The software development process is a series of operations conceptualizing, which sometimes become very complex. In different times different development models have been followed by the software development teams. The waterfall model and the Agile model are two of the most popular among them. As software development goes through several intricate phases, developers and testers test the software in multiple phases before deploying it into production. This entire process is time-consuming, and this time span increases with the increased complexity of specifications and requirements.

To shorten the development time nowadays, developers are following a universal set of practices called DevOps lifecycle. What is DevOps? The term itself defines how it works.

DevOps = Development + Operations

Of course, the several tasks of application development happen in a specific manner in DevOps.

While the Agile process significantly reduces software development’s turnaround time compared to the waterfall model, none of the two models assures quick and continuous delivery of error-free software. There comes the DevOps model.

The ways DevOps help in reducing the software delivery timeline – 

• Reduce the time involved in SDLC
• Secure continuous production
• Deliver high-quality, full-proof software.
• Stable operating environment 
• Steadfast collaboration
• Ongoing innovation 
• Time optimization, especially in maintain phases

Related post – Devops and Cloud – A symbiotic relationship

Phases of DevOps Lifestyle

DevOps lifecycle comprises of 7C’s –

1. Continuous Development

2. Continuous Integration

3. Continuous Testing 

4. Continuous Feedback

5. Continuous Monitoring

6. Continuous Deployment

7. Continuous Operations

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The 7 phases, as mentioned above, cover all development processes in DevOps from the proposal to the deployment stage. Here is a phase-wise analysis of the DevOps lifecycle.

1.Continuous Development 

This is the first phase of the DevOps lifecycle when project planning and development or coding takes place. The vision of the project is reviewed at this stage. No specified tool is used for planning. However, a range of tools is used to maintain the coding, which is called source code maintenance, performed at this phase. Different version control tools like GitLab, GIT, Jira, Subversion, etc., are used for version controlling . Among these, GIT is a popular one because of its distributed version controlling property. This is ideal for large projects where vast collaboration happens during development activity. GIT works as a reliable communication medium between teams in this case.

Version control has a critical role in maintaining a stable version of the code developed in the continuous development phase. Some of the popular programming languages used for development in this phase of the DevOps lifecycle are C/C++, Python, JavaScript, Ruby, etc.

2.Continuous Integration

Code integration is the next automatic phase after the continuous development phase and one of the entire DevOps life cycle’s cores. In continuous integration, add-on functionalities are built-in with new codes and integrated into the existing code. Bug detection is one of the activities in this phase. The planning of test execution happens at the testing phase, tallying the customer requirements to incorporate the features mentioned in the project requirements. Unit testing, code review, compilation, integration testing, and packaging happens in this phase.

As a result, the source code gets modified multiple times at this phase, which may occur weekly or daily. The seamless transitions occur, and updated packaged code is transitioned into the next phase, which could be the testing server or production server.

Not to mention, continuous integration is the heart of the DevOps lifecycle.

3.Continuous Testing 

First of all, we can say that the continuous testing phase of the DevOps lifecycle can be repositioned before continuous integration as some of the developers carry it out before continuous integration. In this phase, the testers continuously test the developed software for bugs within a simulated testing environment using Docker containers. Mainly automation testing is used in this phase to save time and effort, and tools like Selenium are used for this purpose. QAs use automation testing tools for parallel testing, which ensures the errorless functionality of the application. In case of any deviation, the tested code is sent back to the continuous integration phase for source updating.

4.Continuous Feedback

Continuous integration and continuous testing are the two crucial phases for ensuring consistent improvements in the application code. However, there is a need to analyze these improvements, which is why this continuous feedback phase in the DevOps lifecycle.

This phase helps to gauge developers the result of the modifications on the final product. Also, customers can share their experiences based on their testing of the applications. Sometimes this phase turns out as a turning point in the application development process.

5.Continuous Deployment

This is the most active phase in the DevOps lifecycle. This is mostly applicable when the application goes live. 

In this phase, the final application code is deployed to the production servers. The critical process in this phase is Configuration Management, which is carried out preciously to deploy application code on all servers. Developers establish an application’s performance and consistency gradually and curates. They release the code to the servers, schedule the updates for all servers, whereas these configurations are kept consistent throughout the production process. Containerization tools helps in continuous deployment through the Configuration Management process. 

6.Continuous Monitoring

Monitoring how the developed application is performing is also an essential part of software development. Developers need to continuously monitor each functionality to find out errors like “low memory,” “server not reachable,” etc. This continuous monitoring helps to sustain the availability of services and quickly detect the root causes of the errors along with threats. Mainly IT teams are involved in this phase instead of the software developers.

This phase’s importance is if significant issues are detected, the application re-runs through all the earlier phases of the DevOps lifecycle to find a resolution to all sorts of issues. 

7.Continuous Operations

This is the last phase of the DevOps lifecycle and is the shortest and the least difficult phase. This process automates the process of releasing the application and subsequent updates. Development cycles are shorter in continuous operations, allowing developers to accelerate the time-to-market for the ongoing application.  

The Key takeaways of DevOps Lifecycle

The fundamental goal of every phase of the DevOps lifecycle is continuity and maximum automation. It reduces extra steps and detects faults significantly. Key takeaways from DevOps lifecycle are: 

• The businesses revive the speed of development and improve user experiences. 
• Cost control is streamlined with a high RoI  
• It is integrated with continuous deployment. Hence, there are advanced patterns designed for deployments. 
• With DevOps, project management and planning tasks take place conclusively for both large and small organizations.
• Automated testing allows teams to embrace the different phases of the DevOps lifecycle fully. 
• Workflows maintain single distributed version control tools.
• Along with automated testing, there are processes such as code quality analysis, security testing, dynamic analysis, and static analysis. This helps to maintain high code quality.

Final thought:

The DevOps approach is emerging as the way to maintain the highest quality standards, and at the same time, with a faster time to market. As we expect to see more and more dynamic apps, no doubt, the future belongs to DevOps, keeping up with the fast-changing market demands and user requirements. The future will also witness rapid advancements as DevOps continues to grow.