Transitioning to a DevOps environment? Don’t make these four mistakes- Valutrics

Mistake 2: Ignoring timelines

There’s no denying that the traditional waterfall method, where work is more siloed, has an orderliness to it, said James Stanger, senior director of products at CompTIA, a nonprofit trade association.

James Stanger

Contrast that with DevOps, which by its very nature has the potential to seem disorganized because “everybody is into everybody’s work,” he said.

“That can invite chaos versus rationalized development,” Stanger said. It can also invite scope creep, as everyone has the potential to add their good ideas as they iterate.

“They will tend to think that it’s not linear anymore, that there are no more timelines, we’re just working together,” he said.

Managers need to adhere to strong project management principles in a DevOps environment, ensuring adherence to documentation and deadlines to avoid runaway projects.

“It’s the implementation of the timeline that changes, not the need for a timeline,” he added. “You’re doing things in a more circular way, but you’re still moving toward that timeline.”