Comparison of SDLC Methodologies
credit: Devops, Scrum and agile
DevOps, Agile, and Scrum are all software development methodologies that aim to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the software development process.
Definition and Purpose
DevOps is a set of practices that aim to increase collaboration and communication between development and operations teams. The goal of DevOps is to improve the speed and quality of software delivery by automating and streamlining the entire software development lifecycle.
Agile is a set of values and principles that prioritize flexibility, customer collaboration, and rapid delivery. Agile is a broad term that encompasses multiple methodologies, such as Scrum and Kanban Development. Adopting an Agile approach not only allows for focus on smaller segments of the project but also facilitates the development and testing of features in a streamlined and efficient two to four-week cycle.
Scrum is a specific framework for managing and completing complex projects. Scrum helps people and teams deliver value incrementally in a collaborative manner. It is based on Agile principles and is often used to manage software development projects. Scrum focuses on iterative and incremental delivery, with a strong emphasis on self-organization and cross-functional teams.
Scope
DevOps focuses on the entire software development lifecycle, from development to production. It aims to improve collaboration and communication between development and operations teams to increase the speed and quality of software delivery products. The scope of DevOps encompasses system integration and deployment, and facilitates automation across multiple processes throughout the entire software development lifecycle. DevOps Engineers have access to a wide range of technical solutions and can leverage the capabilities of tools such as:
- Continuous integration servers
- Virtualization & containerization
- Cloud platforms
DevOps has emerged as a game-changer in the IT industry, fueling the creation of numerous job opportunities and promising a bright future ahead. The market for DevOps has grown by 40–45% in the past five years, boosting the demands for DevOps roles.
DevOps includes Continous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) tools such as Jenkins, AWS Cloud Watch, Eclipse, Intellij, GitHub, GitLab, Ansible, Docker, and Kubernetes. The roles for DevOps include Development Team, Operations Team, and a DevOps Team
Agile Scope
Agile is a broad term that encompasses multiple methodologies, such as Scrum and Kanban. Agile is not limited to software development projects, but it can also be use in other areas, such as project management and product development. Agile planning has different scopes and each of them are equally important and carries value towards the end goal.
First, comes the product vision, which is the most extensive scope of the project planning and is usually handled by Product Owner. The Product Owner is responsible for defining the product vision, what the project is all about and what they are trying to achieve and for which purpose.
Second, the product roadmap is the most considerable scope of agile planning and helps to outline the necessary steps to achieve the desired product vision. The product roadmap includes all the required features for the final project, prioritized and arranged in a specific sequence, providing a clear plan for building the product.
Similar to the product roadmap, the release plan defines how many product tests will be released. The release plan is not focused on features or dates; but ties directly with the scope to be complete.
After establishing the vision, roadmap, and release plan for the project, the scrum team is responsible for executing the work. The next step in the scope is on them, commonly known as sprint planning. Sprint planning is done more frequently and directly relates to the day to day tasks of each employee.
The fifth and the absolute smallest scope of agile planning is the daily standup. While some may see it just as an update, this is a planning event as well, defining the goals for the next day.
When companies started to shift towards an Agile approach, they were able to move along with the changing market trends and easily adapt to them. This made the Agile methodology an extremely popular approach in the software development domain.
Agile tools include: Project management tools, such as Jira, Git, Notion and Trello, Slack, and Zoom. Roles within the company for Agile include Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team.
Scrum Scope
Scrum is a specific framework for managing and completing complex projects. It is based on Agile principles and is often used to manage software development projects. Scrum focuses on iterative and incremental delivery, with a strong emphasis on self-organization and cross-functional teams. Companies benefit from scrum’s method of documented progress. This is because scrum is focused on efficiency and innovation to drive results, rather than a detailed, rigid process. Two of the roles include Product Owner and Senior Scrum Master.
Artifacts
DevOps, Agile, and Scrum all have their own set of “building blocks” that help teams to implement their respective methodologies. They are the tools and templates that keep the development and operations teams working together seamlessly.
DevOps artifacts are referenced in a pipeline stage for automated deployment to the target environment such as automated test scripts that ensure quality and reliability of the code. Deployment scripts that streamline the process of moving code from development to production. The Infrastructure as Code (IaC) templates enables the management of infrastructure in a version-controlled and automated way.
Agile and Scrum artifacts are similar since both methodologies work together. In fact, Agile scrum artifacts are information that a scrum team and stakeholders use to detail the product being developed, actions to produce it, and the actions performed during the project. The main agile scrum artifacts are backlog, a prioritized list of features and requirements for the product. Sprint backlog, a list of tasks to be completed during the current sprint. Increment, a culmination of all the product backlog items completed during a sprint, representing an improvement of the product. These artifacts provide a clear structure and guidance for the team, helping them to stay focused and aligned on their goals and objectives.
Benefits
DevOps, Agile, and Scrum are all methodologies that aim to improve the software development process by increasing collaboration, communication, and efficiency.
DevOps specifically focuses on integrating development and operations teams to enable faster software delivery through increased automation. The core concepts of DevOps such as automation, speed, and continuous integration bring significant benefits to businesses. Using this methodology, Enterprises can realize the following benefits:
- Faster and better quality product/service delivery
- Spend more time on innovation
- More automation
- Less resource idle time
- Greater scalability and availability
- Faster issue resolution
- Reduction in complexity
Agile, on the other hand, emphasizes flexibility and adaptability to changing requirements, with an emphasis on customer collaboration and satisfaction. That is increased visibility, adaptability (agility), alignment, product quality, business value, customer satisfaction, and decreased risk. Agile makes the manager’s job easier and gives them greater control over their projects.
Scrum is an Agile development framework that prioritizes the delivery of functional software through predictability and transparency in project management. It fosters self-organization and cross-functional teams to achieve project deliverables in a timely and efficient manner. The Scrum framework ensures optimal utilization of resources, breaking down large projects into manageable sprints, with development and testing completed during the sprint review.
In conclusion, DevOps, Agile, and Scrum are all software development methodologies that have their specific purpose, scope, roles, tools, artifacts, and benefits. Organizations use these methodologies to deliver better software faster and with more quality.
If you are interested please click on the Follow or Subscribe button for more articles like this one.
Do comment below and share your thoughts. I hope you have enjoyed learning about DevOps, Agile and Scrum.
