Overcoming Common Pitfalls in DevOps Release Management

There is a widespread misunderstanding regarding the right approach to DevOps release management. The truth is that one solution may be effective for one particular customer, but it may not be optimal for another. Every solution must align with an organization’s unique culture, working style, and software release objectives. If you look at enough DevOps-centric establishments, you’ll notice that they encounter several common pitfalls over the course of their operations. Most of them end up wasting a lot of time and money learning the hard way as they iteratively tweak their DevOps strategy through extensive trial and error. Even though this is often an inevitable aspect of the DevOps journey, let’s investigate some of the ways that you can hedge against these growing pains, leading your organization to become the next success story.

In this tenth chapter, you will learn about the following topics:

...

Having a carefully designed change management process

A change management strategy is a deliberate approach that empowers leaders to effectively navigate a company through change while reducing disturbance and the potential for unforeseen outcomes.

Although the objective may involve altering the organization, the crucial factor for achieving success, in the majority of instances, is the aptitude to effectively guide individuals throughout the process of change. Businesses typically pursue change when their existing business plan no longer contributes to the organization’s success. An innovative approach is necessary to enhance profit margins and maintain competitiveness amid a dynamic corporate environment. Depending on the organization’s long-term objectives, every change project will have a unique character. Efficiency, performance, and the development of superior procedures may be the focal points of your change program. Innovation can be incremental, such as adding...

Following a release checklist

A common challenge in release management is adhering to a release checklist, which is a frequently neglected necessity. The information contained in a release checklist is critical; a few examples include: ensuring that all components have been accurately labeled for release, a clear rollback plan has been established, and the user documentation has been freshly revised. However, a reference to a comprehensive release checklist has been included in the Appendix of the book, for your benefit. As a release manger, even if you are experiencing a less productive day or facing distractions while creating a product, the checklist remains a reliable source of truth that will help you stay focused and on track.

To ensure the best possible user experience (UX), it is essential that you incorporate relevant questions into every release checklist. By doing so, you can guarantee that each release delivers exceptional value to the end user’s experience. A...

Exploring 10 common pitfalls of DevOps release management

DevOps release management is a game-changing approach. It is becoming increasingly common for businesses across virtually all sectors to implement DevOps in order to provide teams with the time and autonomy they require to handle more ambitious tasks. Using a DevOps release management strategy can invigorate your engineering team and direct your product development efforts toward better satisfying your customers. On the other hand, any time that you adopt a new technique, there is always the possibility of encountering significant challenges.

Problems and obstacles are inevitable whenever you try to alter the fundamental nature of your business. Every transition to DevOps comes with its own set of challenges that your team will have to overcome. With regard to transformations, it is impossible to anticipate and mitigate every potential challenge that may arise. However, this particular chapter aims to equip you with the necessary...

Summary

This concludes Chapter 11 and this book. In this final chapter, you have been shown why it is essential to have a carefully designed change management process. You know how to leverage change requests and change management logs to keep your day-to-day operations organized and accountable. Additionally, you are now aware of the importance of keeping and following a software release checklist and have an awareness of how they can be customized for each product that you are managing. Finally, you have learned the common pitfalls of DevOps release management and are familiar with essential strategies to avoid repeating them in your own initiatives.

Don’t forget that there is a wealth of additional information in the Appendix of this book. Some of the material includes answers to the chapter questions, a glossary of terms, templated release management documents, expanded content that did not fit in the body of the text of this book, and much more!

Conclusion

Let me personally thank you for taking the time to read this content that I have worked so hard on. Whether you are an aspiring DevOps release manager, a seasoned DevOps engineer, a senior executive, or something in between, thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

Now that you have finished reading this book, you are familiar with a brief history of release management, what DevOps release management is, how it is different, and basic strategies to implement it. You have been shown how CI/CD pipelines enforce good DevOps release management, and you’ve learned techniques to optimize them. Additionally, you have learned how to create a culture of cross-functional product development that reduces waste and increases value to the customer. As a result, you understand its usefulness in removing silos that isolate team members. Finally, you are now qualified to explain why DevOps release management is emerging as the most popular strategy currently being adopted today...

Questions

Answer the following questions to test your knowledge of this chapter:

1. What is a change management strategy intended for?
2. What are the elements of a change proposal and what is its purpose?
3. What are the elements of a change log and what is its purpose?
4. What is a release checklist and what is its intended purpose?
5. What is the secret ingredient to any successful DevOps transformation?
6. Why is it false to think that DevOps is mainly about tools?
7. What are three kinds of metrics that DevOps release managers should stridently avoid tracking?
8. Briefly, what are the seven steps in the monolithic-to-microservices roadmap?
9. Is it true that the use of CI/CD pipelines means that a company is successfully applying DevOps practices?
10. What is the single most critical reason why it is a mistake to assume that a quiet customer is a happy customer?