-technical departments  “ Entry time ”. But in practice , There are many emergencies and special situations , Especially in  DevOps  The characteristics of , Timeliness is particularly important . therefore , Almost every size node should be left  “ Communication window ”.

these  “ Communication window ”  It can be a synchronization tool , It can also be a regular meeting , It can also be specific docking personnel . say concretely , The timely intervention of non-technical departments is an effective measure to prevent risks , This requires that all parties have enough sense of cooperation , Deal with in time , Avoid  “ Mend the fold after the sheep have been stolen ”  The situation of .

Last , Use the advanced automation tools on the market , It is also a good way for non-technical departments to cut in .

DevOps  Automation can reduce manual assistance , Simplify work interactions , Thus, iterative updates can be deployed to production applications faster .

Automation is  DevOps  Top priority . For some non-technical departments , Especially the business department , It is necessary to understand how automation changes the way software is delivered . Some experts also suggest , From continuous integration  /  Continuous development  (CI/CD)  Generate automated data reports in the tool chain , It is a good way to make the marketing department profitable .

at present , Many automation tools have appeared on the market to help  DevOps  Teams solve problems . Among them, it adopts the automation platform of full stack development  SoFlu  Software robot is one of the best .

say concretely ,SoFlu  Software robots use  “ Visual development ”  To change the traditional development method of writing code . The business logic equivalent to writing complex code is realized through drag and drop and parameter configuration , Visual display of business logic , Greatly reduce the development threshold , Let non-technical departments participate more smoothly  DevOps  in .

just as  SoFlu  Software robots are  5  Annual assistance  5  Junzhi consulting, with a revenue of more than 10 billion yuan, is in the application of digital intelligence transformation project , Junzhi Consulting  CTO  Han Zhifei's feeling ,“ Jun Zhiyong  SoFlu  Software robot development system , Most of the time, the partners who do requirement analysis in the previous stage become programmers in the next development stage , And the developed functions are more accurate , The quality is also very high . With  SoFlu  Software robot , It can be used by business analysts who do not understand development but understand business  SoFlu  Software robots and complete the development work based on their assumptions .”

Overall ,SoFlu  Software robots have two major values . One is , It can reduce the entry threshold of software development ; The other is to make technology simple , Less dependent on people , So as to reduce labor cost and communication cost .