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As businesses adopt DevOps practices to accelerate software delivery and streamline IT operations, assessing your DevOps maturity level can reveal key insights and guide your next steps. In this article we will discuss the various maturity levels of DevOps adoption, helping you assess where your organization stands and how to advance to higher levels of DevOps maturity for optimal performance and efficiency.
What is DevOps?
DevOps encompasses a blend of cultural beliefs, methodologies and technologies aimed at boosting an organization’s capacity to release applications and services quickly. By adopting this strategy, companies can enhance and refine their products more swiftly compared to conventional software development and infrastructure management approaches. The fundamental concept behind DevOps is uniting development (Dev) and operations (Ops) teams to cooperate seamlessly across the entire software development process, from initial planning and coding to deployment and maintenance of applications.
Where do you stand?
We’ve broken down the DevOps maturity levels into 6 tiers. Here we’ll discuss the challenges of each tier and opportunities for improvement to reach the next tier.
Tier 1 – Initial (Ad-hoc)
In the ad-hoc tier the development and operations teams are reactive and can feel like they are in a constant state of firefighting issues. They deal with unscheduled, ad-hoc requests, meetings, and quick bug fixes that are often deployed to production with little to no testing. Code deployments are manual to all environments – development and staging (if those environments exist), and production environments. The development and operations teams work in silos with limited collaboration. Each project and application appears to have its own instruction set for deployment.
Teams can improve on this by:
- Adopting basic automation tools – Implement CI/CD tools such as GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps pipelines, or Jenkins.
- Encouraging collaboration – Foster better collaboration by including operations personnel within development teams. DevOps strategies should be formulated from project onset.
- Standardizing and documenting processes – Create, document, and follow procedures for code development, integration, testing, and deployment.
- Improving monitoring and metrics – Implement basic monitoring tools such as New Relic and Application Insights.
Tier 2 – Managed (Repeatable)
The managed (repeatable) tier represents a significant improvement over the ad-hoc tier. Teams have started to adopt standardized procedures with structured workflows, automation, and better collaboration between development and operations teams.
The team has started embracing agile practices including attending daily stand-up meetings to discuss what was accomplished the prior day, what will be accomplished today, and review any blockers. Sprint goals are reviewed to ensure tasks are in synch with team objectives. Tools like Jira and Azure DevOps are used to manage and prioritize the backlog.
Work is done on new features, improvements, and bug fixes according to the sprint plan. Unit and integration testing is done following standard and documented procedures. Unexpected production issues are still addressed but with well-defined incident response procedures.
While a significant improvement over the ad-hoc tier, teams can continue to improve with:
- Enhanced automation – Automate more aspects of the development and deployment pipelines.
- Integrated tools – Tools for development, testing, and operations are integrated, providing seamless collaboration and continuous feedback.
- Advanced monitoring – Implement more monitoring and alerting systems for proactive problem resolution.
- Feedback loops – Establish feedback loops from end users to continuously improve product quality and user satisfaction.
- Continuous Improvement – Regularly review processes and practices for improvement and optimization.
- Advanced collaboration tools – Implement tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams to improve collaboration and communication.
Tier 3 – Defined (Standardized)
In the defined (standardized) tier, companies have established clear, standardized procedures and best practices across development and operations teams. This tier indicates a mature DevOps culture where collaboration, automation, and continuous improvement are part of the workflow. It’s common to have applications or platforms at different tiers, but once the defined tier has been established you should transition legacy applications to this tier.
The team starts to use advanced collaboration techniques such as pair or ensemble programming sessions to solve complex problems or mentor junior developers. They participate in cross functional meetings including QA, operations, and security. Knowledge sharing is part of the culture with lunch-and-learn sessions, blog posts, and wiki articles. The team is afforded time to learn new tools and technologies, take online courses, and attend webinars for continuous learning.
Opportunities for improvement:
- DevSecOps integration – Incorporate security practices into the DevOps pipeline making security a shared responsibility across teams.
- Culture of continuous improvement – Foster a culture of continuous learning, encouraging experimentation and innovation. An example is to regularly have Innovation and Planning (IP) sprints where the team is encouraged to think outside the box, participate in a hackathon, attend training, and plan for the upcoming release.
- Site reliability engineering (SRE) – Adopt SRE practices to enhance reliability, scaling, and performance.
- Enhanced Compliance – Implement governance and compliance practices to ensure adherence to industry standards and regulations.
Tier 4 – Measured (Advanced)
Companies reaching the measured (advanced) tier have achieved a high level of DevOps maturity. This is characterized by comprehensive automation, continuous improvement, and data-driven decision-making. Teams in this tier work within a highly efficient and optimized environment, leveraging sophisticated tools and practices to deliver high-quality software rapidly and reliably.
A structured approach is taken to ensure that every aspect of operations is measurable and accountable. Defining and tracking key metrics and KPIs for throughput and stability allows them to gauge performance and continually refine processes and make informed decisions.
Throughput can be measured with change lead time and deployment frequency. Change lead time measures the time it takes for a code change to be successfully deployed to production, reflecting the efficiency of the delivery pipeline. Deployment frequency measures how often application changes are deployed to production. Higher deployment frequency indicates a more agile and responsive delivery process.
Stability can be measured with change fail percentage and failed deployment recovery times. Change fail percentage measures the percentage of deployments that cause failures in production, requiring a hotfix or rollback. A lower change failure rate indicates a more reliable delivery process. Failed deployment recovery times measures the time it takes to recover from a failed deployment. A lower recovery time indicates a more resilient and responsive system.
Advanced CI/CD pipelines are also in use, which include automated testing and deployment capabilities. This structure enables delivery updates faster and with higher quality, as any issues are caught early in the process, reducing downtime and enhancing overall reliability.
Proactive monitoring and responsive incident management processes have been implemented. This means the team can detect and address potential issues before they escalate, ensuring that systems remain operational with uninterrupted services.
A commitment to efficiency and consistency is further demonstrated through widespread adoption of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices. With IaC, environments are easily replicated and deployments automated, all of which contribute to a more stable and scalable system.
Security is a fundamental aspect of the DevOps process, integrated at every stage through a DevSecOps approach. This ensures that security considerations are not an afterthought but are woven into the development and operational workflows, safeguarding systems and data against threats.
Tier 5 – Optimized (Innovative)
In the Optimized (Innovative) tier, companies have reached the pinnacle of DevOps maturity. They have fully integrated DevOps practices across the entire organization, promoting a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and seamless collaboration between all stakeholders. Teams in this tier are empowered with cutting-edge tools, processes, and practices that facilitate rapid delivery, innovation, and exceptional quality.
The software development and delivery approach is rooted in a commitment to continuous improvement. They actively gather feedback and analyze key metrics to refine and optimize their processes, ensuring that they are always evolving and enhancing performance.
One of the key achievements is the full automation of the end-to-end software delivery pipeline. This means that from code commit to deployment, every step is automated, reducing manual intervention, speeding up delivery, and minimizing the risk of human error.
Security, compliance, and governance are seamlessly integrated into the workflow. These elements are not separate checks or afterthoughts but are embedded into every phase of the process, ensuring that systems are secure, compliant with regulations, and governed by best practices.
Systems are designed with a high level of resilience and fault tolerance. This ensures that even in the face of unexpected issues, operations continue smoothly with minimal disruption.
Finally, they foster a culture of experimentation, innovation, and learning. Teams are encouraged to explore new ideas, experiment with different approaches, and continuously learn from both successes and failures. This culture drives the ability to innovate and stay ahead in a rapidly changing technological landscape.
Tier 6 – Leading (Cutting Edge)
Teams in this tier work within an environment that integrates the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and predictive analytics, to optimize every aspect of the software development lifecycle.
DevOps isn’t just a set of practices – it’s a core part of the culture and the way the organization operates. DevOps is woven into every aspect of work, making it a natural part of how teams collaborate and deliver value.
Organizations in this tier pride themselves on being at the forefront of innovation in the DevOps space. They’re not just following trends; but pioneering new practices and exploring cutting-edge technologies.
Adaptability is one of their greatest strengths. The team and processes can quickly pivot in response to market changes, allowing them to stay competitive and meet new challenges head-on.
Beyond their internal success, they’re also leaders in the broader community. They actively share best practices and contribute to open-source projects, helping to shape the future of DevOps and support the growth of the industry.
DevOps can work at any maturity stage
DevOps is a journey, progressing through the stages of maturity doesn’t have to happen all at once – taking it step by step is perfectly fine. Each phase offers opportunities for improvement, and our experts can support you at any stage to help you move forward.
It’s also important to recognize that different teams and products will progress at different rates. Some may need time to experiment, learn, and adapt before implementing new standards. This flexibility is key to fostering innovation and ensuring that the transformation fits your organization’s unique needs.
At its core, DevOps is a powerful process that simplifies workflows, removes inefficiencies, and addresses challenges that may be slowing you down. By streamlining operation and optimizing collaboration, DevOps can unlock greater speed, reliability, and quality in software delivery – helping you achieve more with less friction. As you begin your DevOps journey, Green Leaf is here to help you overcome obstacles and unlock the full potential of your teams.
In the end, DevOps practices allow you to shift your conversations from what the challenges are to what are you going to do next to improve your business.