How to drive DevOps productivity with observability

The "shift left" movement in the delivery and integration of software has evolved since its introduction in the early 2000s. Traditionally driven by the need to improve the quality and security of systems, organisations today embrace the shift in delivering greater visibility, developer productivity and release velocity. 

Australian organisations are bringing observability into the development and testing phases, proactively identifying and addressing performance, risk and reliability issues earlier. According to New Relic's 2023 Observability Forecast, one of the top key drivers for observability in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) was security, governance, risk, and compliance (43%). 

While observability helps to reduce the risk of deploying problematic code, the practice improves processes, collaboration to drive greater efficiencies and performance. In fact, the same New Relic study found that the top observability benefits for ANZ organisations were increased operational efficiency (42%) and improved system uptime and reliability (36%).

Understanding the five layers of DevOps productivity
DevOps productivity can be viewed as five different layers of a pyramid that all play a contributing role in achieving greater efficiency during each phase of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). Each layer builds upon the other and is necessary in order to achieve optimal productivity: 

1. Code quality and maintainability - Maintaining high code quality is crucial for DevOps productivity, facilitating quicker development and bug resolution. Observability offers insights into code execution and performance, aiding developers in identifying and resolving issues efficiently. Integrated code analysis tools can enhance software quality by identifying potential issues early in the development process.
2. Continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines - CI/CD pipelines are integral to modern development, automating tasks and providing rapid feedback, thus enhancing DevOps productivity. Integrated observability solutions help monitor pipeline performance by identifying bottlenecks and correlating data with application performance to optimise deployment processes effectively.
3. Infrastructure and system performance - Infrastructure and system performance are pivotal for DevOps productivity, requiring real-time visibility into metrics like CPU utilisation and network latency to swiftly address bottlenecks and optimise system efficiency. Visualising interdependencies among infrastructure components aids developers in pinpointing performance issues and enhancing overall system performance.
4. Collaboration and communication - Effective communication among development, operations teams, and stakeholders is vital for DevOps productivity, preventing duplicated efforts. Shared dashboards and real-time performance data, while integration with communication tools streamlines issue resolution, ensuring efficient teamwork.
5. Monitoring and alerting - Proactive monitoring and alerting are vital for sustaining high DevOps productivity, enabling swift issue resolution and minimising downtime. Advanced capabilities like anomaly detection and machine-learning (ML)-based predictions empower developers to pre-emptively address emerging issues, ensuring system stability and enhancing productivity.

Developer experience underpins DevOps productivity
The developer experience, supported by full-stack observability tools, can unlock new realms of productivity and influence speed to market. Organisations should adopt processes that allow teams to do their best work without worrying about fighting fires and finding the needle in the haystack.

• Set up effective monitoring and alerting - Leveraging full-stack observability, coupled with meaningful and dialled-in alerting, is a starter to success.
• Introduce security early in the SDLC Testing code for security vulnerabilities early in the development cycle helps to streamline processes and avoid delays that are caused by separate security testing which typically occurs later in the cycle. Automated tools like interactive application security testing (IAST) allow developer teams to find, fix, and verify high-risk vulnerabilities early in the development process so they can build more secure applications and ship code faster.
• Implement a culture of continuous improvement - Implementing a culture of continuous improvement in software involves embracing feedback, adopting iterative development practices, and leveraging observability tools to gather, analyse and respond to insights. By fostering a culture that values collaboration, communication, and agility, organisations can continuously enhance their processes and products, ultimately leading to better software quality and business success.
• Regularly review and refine development processes – This involves conducting retrospectives to assess what went well and what could be improved through analysis of data and tracking metrics seamlessly. After retrospectives, teams align on process refinement, implementing changes to streamline workflows and improve collaboration, often guided by data-driven decisions and an observability mindset.

DevOps productivity stands as a cornerstone for business success, as it can achieve cost efficiencies, improved software quality and superior developer experience. As the software landscape continues to demand speed and performance, organisations that embrace observability are well-positioned to reap the benefits of enhanced developer productivity.