DevOps Toolchain's Seven Stages

DevOps Tookchain and the Seven Stages of Work

DevOps Consultants’ work is defined by “the Toolchain” which is made of 7 tasks.

These tasks, known as initiatives, are a part of a continuous work-flow philosophy.

It’s often visualized as a “Figure 8” loop which begins with Planning and then flows through 6 more initiatives, with each cycle ending with Monitoring-- in a continuous loop of initiatives. The work-product at one stage will be the input for the next stage.

At the same time the term also refers to a tool kit of programming software, used for these tasks and/or for the product being created. These tools are “point solutions” and DevOps philosophy is about using these solutions in a time, resource and security effective manner. The goal and process is to begin with an idea or problem, create a product, feature or solution, and then deliver it in a live customer facing environment.

• Planning – code development, review, source code management and merging

• Creating – continuous integration and building

• Verifying – continuous testing with feedback

• Packaging – pre-deployment staging

• Releasing – release and change approvals and automation

• Configuring – infrastructure configuration and management

• Monitoring – monitoring of performance and end-user experience

Here’s a “figure 8” visual to help you understand the workflow of the Toolchain.

There are a wide variety of software tools which can be involved and it will always involve working together -- collaboration is key and most of it will not happen in conference rooms with long tables.

Some of the tools involve apps such as Slack, Skype, or even blogs/wikis (over at WordPress parent Automattic) can be used for knowledge sharing and collaboration. Planning is the beginning stage, the first initiative in the ToolChain workflow, and that can involve the use of software for project management such as Trello, Jira and Zendesk to prepare and maintain updates in a dynamic workflow.

There are many software tools which can be used throughout the Toolchain’s workflow and their use will be guided by DevOps firms analysis of each business customers’ needs. No two clients are alike and therefore no two toolchains will be necessarily alike - but the same philosophy will guide how solutions are delivered.