Agile vs. DevOps: What's the Difference? and Similarities?

This blog article will explain what DevOps and Agile are and provide the similarities and differences between DevOps and Agile.

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Although both DevOps and agile lead to software development, they perform it differently, with different teams and departments involved and distinct production structures.

Most importantly, you should know that DevOps and agile are not mutually exclusive. DevOps is a culture that promotes communication and cooperation amongst all parties engaged in creating and maintaining software. Agile can be defined as a development approach that aims to keep productivity high and release frequency high despite the inevitable ebb and flow of customer demands.

Although DevOps and agile are distinct practices, they complement one another well, resulting in improved productivity and quality.

While many businesses are ready to start using these methods, there is sometimes some misunderstanding between the two. What exactly does each methodology involve? What do they have in common? Is it possible to combine them, or do you need to pick one?

This blog article will explain the similarities and differences between DevOps and Agile.

What is DevOps?

DevOps is a methodology for developing software that integrates people, processes, and tools to provide consistent results. The method is broken down into the following stages: planning and tracking; development, build, and testing; delivery; and monitoring and operations.

DevOps encourages close cooperation between programmers and system administrators to increase efficiency and effectiveness. The technique also incorporates using a suite of DevOps technologies and adopting DevOps ideas and practices.

The principles of DevOps encourage open conversation, end-to-end accountability, and shared knowledge. They establish the boundaries for DevOps and its goals.

DevOps is a different approach to developing software since it involves an ongoing cycle of building, testing, delivering, and monitoring. The primary goal of DevOps is the rapid and reliable delivery of high-quality software.

What is Agile?

Implementing agile frameworks like Scrum and Kanban is a part of agile software development. The first step in any software development life cycle is to define the project's scope and break it down into smaller, more manageable components, including user stories and functional requirements. The tasks are set up in chunks called "sprints." Every two weeks, the team comes together for a sprint to focus on launching a single feature.

As the sprint progresses, the team works on developing, testing, and releasing the program, making improvements as necessary. They finish one sprint and then move on to the next until the whole project is done. Continuous software delivery is made possible by adopting such a method. Customers, stakeholders, and project managers can keep tabs and provide input to guarantee a positive outcome.

Automated methods (such as automation testing and code management) can also be used in some phases of development to build connections and verify the quality of the final product.

During development, the team interacts, provides each other input, and assesses their work after each sprint during frequent retrospective meetings.

Learn more about DevOps; read our article: What is DevOps?

How Are Agile and DevOps Similar?

Companies need to constantly innovate in order to keep up with the rapid changes in technology and the increasing needs of their customers. Accordingly, it is crucial for forward-thinking industries like IT software development to adjust to novel circumstances and conditions.

The failure of the waterfall approach to evolving with the times inspired the development of the agile approach. DevOps is similar in that it fills in a gap in the Agile process and improves upon it by ensuring the safe deployment of the product after development is complete. Because one is a well-considered offshoot of the other, it's reasonable to argue that the Agile approach and DevOps have many commonalities.

Parameter	Agile	DevOps

Definition	Agile is an iterative methodology that emphasizes teamwork, listening to and acting on customer input, and rapid, minor releases.	DevOps is a culture in which the development and operations teams work together as a single unit and combine their tasks to improve productivity and work together.
Purpose	The Agile methodology is mostly about making changes all the time and putting out minor updates after each sprint. Agile is used to handle complicated projects and make room for changes in the middle of a project.	DevOps focuses on continuous testing and quick releases, which can happen every few hours or even daily. The main goal of DevOps is to manage engineering and business solutions from beginning to end and focus on fast delivery.
Team Size	The team is smaller, so everyone works closely together, and everyone has the same set of skills.	A large team with many different departments has a wide range of skills.
Team Skill Set	Agile development puts a lot of focus on training everyone on the team to have a wide range of similar skills.	The development and operations teams share and distribute the necessary skills with DevOps.
Documentation	Value for working software is prioritized over documentation in Agile. With this goal in mind, we've reduced documentation to a minimum to maximize flexibility and efficiency throughout the development cycle.	DevOps relies heavily on documentation. The success of any team depends on their ability to work together effectively. Thus, it's important to keep detailed records of their procedures, progress reports, information, and communications.
Task	The continual emphasis on change is key to the agile methodology.	Continuous integration and delivery are at the heart of the DevOps methodology.
Implementation	The agile methodology can be used in several different tactical frameworks, including the sprint, the safe, and the scrum.	DevOps has no universally acknowledged structure because its major focus is on teamwork.
Duration	Sprints are the time periods in which agile development is managed. Each sprint takes significantly less than a month at this pace.	DevOps prioritizes meeting deadlines and setting metrics for significant releases. The objective should be to push new code to production at least once per day, if not more often.
Feedback	Feedback is given by the customer.	Feedback is given by the internal team.
Emphasis	Agile is a software development approach that places an emphasis on the use of a software development methodology. The agile team will have no more involvement with the product after it has been completed and deployed.	Release-ready software is the bread and butter of DevOps, which focuses on the safe and dependable distribution of such programs.
Cross-functional	Any team member should be able to contribute to the project's success. A team's understanding and cooperation develop when every member is capable of doing every task.	In DevOps, the development team and the operations team are two different groups. So, communication is quite complex.
Communication	Scrum is the most popular framework for enacting Agile software development. The scrum meeting is held every day.	Specifications and design papers are part of the communication processes in DevOps.To successfully manage the deployment process, the operational team must have a thorough understanding of the software release and its hardware/network consequences.
Focus	It focuses on both functional and non-functional readiness.	The emphasis is shifted more toward business and operational readiness.
Importance	Agile's primary focus is on software development.	All three phases—creating, testing, and launching—are crucial.
Speed vs. Risk	Agile teams are adaptable and can quickly adapt to new requirements.	DevOps teams must ensure that any architectural modifications do not threaten the rest of the project.
Challenges	The agile methodology requires more productive teamwork, which is not always easy to achieve.	The DevOps method should be used over the whole lifecycle, from development to testing to production.
Quality	With Agile, you get better application suites that meet your needs. It's flexible enough to adjust to shifts in the project's timeline.	DevOps, along with automation and fixing bugs as soon as they are found, helps to improve quality. If developers want to keep up with quality standards, they must adhere to established standards of both coding and architecture.
Tools	Popular Agile tools include JIRA, Bugzilla, and Kanban.	A few popular DevOps tools are Puppet, Chef, TeamCity, OpenStack, and AWS.
Benefits	Agile reduces cycle times and boosts quality assurance.	DevOps facilitates Agile's iterative release process.

Bottom Line

DevOps and the Agile approach are very different in practice, although they aim to reduce development times and improve software quality. The beauty of DevOps and Agile methods is that they are compatible with one another. It's fair to claim that one cannot exist without the other and that total separation is unnecessary. Collaboration between DevOps and Agile can boost product quality and shorten the software development cycle (SDLC).

In today's ever-changing world, it's more important than ever for a product to be able to adapt to changing conditions and still be successful. This is why companies should embrace methods like DevOps and Agile and be open to adopting even more innovative methods in the future. DevOps and Agile are methods for boosting team efficacy, improving software development procedures, and benefiting the end user.

Ronwell can help you transition to continuous delivery and take advantage of efficiencies between your operations and web development teams with our customized DevOps services.

Thanks to Ronwell's extensive software suite, we can bring products to market more quickly, cut development costs, and boost product quality.

Ronwell Digital can assist you in optimizing your business and boosting user satisfaction with the help of maximum automation! Let’s contact us!

FAQ

Is DevOps a Part of Agile?

The goals of both DevOps and Agile, two popular software development approaches, are similar: to provide a working product as rapidly and effectively as possible.

DevOps can be seen as either the natural evolution of agile methods or their missing piece. It attempts to adapt agile methodology's innovations for use in operational settings.