Agile vs DevOps – Learn the Basics

Software development is something that doesn’t hold a lot of importance in the earlier stages. Especially, it doesn’t fall under the category of management umbrella and then the developers were introduced with several models. With so many models in tow, comes the major debate of Agile vs DevOps. The planning, building, testing, quality assurance, and […]

Updated 15 February 2024

Ashish Chauhan
Ashish Chauhan

Global Delivery Head at Appventurez

Software development is something that doesn’t hold a lot of importance in the earlier stages. Especially, it doesn’t fall under the category of management umbrella and then the developers were introduced with several models.
With so many models in tow, comes the major debate of Agile vs DevOps.
The planning, building, testing, quality assurance, and deploying the final project in the market used to take a long period. However, there were no balances and checks that decades of the total quality of the software, unmet timelines, and whatnot.
The long list of drawn-out plans and long project software plans were a major concern.
Then comes the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).
Let us give you a better insight into the world of SDLC that helps you in achieving high-quality software that is cost-effective and exceeds customer expectations.

What is the Software Development Lifecycle?

As the name suggests, SDLC is a way to arrange the development cycle of a project to ensure that it can follow up easily with the maintenance, development, retention, and all other specific requirements. The motive to follow up on the development methodologies is to improve the software quality.
Here is a proper and in-depth knowledge of development methodologies that can help you clear the stages.

software development lifecycle

Different models are included in the cycle of development including:

  • Waterfall Model
  • Iterative Model
  • Spiral Model
  • V-Model
  • Big Bang Model

However, these models were not enough, and more were added to the software cycle to improve the whole process. Two of these major additions were – Agile and DevOps.
What is Agile? DevOps? How are they different from each other? What makes them similar to each other? Which one should we choose?
These are the major questions that have surrounded us for a long period. The reason is that all the project management depends upon the cost, time, and scope that are included in the lifecycle model.
With this said, let us give you a detailed insight into the Agile and DevOps world while understanding the Agile and DevOps major differences.

What is Agile?

agile methodologyThe major software development methodologies are Agile which is used for unpredictable and instant feedback to enhance the quality of the product. This is a great way to change the direction and be flexible for the product while developing the project.

Why choose the Agile app development method?

The Agile methodologies depend upon the major core value that includes:

  • Easy interaction on individual and management levels
  • Client involvement at each stage
  • Focus on the process instead of the documentation
  • Respond to feedback

These are the key values of Agile that make software development and project management a complete task, The motive of mobile app developers is to complete a project with complete effectiveness while meeting the deadline and making sure that it falls under budget.
In addition to this, customer feedback is another aspect that is added to the Agile methodologies. In addition to this, Agile is more than Scrum methodologies.
There are different modes of Scrum that one might have witnessed. It can be rewarding, productive, and smuggling work for some while for others it can be focused and objective. The over-commitment and politics are now replaced with such methodologies that are growing with Agile.
However, Agile is more than Scrum when it comes to software development since it makes the process effective. 

  • Unplanned Work Planning – This might sound confusing but what can be a better way to plan the work and track it easily? There are different things that one can add to the operation such as moving between data centers releasing the change in big systems, or even upgrades on system performance.
    However, some operations are now planned that include system outages, performance spikes, and compromised security. It is essential to have instant feedback when there is no time to prioritize sprint sessions or backlogs. It is best to run a business with distributed agile team showcasing the actual results. 
  • Service Owners & Product Owners – Another aspect of why to go for the Agile is to understand the features of the product in a better way mainly from the user perspective. However, it might not be ideal when it comes to features of the product that includes security, reliability, and security.
    The amplified feedback work as per the two-owner basis that overcomes all the biased common features. It is to prioritize features and plans as per the functional user story. The Agile methods work as improvement mechanisms with a motive to draw the opportunity to tune. 
use of agile methodologies

Agile Software Development also works with evolutionary development, adaptive planning, and delivery. This can be achieved through an umbrella such as:

  • Learn
  • eXtreme Programming (XP)
  • Kanban (Visual Workflow)
  • DevOps
  • Scrum
  • Crystal
  • Test-driven development (TDD)
  • Feature-driven development (FDD)
  • Adaptive Software development (ASD)
  • Dynamic systems development method (DSDM)

What is DevOps?

devops methodology

Another of the software development processes that are famous among developers is DevOps which is used for integration, communication, and collaboration with a focus on fast-paced deployment. As the name suggests, DevOps is mainly a combined form of Development and Operations that is used to increase the delivery speed.
It depends upon the cultural state of mind for the software infrastructure and development that is done as per the user requirements. In DevOps, they don’t need silos to work simultaneously as agile and lean practices.
DevOps is mainly a practice that helps a team to get continuous deliveries in an organization with proper integration and deployment. So, why do we need DevOps development services?
To define it, there are mainly three ways:

  • Principles of Flow
  • Principles of Feedback
  • Principles of Continuous Learning

DevOps is a flexible approach that a team goes for due to its shared mindset and culture around infrastructure implementation. In addition to this, this is all connected to microservices, cloud, and automation that is used to ensure that software performance can be enhanced.
However, DevOps is not just about Continuous Delivery but is directly connected to the automation of deployment. In this, the software quality is included to ensure that the team can frequently deliver it without missing out on its context. This is one of the major DevOps scrum master responsibilities to enhance user workflow.
If we dig a bit more then DevOps mainly works in three ways or you can say it is a deployment pipeline. Let us walk you through the Principles of DevOps or The Three-Ways:

  • System Thinking (First Way) – Firstly, the team focuses on the performance of the system instead of including the specific silos working. The team can divide the processes or work into smaller chunks and distribute it among everyone to work individually. In this, the devs-to-ops flow is maintained in an automated manner that accelerates the deployment process. 
  • Amplify Feedback Loops (Second Way) – Another one works on the feedback that is to improve the overall performance of development. This helps the team to get a continuous working mode in the development mode that shortens up the total time taken.
    Next is to focus on the operational issues that are taken care of by the developers that can know the consequences of any decision made on the development front. It offers awareness and a better internal understanding to implement the product faster and troubleshoot efforts. This works as agile principles for DevOps.
  • Culture of Continual Experimentation & Learning (Third Way) – The step is mainly about the learning of the development cycle. In this case, it is essential to understand the mastery of prerequisites, reputation, and practices.
    This is mainly the past of improving the power infrastructure and long automation. In this, the team can inspect and adapt to the whole workflow to ensure timely delivery as an opportunity to enhance human collaboration. This is the easiest way to solve problems while feeling empowered. 

Agile Vs DevOps – Key Similarities

The major similarity between Agile and DevOps is that they both are software development methodologies. However, we are familiar with Agile for more than two decades now but DevOps is fairly new in the game. Hence, comes the Agile and DevOps major differences.
With this, both methodologies are considered the fastest software development methodologies that help the teams to follow up on the basic principles without any hitches for customers. Other than this, here are the basic similarities between Agile Vs DevOps. 

Productivity of Business

Agile and DevOps are different in terms of their process and follow a unique approach. These methodologies follow a common goal and motive which is to boost the productivity of the business. Both approaches follow a reliable approach and work in a connected form. DevOps work better with Agile whereas Agile works intensely with DevOps. 

Collaboration Process

Another aspect that makes Agile and DevOps similar is their collaborative process. The fact is that when the team works on a project they need to collaborate with others. For instance, designers will get in touch with developers, and so on. DevOps agile operations and continuous delivery make collaboration easy with the proper sharing of data and tools as per the process. 

Lean Philosophy

Then comes the lean philosophy that is followed by both Agile and DevOps, as mentioned earlier. This makes it easy for the team to work together and maintain healthy communication with each other. 

These are the basic aspects that make Agile Vs DevOps similar to each other. 

Agile Vs DevOps – Key Differences

Agile Vs DevOps work differently on several terms that focus on customer feedback, collaboration, and rapid releases. These focuses include the changes constantly or continuously that can work with a small or large team.
To give you a better insight, here is everything that you need to know about Agile Vs DevOps. 

Implementation

This is a different form that includes frameworks like Kanban, SAFe, and Scrum for Agile focusing on the coalition in the project. DevOps is different since it focuses on the collaboration of the project with the team without any major frameworks. However, DevOps use tools like Jenkins, Docker, Ansible, Chef, Puppet, TeamCity, Git, and so on. 

Tasks & Planning

The planning and working of both methodologies are different for a better result. The agile method mainly includes the development of new updates or versions at specific intervals. This work focuses on the sprints that developers need to focus on the functionalities while developing or updating the mobile application as the last sprint.
The deployment is for DevOps and for business operation optimization which includes two choices. One of them is the update deployment that is visible to the audience which helps in the optimization. Whereas, another focus is covering maximum business operations with the updates deployment showing DevOps is a subset of Agile.

Purpose & Goals

The Agile methodology is sharp enough to manage all complex projects easily with the iterative approach and strong focus that helps in collaboration, customer feedback, and rapid, and small releases. Whereas, DevOps agile operations and continuous delivery work differently in such a situation since it brings two teams together to manage the operation and develop software while bridging the gap between them. 

Team Size

The best thing about Agile methodology is that it is proof that a mobile app development company doesn’t have to work with a large team. If anything, the more members in a team, the more things can be messed up that can be managed easily with Agile.
Whereas with agile principles for DevOps, the team can collaborate since developers can easily work with Scrum and Kanban irrespective of their size. And then comes the operation team that can manage all the essential aspects of the unveiling. However, the deployment model is not connected to DevOps but it streamlines the development and operations.

Team Skills & Target Areas

The development team must have specific skills while working on the Agile prophecies that focus on the T-shaped skillset. In these skills, the team must have in-depth knowledge and the domains for generalized skills. Whereas for DevOps, the skills are counted for the operational and development teams.
When it comes to the targeted areas Agile is all about the software development that works on all the development processes whereas DevOps methodology is about fast delivery for end-to-end businesses. This works as major DevOps vs agile since the team skills are counted in it. 

Feedback

The customers give their feedback when it comes to Agile methodology and DevOps work on internal feedback. The continuous testing team does the regular check on the software in DevOps and gets the necessary feedback to ensure that it is issue and bug-free. Read more at the mobile app testing guide to be an expert.

Duration

Another DevOps vs Agile is all about the duration of projects. In the Agile methodology, it depends upon the sprints that run for a minimum of two weeks to four weeks. The purpose of such a stage is to enhance the working process while keeping the development team in line. DevOps is dependent on the minor and major releases as a concept deal. The minor releases are mainly for the production purpose of the deployment of code. It is best to be aware of “how long does it take to develop an application” beforehand. 

Shift-Left Principles

This is the major principle of the Agile Vs DevOps process that includes the shift-left aspect for the Agile methodologies. Whereas, for DevOps is the process that shifts up with the right and left aspects of the development phase. 

Methodology

Agile methodology is followed up by the iOS and Android app developers to create the software as per the requirements without missing anything important until the date it is launched. Whereas when it comes to DevOps methodology, the team works with pre-built software that is reliable and can be easily deployed. However, there is nothing major in software development that DevOps contributes to since the development can be done with the waterfall model as well. It is best to know more about the Agile Vs waterfall model before you dive into the development world. 

Cross-functional Vs Segmentation

In this case, DevOps and Agile work differently since it includes the working process of the development team. In Agile, the developers include all the aspects of the mobile app development process to substitute the project without impacting it. This includes the enhancement of communication, quality, and efficiency of the project that fosters development speed.
This works differently when it comes to DevOps methodology since it includes the operation and development teams working together. The project works simultaneously for both teams ensuring that with close coordination ideal results can be achieved. 

Emphasis

Another aspect of Agile Vs DevOps is a focus upon the emphasis on the process. The development process is managed along in the Agile process but the team has no hand in what happens to software after its release. DevOps is testing the software once the product is ready for release. Not only this, but the team also makes sure that a reliable and secure environment is offered for production. 

Documentation & Interaction

For software development, the Agile methodology stands with the scrum framework to optimize the business process irrespective of its difficult nature. When it comes to application development, especially when the complex part is involved, the team can easily interact with each other to come to common ground and launch the best products. There is no need to assign separate tasks when managers follow the agile method.
Whereas, as the DevOps vs agile, the DevOps development is done separately with the addition of the different groups in the team to work together with updated and intensive skills to address the main issue for the deployment. Hence, DevOps works with the documentation that makes it easy for the team to interact while sharing feedback and testing the updates. 

Automation

Automation is not a key factor when it comes to Agile methodology since it is mainly about manual labor that works on bursts of energy. However, when we talk about DevOps methodology, it is all about minimum manual effort and automation to reach the primary goals. The principle is to deploy code with maximum efficiency. Know more about automation testing at “Why should companies switch to automation testing.”

Importance

The agile methodology focuses on the importance of small tasks that are included in the developing process. However, DevOps is mainly on the implementation, testing, and development of the small aspects that are equally important for each step. Importance showcases an essential difference between agile and DevOps.

Focus

The focus is mainly on what the software development team controls for the betterment of the project. In the Agile method, the developers keep track of constant changes that might occur at any point and instance. They make sure to update the application easily while embracing the changes.
DevOps methodology is mainly about continuous delivery as mentioned earlier. But it also includes software testing to make sure that the software is to the market for the market and can be launched once all the bugs are eliminated.

Quality

The customers are the major focus of the Agile methodology that is embraced by the team. In this, the team focuses on the deliverable of sprints that are produced for the quality checks against acceptance criteria. This works differently with DevOps since quality is the major focus for the team to ensure that the best product is launched in the market. For this, the team works on automation, a reliable environment, and early bug removal. This is a major difference between Agile and DevOps that is altering its workflow.

Speed vs Risk

As mentioned earlier, Agile methodologies are mainly ideal when it comes to rapid changes by developing robust applications and minimizing risks. Whereas, DevOps methodology works differently when speed is not emphasized while reducing the risks and working in a reliable environment for software deployment. 

Challenges

Just like any other aspect, Agile Vs DevOps challenges are not different. The agile method is mainly all about the productivity of the development that can’t be achieved every time and can be difficult to match. Whereas DevOps is the process that works on production and testing with the motive of streamlining the working environment.

Advantages

The short development cycle is something in which Agile methodologies focus on detecting the defect so that software can be delivered in the market at a faster rate. For Agile Vs DevOps, DevOps is mainly on automation with a built-to-deployment attitude that includes the release cycle. Not only this, but DevOps can include an Agile cycle that is now included in several teams. 

Process/Practices

The Agile Vs DevOps work on performing specific tasks to ensure that better products are launched in the market. In addition to this, the customers and team can easily communicate with each other with Agile methodology in the production phase for top-notch quality. Whereas in DevOps, the delivery and testing process works up in the IT operations and developers’ communication that suits the complex projects for the end-to-end processes. This also includes mobile app onboarding best practices that one must be aware of. 

Unplanned Work

Agile methodology is to monitor the work process which makes it easy for the teams to collaborate. These tasks include release updates, task assignments, performance, and security that need immediate attention. Whereas when it comes to DevOps methodology, it works in an infinite loop that makes it easy for teams to track processes. These make a huge impact when it comes to lightweight scrum practices. 

Wrapping up

With this said you will get a thorough understanding of Agile Vs DevOps. You will have a better understanding of “how is DevOps different from agile SDLC”.
Now comes the two major questions. Is DevOps better than Agile? Is it possible for DevOps to work with Agile?
Let us start with the major game-changers.

Is DevOps better than Agile?

The fact is that these methodologies are something that compliments each other. It is to streamline the process and avoid any wastage that can be done by combining both of them.
The DevOps and Agile methodologies work amazingly well when compiled together to maintain software and develop in the iterative approach. Hence, you can say that these methodologies are not something that can be better than each other.
Both work in a different segment that makes the practices and adopted status for the team.
Now, comes another question, Can they work together?
The best thing about Agile Vs DevOps is that they can work together with proper planning that can help in enhanced efficiency. The major role of Agile and DevOps methodology is to deploy the software as per the requirements of the clients while enabling each other.
This can work together in a combined form while mastering the software development methodologies with lifetime access.
So whatever you choose, make sure that you make a wise choice. For more information contact us

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    Ashish Chauhan
    Ashish Chauhan

    Global Delivery Head at Appventurez

    Ashish governs the process of software delivery operations. He ensures the end product attains the highest remarks in qualitative analysis and is streamlined to the clientele’s objectives. He has over a decade of experience as an iOS developer and teams mentorship.