DevOps ways of working

The definition, tailoring, implementation, assessment, measurement, automation and improvement of methods and tools to support planning, development, testing, operation, management and maintenance of systems. Ensuring methods and tools are adopted and used effectively throughout the organisation.

The active management of products or services throughout their lifecycle (inception through to retirement) in order to address market opportunities and customer/user needs and generate the greatest possible value for the business. The adoption and adaptation of product development models based on the context of the work and selecting appropriately from predictive (plan-driven) approaches or adaptive (iterative/agile) approaches.

The elicitation, analysis, specification and validation of requirements and constraints to a level that enables effective development and operations of new or changed software, systems, processes, products and services. The management of requirements throughout the whole of the delivery and operational life cycle of the software, system, processes, products or services. The negotiation of trade-offs that are both acceptable to key stakeholders and within budgetary, technical, regulatory, and other constraints. The adoption and adaptation of requirements management lifecycle models based on the context of the work and selecting appropriately from plan-driven/predictive approaches or more adaptive (iterative and agile) approaches.

The selection, design, justification, implementation and operation of controls and management strategies to maintain the security, confidentiality, integrity, availability, accountability and relevant compliance of information systems with legislation, regulation and relevant standards.

Validation of systems, products or services, to assure that the stakeholder and organisational requirements have been met, required practice has been followed, and systems in use continue to meet organisational and user needs. Iterative assessment (from early prototypes to final live implementation) of effectiveness, efficiency, user satisfaction, health and safety, and accessibility to measure or improve the usability of new or existing processes, with the intention of achieving optimum levels of product or service usability.

The management of change to the service infrastructure including service assets, configuration items and associated documentation. Change management uses requests for change (RFC) for standard or emergency changes, and changes due to incidents or problems to provide effective control and reduction of risk to the availability, performance, security and compliance of the business services impacted by the change.

The processing and coordination of appropriate and timely responses to incident reports, including channelling requests for help to appropriate functions for resolution, monitoring resolution activity, and keeping clients appraised of progress towards service restoration.

The resolution (both reactive and proactive) of problems throughout the information system lifecycle, including classification, prioritisation and initiation of action, documentation of root causes and implementation of remedies to prevent future incidents.

The optimisation of performance of people, including determination of capabilities, integration into teams, allocation of tasks, direction, support, guidance, motivation, and management of performance.

The facilitation of the professional development of individuals, including initiation, monitoring, review and validation of learning and development plans in line with organisational or business requirements. The counselling of participants in all relevant aspects of their continual professional development. The identification of appropriate learning/development resources. Liaison with internal and external training providers. The evaluation of the benefits of continual professional development activities.

The systematic management of vital knowledge to create value for the organisation by capturing, sharing, developing and exploiting the collective knowledge of the organisation to improve performance, support decision making and mitigate risks. The development of a supportive and collaborative knowledge sharing culture to drive the successful adoption of technology solutions for knowledge management. Providing access to informal, tacit knowledge as well as formal, documented, explicit knowledge by facilitating internal and external collaboration and communications.