By regularly reviewing progress and adjusting team practices, your DevOps team can continuously improve its performance and adapt to new challenges. This will enable your organization to remain agile and competitive in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. We will discuss how organizations can nurture such professionals to enhance collaboration and flexibility within their teams. The least destructive way of adopting DevOps is to hire a consultant or team that is external to both your development and operations teams. In this team structure, a distinct “DevOps” team is set up within a development team to act as a source of expertise for the development team.

DevOps Team Structure Models

There are many possible sub-roles within a DevOps team, and the specific roles present will depend on the size and needs of the team, as well as the specific responsibilities assigned to the team. Overall, the best configuration for a DevOps team will depend on the specific needs and goals of the organization and may involve a combination of these approaches. Perhaps it is easiest to start with some examples of anti-patterns- structures that are almost always doomed to fail. These organizational structures bring with them some significant hurdles to success. Bringing in DevOps to an organization means making some changes to the culture and structure of teams and the organization.

• Consider the budget, needs, and knowledge levels to make the best technology choices for the team.
• CI/CD pipelines automate the process of integrating code changes, running tests, and deploying updates.
• That said, every DevOps team, no matter which form it takes, should include engineers who are skilled in both software development and IT operations.
• Still, a team that wants to design a DevOps-friendly architecture should keep certain goals in mind.
• By embracing a DevOps culture, organizations can break down silos, enhance collaboration, and foster innovation, ultimately leading to more efficient software delivery and greater business success.

Team Structure 6: DevOps advocacy team

They develop and implement automated testing frameworks that run alongside the CI/CD pipelines. QA Engineers work with developers to ensure that code changes meet quality standards before they are deployed, reducing the risk of defects in the production environment. A DevOps team is composed of various roles that collectively ensure the seamless integration of development and operations, promoting efficiency and collaboration. Each role brings unique skills and responsibilities, contributing to the overall success of the DevOps initiative. In order to create a successful cross-functional team, consider including representatives from development, operations, QA, security, and product management. By having diverse perspectives, your team will be better equipped to make informed decisions and drive continuous improvement.

Team Structure 5: DevOps team with an expiry date

There are those whose developer identity revolves around a particular programming language. Being a developer isn’t about optimizing your career around a programming langauge. That’s why good software engineers don’t identify themselves around a language. This person is focusing on figuring out what tools to learn, rather than focusing on core DevOps principles. I was even tempted to post a snarky-ass response, but I restrained myself. So instead, it’s taken me all these months to collect my thoughts and formulate this post.

Internally, clear and open communication fosters collaboration, ensures everyone is on the same page, and prevents misunderstandings. It facilitates the smooth flow of information, enhances problem-solving, and enables the team to adapt quickly to changes. By prioritizing effective communication, DevOps teams can overcome challenges, streamline processes, and create a positive and productive work environment, driving overall success in their projects. Implementing a DevOps team structure comes with its own set of challenges, which organizations must address to achieve successful integration and operation. Team members accustomed to traditional development and operations practices may be hesitant to adopt new methodologies and tools. To address this, leadership must clearly communicate the benefits of DevOps, provide comprehensive training, and create a supportive environment that encourages experimentation and learning.

Other organizational DevOps schemes include:

This external party can advise on DevOps practices, encourage the use of automation, monitoring and configuration management and foster collaboration between teams. This is usually a temporary setup – as teams would be expected to slowly transition to another, more permanent structure. This approach is popular with “cloud-ready” companies who often have established IT operations teams to deal with the complex maintenance of their software products. Another popular structure is combining Middle/Senior DevOps Engineer job development and operations teams together into one cohesive team. The idea is this team has no separation between development and operations. Only when an SRE-team approves certain changes and development modules, the product can move on to Operations.

QA engineers

Throughout this post, we will draw on specific quotes, dates, and references to highlight the evolution and significance of the DevOps movement. KMS Solutions’ DevOps services offer everything organizations need to facilitate this change. We provide expert consultation to help determine the optimal team structure that aligns with your specific requirements. Furthermore, our highly skilled DevOps engineers are dedicated to breaking down silos and fostering collaboration, unlocking the full potential of DevOps within your organization. This team structure can be a valuable and pragmatic approach for small teams to gain knowledge and experience in automation, monitoring, and configuration management. Ultimately, the key to sustained improvement lies in regularly re-evaluating and refining the DevOps structure to keep pace with the fast-evolving demands of software production and deployment.

• And it’s something we practice a lot when it comes to our own DevOps team structure.
• Organizations like this suffer from basic operational mistakes and could be much more successful if they understand the value ops brings to the table.
• These principles guide the structuring of a DevOps team to ensure it operates efficiently and effectively.
• By defining clear roles and fostering a sense of shared ownership, organizations can ensure that team members understand their responsibilities and contribute effectively to the team’s objectives.
• Scalability of practices is another challenge, especially in larger organizations.

While there are multiple ways to do DevOps, there are also plenty of ways to not do it. Teams and DevOps leaders should be wary of anti-patterns, which are marked by silos, lack of communication, and a misprioritization of tools over communication. In our DevOps Trends survey, we found that more than two-thirds of surveyed organizations have a team or individual that carries the title Full stack developer skills “DevOps” in some capacity. Dig deeper into DevOps job titles, roles, and responsibilities, the next article in our DevOps Guide.