DevOps

DevOps (a clipped compound of "software DEVelopment" and "information technology OPerationS") is a term used to refer to a set of practices that emphasize the collaboration and communication of both software developers and information technology (IT) professionals while automating the process of software delivery and infrastructure changes. It aims at establishing a culture and environment, where building, testing, and releasing software can happen rapidly, frequently, and more reliably.

In traditional, functionally-separated organizations, there is rarely a cross-departmental integration of these functions with IT operations. But DevOps promotes a set of processes and methods for thinking about communication and collaboration – between departments of development, QA (quality assurance), and IT operations. In some organisations, this collaboration involves embedding IT operations specialists within software development teams, thus forming a cross-functional team – this may also be combined with matrix management.

At the Agile 2008 conference, Andrew Clay Shafer and Patrick Debois discussed "Agile Infrastructure". The term DevOps was popularized through a series of "devopsdays" starting in 2009 in Belgium. Since then, there have been devopsdays conferences, held in many countries, worldwide.

Because DevOps is a cultural shift and collaboration (between development, operations and testing), there is no single "DevOps tool": it is rather a set (or "DevOps toolchain"), consisting of multiple tools. Generally, DevOps tools fit into one or more of these categories, which is reflective of key aspects of the software development and delivery process:

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