Use SRE to Implement a DevOps Culture
SRE and DevOps – people often think these two compete with each other. Are they competitors? No, they are not. Both of them have their systems and disciplines. Their complementary nature makes them even more powerful.
DevOps team and model have their own culture. To implement DevOps culture, developers use SRE principles and best practices. A brief description of how DevOps and System Reliability Engineering differ can be found in this post and how businesses can use SRE to implement DevOps culture.
SRE vs. DevOps
SRE or Site Reliability Engineering is the applications or sets of principles and practices that software engineers use to solve operational problems. Developers and SRE share the tools and responsibilities. It monitors and removes the possibility of failure to ensure quick delivery of new applications.
DevOps is the process of creating a bridge between development and operational teams. Teams can communicate smoothly. They are more focused on automation and improved quality.
Now let’s take a look at how businesses can use features and tools of SRE to implement DevOps culture.
How to Implement DevOps Culture using SRE?
Start with Educating Teams
As most people are resistant to cultural changes, it’s necessary to teach them why businesses need cultural changes. Developers and operators need to understand the changes in culture and deployment process and why engineers are taking initiatives. Thus members can comfortably try to adapt to the changing situation. Both teams need to know how to use automation and other tools.
Shared Ownership of Tools
In DevOps culture, every team needs to use the same tools and resources. So all teams must have access to using tools and resources. Otherwise, it will delay the performance. Developers may need to wait for operators to handle specific tasks. Shared responsibility means understanding each other’s roles and performing them. Thus teams can solve issues together and increase reliability.
Implement Feedback Loop
SRE can also use agile practices like creating a feedback loop for the DevOps team. To ensure a successful implementation, the Devs and Ops team need the same privileges of using tools. Operators are always more focused on fixing the problem using tools. If Developers also have the same privileges, they can help the ops team in finding and fixing bugs.
Leverage Focus Groups
Regular feedback sessions improve communication and encourage shared ownership between Devs and Ops teams. Devs can share their cases with Ops to make the Ops team understand their value. Businesses can also use the focused group to find valuable insights that the Devs team can use to guide the Ops team.
DevOps is like a philosophy, and SRE is the tools and best practices that help implement DevOps culture effectively and efficiently. Though they are different from each other, businesses need both to compete with the fast-paced world.
