Digital Transformation and Competitive Advantage through Continuous Delivery

This results in multiple delivery processes for similar types of artefacts and no single “owner” of the process from idea to production and support. To achieve continuous delivery, we need to look at this as a system engineering problem rather than asoftware innovation problem. If each software item can be delivered as regular artefacts then this means that we can achieve digital transformation by focusing on lean concepts such as flow, pipeline orchestration, impedance matching, waste reduction and dependency integration.

Continuous Delivery through DevOps

Using DevOps tools, practices and techniques enables not only, the digital transformation of the software process, but also powers this transformation through the collaboration between all the teams involved in the delivery process from idea to production. DevOps concepts, such as configuration as code and version control of everything, can enable the complete automation of the delivery process where the state of configuration of every item of the process is always known. Here all aspects of the system, from compute power to infrastructure provisioning through to application and data delivery, are engineered to enable the flow of value from artefact creation through to application use. This reduces reliance on implicit human knowledge and key person dependency inherent in many of the delivery processes used today. This,in turn, improves quality and stability by significantly reducing the opportunity for human errors and time delays cause by the “risk of touch”. Using DevOps tools means multiple identical systems can be created repeatedly and reliably. If any configuration element is found not to be correct then it is codified and captured once. From then on, this new codified knowledge is used to deliver any new or replacement systems automatically. This has a positive feedback effect on business profitability because it means, not only are the cost of operations reduced, but also this saved cost can then be invested in creating and delivering value through software innovation.

Achieving Continuous Delivery through Business Transformation

Creating systems which have their configurations and states fully defined is not easy. It involves investment in the codification of systems similar in complexity to creating integrated manufacturing production lines. Indeed, it is made even harder in that, the “machines” used in the software delivery process are virtual, in the sense that thesoftware toolset used is invisible to the human eye. Making these tools pipelines, and the progress of software artefacts through them, visible is critical to enabling better management of the system itself.

Tools are a necessary but not sufficient condition for DevOps to succeed. In addition,it is important to understand that business processes and cultural habits also need to change. Because of previous delivery issues, most companies will have additional governance processes and separation of duties. This will naturally create silos which are anti-patterns to DevOps success. Breaking down these barriers must be done in a sensitive way so as not to imply lack of commitment or professionalism from either side. Building relationships and demonstrating deployment competence of the development teams are often the only way to change opinions. This digital transformation will often experience resistance unless the benefits DevOps can be clearly demonstrated. This takes time and effort but the rewards are potentially revolutionary in terms of business results and organisational performance.