Software Development Life Cycle known as SDLC for DevOps

DevOps is a combination of Development (Dev) and Operations (Ops).
It is a set of practices, tools, and cultural philosophies that automate and integrate processes between software development and IT teams.

DevOps helps to Accelerate team communication and cross-team collaboration, Enable greater automation of technology processes, Improve the speed and quality of software development

In a DevOps approach, developers and IT teams work together to deliver software more quickly and efficiently.

When security teams adopt the DevOps culture, it is called DevSecOps.

DevOps is continuous in nature, represented as an infinite loop, which includes all stages of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).

DevOps Lifecycle Stages

1. Plan

   In this initial stage, the development team collaborates with stakeholders to define project goals, requirements, and the roadmap.

   Activities include feature prioritization, resource estimation, and timeline setting.

   The focus is on aligning business objectives with technical feasibility.

2. Code

   Developers write code according to requirements and design specifications.

   Version control systems (e.g., Git) are used to track, merge, and manage code changes.

   Practices like code reviews, collaborative programming, and automated lintinghelp ensure code quality.

3. Build

   The source code is compiled into executables or artifacts.

   Build automation tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, Travis CI) are used to ensure consistency and reproducibility.

   Supports Continuous Integration (CI) by automating frequent builds whenever new code is committed.

4. Test

   Various types of testing are performed to validate the build, including:

   Unit testing → verifies individual components

   Integration testing → ensures different modules work together

   System testing → validates the whole application

   User Acceptance Testing (UAT) → checks against business needs

   Automated testing ensures faster feedback and reduces human error.

5. Release

   Once the build passes all tests, it is packaged and prepared for deployment.

   Release management tools ensure that the deployment package is consistent and version-controlled.

   The goal is to make the software deployment-ready with minimal risk.

6. Deploy

   The software is deployed into the target environment (staging or production).

   Automated deployment tools (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker, Ansible, Terraform) ensure zero-downtime deployments and scalability.

   Deployment may follow strategies like Blue-Green or Canary releases.

7. Operate

   The deployed application is run in the intended environment.

   Operations teams monitor runtime performance, stability, and availability.

   The focus here is on infrastructure management, scalability, and reliability.

8. Monitor & Feedback

   Continuous monitoring tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack) are used to track application performance, logs, and user experience.

   Feedback is gathered from users and system metrics to identify issues or enhancements.

   This information loops back into the planning stage for continuous improvement.