BTech CSE 6th Semester · School of Computer Sciences · UPES Dehradun
DevOps has roots going back to Lean manufacturing and Agile software development. Its evolution spans over two decades of industry pain and innovation.
DevOps is not a single tool — it is a collection of interconnected practices that collectively shorten the feedback loop between writing code and delivering value.
Developers merge code into a shared repository frequently. Each merge triggers an automated build and test suite. Detects integration issues early. Tools: Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI.
Code passing CI is automatically prepared for release (Continuous Delivery) or automatically deployed to production (Continuous Deployment). Eliminates manual release bottlenecks.
Infrastructure (servers, networks, databases) defined and managed through code, not manual clicks. Version-controlled, repeatable, and auditable. Tools: Terraform, Ansible, Puppet, Chef.
Real-time visibility into application health, performance, and security. Metrics, logs, and traces (the three pillars of observability). Tools: Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack, Datadog.
Shared on-call, joint post-mortems, cross-functional teams. Breaking down silos through shared tools, dashboards, and blameless retrospectives. "You build it, you run it."
Security practices integrated into every stage of the pipeline — not bolted on at the end. SAST, DAST, dependency scanning in CI. Security as a shared responsibility.
Applications decomposed into small, independently deployable services. Containers (Docker) ensure consistency across environments. Kubernetes orchestrates at scale.
Short, frequent feedback cycles at every stage — from unit tests to production metrics to customer analytics. Kaizen mindset: always improve. Retrospectives drive learning.
Before we compare Agile and DevOps, we must understand what Agile is. The Agile Manifesto (2001) defines four core value statements.
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools · Working software over comprehensive documentation · Customer collaboration over contract negotiation · Responding to change over following a plan
The items on the left are valued more, but the items on the right still have value.
12 Principles Behind the Agile Manifesto (selected)
Agile and DevOps are complementary, not competing. They share values but differ in scope, audience, and what they optimise for.
| Dimension | Agile | DevOps |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | Software development process | End-to-end software delivery & operations |
| Scope | Dev team (planning → working software) | Dev + Ops + QA + Security (code → production) |
| Key Goal | Respond to change; deliver working software fast | Reduce time-to-market; increase reliability |
| Team Involved | Development team primarily | Cross-functional (Dev, Ops, QA, Security) |
| Feedback Loop | Sprint review, customer feedback | Production metrics, monitoring, real-user data |
| Delivery Cadence | End of sprint (1–4 weeks) | Continuous — multiple times per day possible |
| Infrastructure | Not in scope | Explicitly in scope via IaC & cloud |
| Key Frameworks | Scrum, Kanban, XP, SAFe | CI/CD pipelines, GitOps, SRE |
| Relationship | ✓ DevOps extends and operationalises Agile — they work best together | |
Kanban (看板) is Japanese for "visual board." Originally developed by Toyota for lean manufacturing, it was adapted for software by David J. Anderson (~2007).
Kanban is a visual workflow management method that helps teams manage and improve the flow of work. It focuses on limiting work-in-progress (WIP) to reduce multitasking, identify bottlenecks, and optimise throughput.
The Six Core Kanban Practices
A Kanban board makes work visible and enforces discipline through WIP limits. When a column is full, the team must pull work to completion before adding new items.
Example: A DevOps team's Kanban board (WIP limits shown in brackets)
Scrum is the world's most widely used Agile framework. Defined in the Scrum Guide by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, it organises work into fixed-length iterations called Sprints (1–4 weeks).
Scrum is a lightweight framework that helps teams generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems. It is built on empiricism (transparency, inspection, adaptation) and lean thinking (reduce waste, focus on essentials).
Scrum's five events create a regular heartbeat for the team. Three artifacts provide transparency into the work.
Three Scrum Artifacts
Ordered list of everything needed in the product. Owned by Product Owner. Always evolving.
Items selected for this Sprint + the plan to achieve the Sprint Goal. Owned by Developers.
The sum of completed Sprint Backlog items. Must meet the Definition of Done. Potentially shippable.
Both are Agile frameworks, but they suit different team contexts. Many DevOps teams use a hybrid approach called Scrumban.
| Dimension | Kanban | Scrum |
|---|---|---|
| Cadence | Continuous flow — no fixed iterations | Fixed-length Sprints (1–4 weeks) |
| Roles | No prescribed roles | Product Owner, Scrum Master, Developers |
| Work Planning | Pull items as capacity allows | Commit to Sprint Backlog at Sprint Planning |
| WIP Control | Explicit WIP limits per column | Controlled by Sprint capacity |
| Changes mid-cycle | Can be added any time | No changes to Sprint Backlog mid-Sprint |
| Best For | Ops, support, maintenance, continuous delivery pipelines | Feature development with clear goals and stakeholder reviews |
| Metrics | Cycle time, lead time, throughput, CFD | Velocity, Sprint burndown, release burnup |
| Key Visualisation | Kanban board with WIP limits | Sprint board + burndown chart |
What you should be able to explain after today's session: