How to Find the Right DevOps Tools for the Project

The task of selecting the right technology is a common challenge faced by every DevOps engineer. With each specific problem presenting numerous potential solutions, the true skill of a DevOps engineer lies in identifying the optimal approach tailored to each client or task at hand.

Just like there are no two identical fingerprints, there are no one-size-fits-all solutions in the realm of DevOps. The constant evolution of technologies and methodologies in this field presents an ever-expanding array of options. While this diversity offers flexibility and innovation, it also poses the challenge of determining the most suitable path forward. Striking the right balance between efficiency, scalability, security, and compatibility is paramount, making technology selection a crucial aspect of any DevOps engineer's role.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Selecting the Right DevOps Tool

Choosing the appropriate DevOps tool is a critical undertaking that can significantly impact the success of your projects.

The step-by-step process may look approximately like this:

• Define business drivers
• Establish limitations of the business solution
• Determine functional and non-functional requirements
• Create a high-level design of a future solution
• Identify relevant tools and trade-offs
• Proof of Concept (PoC)

Define Business Drivers

When it comes to technology selection, the first thing to focus on is the business's goals and drivers. It is essential to pay attention to what the business needs and requires. This step ensures that the chosen tool aligns with the organization's strategic direction and provides tangible value to the business.

This principle applies not only to DevOps but also to the overall architecture of any solution. The fundamental guiding factor should always be the business drivers.

These business drivers can be the specific goals set by the client or the company.

It is not just about doing something but about doing something that will be beneficial. It is important to document the guiding principles and objectives that will direct our path and determine where we are heading.

Establish Limitations of the Business Solution

The business solution, no matter how well-designed, may have some limitations and drawbacks. Here are some common limitations that can be encountered:

• scope constraints
• technical limitations
• cost and budget constraints
• integration challenges
• user adoption
• security and privacy concerns
• regulatory compliance

It's essential for businesses to be aware of these limitations and consider them during the solution development and decision-making process.

Establish Limitations of the Business Solution

The business solution, no matter how well-designed, may have some limitations and drawbacks. Here are some common limitations that can be encountered:

• scope constraints
• technical limitations
• cost and budget constraints
• integration challenges
• user adoption
• security and privacy concerns
• regulatory compliance

It's essential for businesses to be aware of these limitations and consider them during the solution development and decision-making process.

It is essential to precisely define what we mean by security, availability, and other non-functional attributes to ensure they are effectively considered in the development process. Understanding and properly addressing these requirements are critical to creating a successful and reliable solution.

High-Level Design of Future Solution

Moving forward, we can delve into the architecture or design of the prospective solution. At this stage, we outline some use cases related to the identified business drivers.

Suppose a company approaches us with a request to develop an application that can automatically recognize and tag photos, similar to an app like Vivino for wine recognition.

The client presents their desired functionalities and objectives from a business standpoint. As an engineer or architect, we break down their requirements into use cases, defining the interactions between users and the application. We begin to visualize the components and overlays that will be involved in this solution during the decomposition process.

For example:

• If the client wants the application to be accessible on mobile devices, a mobile app component is necessary.

• For a mobile app, we need to develop it for both Android and iOS platforms.

• To achieve automatic photo recognition, we need to integrate some form of AI technology.

  
  

At this stage, we lay out these components in a rough and high-level manner, considering them as building blocks of our future solution. We are not yet diving into specific technologies but rather outlining the essential components.

For instance, we understand that photo recognition of wine bottles requires a certain component. However, we haven't determined what exactly it will be. It might be an AI solution or a manual task performed by hundreds of people who manually input wine characteristics into a database and then provide you with wine details.

We have not yet decided on specific approaches to solve these tasks. Initially, we focus on breaking down a significant use case into smaller ones to better understand the components involved.

Identify Relevant Tools and Trade-offs

After completing the high-level design, we then proceed to incorporate the appropriate tools. To choose the necessary DevOps tools, I use the CNCF Cloud Native Interactive Landscape. This resource helps streamline the selection process by providing a comprehensive overview of available tools and their categories.

This website offers a visual representation of the DevOps ecosystem, making it easier to explore and select tools.

Within each category, you'll find various tools. Click on individual tools to access detailed information. Look for key details such as project maturity (Sandbox, Incubating, Graduated), popularity, and links to official project websites and documentation.

Utilizing the CNCF Cloud Native Interactive Landscape can simplify the process of choosing DevOps tools by providing a structured and up-to-date view of the available options.

However, there is a minor challenge. Every time we select a technology, it imposes additional limitations, functionalities, and requirements on our solution. Consider how well the tool integrates with other tools in your DevOps stack. Seamless integration can simplify your workflow and improve efficiency.

For example, we decided that our app, similar to Vivino, should utilize AI to provide wine recommendations. We choose to use a model from Open AI available in Microsoft Azure, as Microsoft has a close partnership with Open AI and offers various models. However, integrating this model into our architecture introduces certain limitations. For instance, the Open AI model is only accessible in Azure, and we had a primary business requirement to ensure our app is cloud-agnostic. We aim to avoid vendor lock-in.

This leads us to a trade-off situation. On one hand, a technology may seem suitable for our needs, but on the other hand, it may not align with our business objectives. We begin an iterative process of working with these trade-offs, testing other models and services, and possibly deploying them on our resources.

Throughout this process, we model and analyze various scenarios to determine the optimal solution. There is rarely a perfect solution, so it requires multiple iterations to find the most suitable one. We evaluate different tools, considering the trade-offs they present and the business drivers they address.

It is essential to look not only at a tool's capabilities but also at its limitations. This is often overlooked during technology selection. Choosing a technology based solely on a single use case without considering the bigger picture can lead to losing out on multiple aspects.

Technological limitations are crucial to examine. It is even more critical than understanding the full functionality of a particular technology. Factors such as technological constraints, licensing issues, budget restrictions, and others should always be thoroughly checked.

Once we have determined specific technologies, we need to verify whether all the business drivers, functional and non-functional requirements, align with the selected toolset.

For instance, if the requirement in the project specification was to process wine bottle photos within 10 seconds, we must precisely identify and outline the approaches, tools, and practices that will help us achieve this goal.

Proof of Concept (PoC)

After completing the high-level design and evaluating the trade-offs, it is time to proceed with the Proof of Concept (PoC) for the proposed solution.

The PoC involves testing the top contenders from the shortlist of technologies that align with the business drivers, functional and non-functional requirements and that have been identified as potential solutions during the iterative process.

During the PoC, we implement a small-scale version of the solution using the selected technologies to validate their feasibility, performance, and suitability for the project. This allows us to test how well the chosen tools and components work together and how they address specific use cases and requirements.

Practical Use Case: Matching DevOps Tools to the Task

Now, let's delve into real-world examples. We will explore various use cases and discover how to select the right DevOps tools tailored to each specific type of task. These practical scenarios will illustrate the principles and considerations involved in choosing the most suitable DevOps solutions for your projects.

Use Case #2: Streamlining Presale Processes with ChatOps Automation

Let’s explore how Gart recently successfully completed - "Streamlining Presale Processes with ChatOps Automation."

1. Define Business Drivers:

• The primary business driver was to enhance the presale experience by automating proposal creation and enabling functional testing.
• Improving environmental management and reducing manual effort were key goals.

2. Establish Limitations of the Business Solution:

• The solution needed to conform to the unique needs of Beyond Risk, including rapid environment creation and removal.
• It had to comply with the requirements of the enterprise risk management domain.

3. Determine Functional and Non-functional Requirements:

• Functional requirements included the need for an interactive environment creation flow, automatic deletion, and real-time notifications.
• Non-functional requirements encompassed security, efficiency, and scalability.

4. High-Level Design of Future Solution:

• The solution involved Chatbot integration for IT Operations (ChatOps) automation.
• It required code refactoring for improved environmental management.

5. Identify Relevant Tools and Trade-offs:

• GitHub Actions was chosen for its capabilities in automating workflows.
• Slack was selected as the primary communication channel for real-time notifications.
• Terraform was employed for infrastructure automation due to its versatility.

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6. Proof of Concept (PoC):

• A PoC phase tested the selected tools in a controlled environment to ensure they met the specific requirements.
• The PoC demonstrated that GitHub Actions, Slack, and Terraform could effectively automate proposal creation, testing, and infrastructure management.

7. Results:

Implementing GitHub Actions, Slack, and Terraform yielded significant results:

• Streamlined presale processes, accelerating proposal creation and testing.
• Improved environmental management, enhancing flexibility and scalability.
• Enhanced automation and testing capabilities, reducing manual intervention.

The chosen technologies aligned with these criteria, ultimately leading to a successful implementation that streamlined presale processes and enhanced operational efficiency for Beyond Risk.