Opting for a more DevOps approach to development is not investment neutral. Fortunately, there is a quick measurable return on investment. But the benefits can go much further…
Return on investment
Implementing a DevOps approach is expensive, if only in terms of the manpower required for the transformation. In addition, DevOps will tend to increase the wage bill, and will need to be supported by high-performance applications that are demanded by the teams directly involved. Some of the options and licence modes for the tools mentioned in this study can be expensive, but the publishers know who they are talking to. Beware of attractive introductory prices, which may conceal much more expensive essential options. And, of course, you don’t want to frustrate your field teams with discounted licences… A DevOps approach requires a range of tools: planning and management, code management, collaboration, monitoring, service desk, etc. This easily exceeds €50 per month per user, not to mention the support required to implement certain products.
This investment opens the door to many improvements:
- Délais de livraison raccourcis,
- Meilleure réactivité au besoin du client,
- Meilleur taux de satisfaction client,
- Résolution plus rapide des problèmes et complexité réduite
- Plus grande évolutivité et disponibilité inégalée
- Meilleure stabilité des environnements d’exploitation
- Meilleure utilisation des ressources
- Automatisation accrue
- Innovation améliorée
- Sécurité renforcée et proactive,
- Meilleure compétitivité sur le marché
- etc.
At the end of the day, there are 2 main advantages to DevOps: better turnover, and improved working conditions for the teams.
It’s a fine promise: to improve performance without compromising employee well-being! But the approach needs to be implemented pragmatically and progressively, while respecting the company’s culture and constraints.
Personal fulfilment
All of the above-mentioned benefits of DevOps have a potential impact on turnover, but the impact on employee well-being is even more direct.
Rapid feedback on work
Short-cycle working means that employees can deliver a finished product on a very regular basis. They can measure the added value of their work very quickly afterwards, through satisfaction feedback or simply the absence of negative feedback, through the use of a new functionality, etc.
This rapid feedback on their work is more motivating to deliver something of high quality quickly.
The satisfaction of contributing to the success of the product
The supposedly positive customer feedback is rapid because of the frequent deliveries, so the teams very quickly get the feeling that they are participating in the creation of something that works, is useful and gives satisfaction. This motivates them to move forward, make further improvements and continue to deliver new, useful and much-awaited features.
Human relations
DevOps requires a high level of collaboration between teams, who meet regularly. Human interaction is frequent and fosters quality relationships between colleagues. People know each other and, more often than not, like each other. When we pass on or request information, we know the person concerned, it’s not just someone I have to go through to obtain or pass on something.
This enhances the quality of the work and the pleasure of working together.
Managerial culture
In a DevOps approach, management encourages transparency, sharing, autonomy, entrepreneurial freedom and the right to make mistakes. In a highly collaborative environment, innovations, ideas, excellence and mistakes are all mixed together and sorted out well before delivery. Management is there to accompany and support, not to direct or order. Giving employees the right to make mistakes encourages innovation, and well-being at work is improved.
The notion of a strengthened team
In the DevOps approach, teams are made up of different professions. This helps them to better understand the challenges facing the work of others. The work of each is then motivated to make the work of the other more comfortable, in a virtuous circle. The result is stronger, closer-knit teams that deliver outstanding work.
The team’s raison d’être
As we saw earlier, in DevOps each team has its own objectives, its own speciality in the product, its own clearly identified part. The team doesn’t just have a list of features to develop and maintain, it is in charge of an essential part, essential to the functioning of the final product. The team has a real reason for being; it knows the extent to which its work and its quality have an impact on the overall product.
In conclusion, DevOps puts people and teams in the best possible conditions to enjoy working, alone and together, and to deliver quality products and services.
Want to find out more about DevOps? Our study is available free of charge.
