How to Measure DevOps Success

In order to stay ahead of the curve, companies must constantly invest in innovation and development.

One of the ways businesses do this is through developing proprietary systems and software. In the corporate world, everyone has their wish list when it comes to internal software capabilities. As priorities change, Development Operations teams (DevOps) often get pulled in different directions.

Many companies find it difficult to realize the ROI on DevOps. Developers and projects often require heavy investment. It’s crucial that companies initiate projects that will add value.

A recent Information Week article by Tim Buntel illustrates how measurement and deployment of project management practices can help DevOps succeed.

Key Metrics

In order to measure success, companies need to set expectations and define key performance indicators to measure the health of their DevOps teams. These measurements include throughput, sustainability and stability.  

1. Throughput

The first outcome the article stresses is throughput. At a high level, throughput measures the amount of a product or service that successfully passes through a system.

Companies with high throughput rates produce their products more efficiently than those with low throughput rates. In the DevOps domain, throughput can be measured by the amount of code that becomes usable and the time it takes to develop it.

2. Sustainability

This is really a gut check for companies to measure the health of their DevOps teams. Are they burned out? Are they challenged? Are they fulfilled? These factors are important to consider for all employees, but they are especially crucial to measure in project oriented environments.

3. Stability

When code fails, stability measures how long it takes for the overall system to recover. This metric helps determine the overall effectiveness of DevOps projects.

Stay True to the Core

Organizations need to define their core capabilities and drive DevOps projects through those channels. Buntel emphasizes core competencies include technology and automation, management and process improvements, measurements and KPIs and company culture.

All these factors should help drive successful DevOps projects and encourage collaboration and innovation.

Think like a Project Manager

Identify which tasks are mission critical. With changing priorities, projects can often suffer from delays or distractions. Be realistic about constraints, prioritize tasks and stay focused.

After key performance indicators are defined and DevOps can be effectively measured, make sure to track performance over time. Buntel highlights maintaining a continuous improvement mindset in order to continually maximize ROI.

Need help measuring ROI on your DevOps? Redapt offers advanced analytics services that can help you better track data within your company. Drop us a line and we’ll discuss how we can get you the measurement insights your business needs.