DevOps is likely the most jargon heavy process we work with here, so here’s our attempt to demystify some of the language of DevOps…
| Term | Description | Metrics |
| .NET | C#, VB, F#, C++.NET | |
| Agile | Agile isn’t strictly necessary for DevOps, in reality unless your team is good at Agile then it won’t be good at DevOps. Implement Agile first. | Dependability for Scrum, cycle time and WIP for Kanban |
| AI | Artificial Intelligence refers to the development of intelligent computer systems that can perform tasks that would typically require human-level intelligence, such as natural language processing, image recognition, and decision-making. AI is often used in the context of automation and machine learning. | Inferencing accuracy, bias |
| AIOps | AIOps (Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations) is an emerging field that applies AI and machine learning techniques to automate and optimize IT operations. AIOps tools can help organizations detect and diagnose problems, predict issues before they occur, and automate routine tasks. | |
| Ansible | Ansible is a popular open-source automation tool used for configuration management, application deployment, and orchestration. Ansible uses a simple, human-readable language to describe automation tasks, making it easy for DevOps teams to manage complex infrastructure. | |
| API | An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of protocols, tools, and standards that enable software applications to communicate with each other. APIs define the ways in which different software components can interact and exchange data. | |
| Automation | Automating repetitive processes is the key to improving DevOps performance, builds must be automated as a basic step, then deployments to various environments should be automated along with test automation. Automation provides high quality repeatable processes that reduce variation and reduce human workload. | Deployment frequency, Lead time for changes |
| Availability | Availability refers to the ability of a system or application to be accessible and responsive to users. High availability is a critical factor in ensuring that software applications meet the needs of users and customers. | |
| AWS | AWS (Amazon Web Services) is a cloud computing platform that offers a wide range of services, including computing, storage, and database services. AWS is a popular choice for DevOps teams due to its scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. | |
| Backlog | A backlog is a prioritized list of features, bugs, and other tasks that need to be completed in a software project. Backlogs are commonly used in Agile and Scrum methodologies to manage project requirements and prioritize work. | |
| BDD | Behaviour Driven Development, synonymous with TDD is a method of specifying how the software should behave. Typically written as Scenario <name>, Given <precondition>, When <action>, Then <expected result> in the Acceptance Criteria of a story, there are also tools such as Cucumber that translate this language into automated test cases. | % of stories that have Acceptance Criteria (in BDD style) |
| Branching | Branching strategy used in Version Control system, historically GitFlow was used where there is a branch per environment, however Trunk Based Development (similar to GitHub Flow) is preferred for teams with faster Cycle Times | Number of open feature branches should be equal or less than the number of developers + master/main branch. |
| Change failure rate | For the primary application or service you work on, what percentage of changes to production or released to users result in degraded service (e.g., lead to service impairment or service outage) and subsequently require remediation (e.g., require a hotfix, rollback, fix forward, patch)? | % of changes, should be 0-15%. |
| CI/CD Pipeline | Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery Jenkins, BitBucket, AWS, Artifactory | |
| Cloud | Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing resources over the internet, including computing power, storage, and networking. Cloud computing is a popular choice for DevOps teams due to its scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. | |
| Container Registry | Place for storing Docker images and other libraries that can we quickly and securely deployed to an environment | |
| Cycle Time | Time (in days or hours) from when development works starts on a backlog/work item to when it gets successfully deployed to production | Days or Hours, should be much less than 2 weeks |
| Deployment frequency | For the primary application or service you work on, how often does your organization deploy code to production or release it to end users? For mobile apps often teams make a business decision not to deploy updates multiple times per day, so this is measures on number of releases that could be deployed to customers. | Between once per day and once per week for High performing teams |
| DevSecOps | DevSecOps (Development, Security, Operations) is a collaborative approach to software development that integrates security practices into the software development lifecycle. DevSecOps seeks to build secure software through the continuous testing, monitoring, and automation of security practices. | |
| Docker | Docker is a popular open-source platform used for containerization, which is the practice of packaging applications and their dependencies into portable, self-contained units called containers. Docker is widely used in DevOps environments to enable fast and efficient deployment of applications. | |
| FaaS | FaaS (Function as a Service) is a cloud computing model in which developers can deploy and execute individual functions or pieces of code in response to specific events or triggers. FaaS is often used in the context of serverless computing, which aims to abstract away the underlying infrastructure and enable developers to focus on writing code. | Execution time and memory usage |
| GCP | GCP (Google Cloud Platform) is a cloud computing platform offered by Google that provides a wide range of services, including computing, storage, and database services. GCP is popular among DevOps teams for its scalability, flexibility, and robust security features. | |
| Helm | Helm is an open-source package manager used for managing Kubernetes applications. Helm simplifies the deployment and management of Kubernetes applications by providing a templating system and a repository for managing application dependencies. | |
| IaaS | IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) is a cloud computing model in which a provider offers virtualized computing resources, such as servers, storage, and networking, over the internet. IaaS allows DevOps teams to quickly and easily provision and scale infrastructure resources, without the need for physical hardware. | |
| IaC | IaC (Infrastructure as Code) is the practice of defining and managing infrastructure resources using code, rather than manually configuring hardware and software components. IaC enables DevOps teams to automate the provisioning, configuration, and management of infrastructure resources, using tools such as Ansible, Terraform, and Puppet. | |
| JS | JS (JavaScript) is a popular programming language used for building web applications, server-side applications, and mobile applications. JS is often used in the context of front-end web development, and is supported by a wide range of frameworks and libraries, including React, Angular, and Vue.js. | |
| Kubernetes | Kubernetes is an open-source platform used for container orchestration, which is the practice of automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Kubernetes provides a powerful set of tools for managing containerized workloads, including load balancing, networking, and storage management. | |
| Lead Time | Time from when an idea/backlog/work item gets created to when it is successfully completed (deployed in production) | Days, should be less than 3 sprints |
| Lead time for changes | DORA definition: For the primary application or service you work on, what is your lead time for changes (i.e., how long does it take to go from code committed to code successfully running in production)? | Less than 1 day for Elite teams |
| Microservices | Microservices is an architectural approach for building software systems that involves breaking down a monolithic application into smaller, loosely-coupled services that can be independently deployed and scaled. Microservices architecture aims to enable faster delivery of software changes and increased agility in response to changing business requirements. | |
| ML | ML (Machine Learning) is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that involves building algorithms that can learn and make predictions based on data. ML is widely used in a range of applications, including image recognition, speech recognition, and natural language processing. | |
| MLOps | MLOps (Machine Learning Operations) is a set of practices and tools for managing the lifecycle of machine learning models. MLOps seeks to apply the principles of DevOps to the development and deployment of machine learning models, with a focus on automating the process of model training, testing, and deployment. | |
| Monitoring | Monitoring is the practice of observing and measuring the performance of software systems, in order to detect and diagnose issues before they affect users. New Relic, App Dynamics, Cloudwatch, Postman Pro, App Insights | |
| MTTR | Mean Time to Repair or Time to restore service. For the primary application or service you work on, how long does it generally take to restore service when a service incident or a defect that impacts users occurs (e.g., unplanned outage or service impairment)? | Time in minutes that customers experience degraded service |
| NoSQL | NoSQL (Not Only SQL) is a type of database that differs from traditional relational databases in that it does not rely on a fixed schema. NoSQL databases are often used in modern web applications, as they can scale horizontally and are optimized for handling large volumes of unstructured data. | |
| OSS | Open Source Software or Operational Support System | |
| OWASP | OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) is a non-profit organization that provides resources and tools for improving the security of web applications. OWASP publishes a widely-used list of the top ten web application security risks, which is often used as a reference by DevOps teams. | |
| PaaS | PaaS (Platform as a Service) is a cloud computing model in which a provider offers a platform for developing, testing, and deploying applications, without the need for developers to manage underlying infrastructure resources. PaaS platforms typically provide pre-configured runtime environments, databases, and development tools. | |
| Puppet/Chef | Puppet and Chef are two popular configuration management tools used in DevOps environments. These tools enable teams to automate the process of configuring and managing software and infrastructure resources, using declarative configuration files and a client-server architecture. | |
| Repo | (short for repository) refers to a central location where code and other software artifacts are stored and managed. A repo is often used in conjunction with version control tools such as Git or Subversion. | |
| RESTful | Representational State Transfer) is a style of software architecture used for building web services. RESTful services use standard HTTP methods (such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE) to interact with resources, and rely on a stateless client-server architecture. | |
| SaaS | (Software as a Service) is a cloud computing model in which a provider offers software applications over the internet, typically on a subscription basis. SaaS applications are often accessed through a web browser and are hosted and managed by the provider. | |
| SDLC | (Software Development Life Cycle) is a process used to design, develop, test, and deploy software applications. The SDLC typically consists of several stages, including planning, analysis, design, implementation, testing, and maintenance. | |
| Shift left | Shift left is a software development approach that involves moving testing, security and other activities earlier in the development process. By detecting and addressing defects and issues earlier in the development process, teams can reduce the cost and time required for testing and improve the quality and reliability of their software systems. | |
| SOA | SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture) is a software design approach that involves organizing software systems into small, reusable components or services that can be accessed by other systems or applications. SOA is often used in large, complex systems to improve scalability, flexibility, and modularity, and to enable better integration between different systems and applications. | |
| SRE | (Site Reliability Engineering) is an approach to IT operations that involves applying engineering principles to the design, implementation, and maintenance of large-scale software systems. SRE teams focus on building systems that are reliable, scalable, and maintainable, using techniques such as automation, monitoring, and incident management. | |
| TDD | (Test-Driven Development) is a software development approach that involves writing automated tests before writing the code for a new feature. TDD aims to improve code quality by encouraging developers to think about the requirements and design of a feature before writing any code, and by providing a safety net of automated tests to catch regressions and errors | |
| Tech Debt | (Technical Debt) refers to the cost of maintaining and supporting software systems that have accumulated over time as a result of short-term decisions or trade-offs. Tech debt can take many forms, including incomplete or poorly-documented code, outdated infrastructure, and reliance on legacy systems or software. | |
| Test Automation | Test automation refers to the use of software tools and scripts to automate the process of testing software systems. Test automation is an important part of DevOps, as it enables teams to rapidly test and validate changes to software systems, while reducing the risk of human error and increasing the speed of release cycles. e.g. Selenium, Postman, Jest, Junit | |
| T-shirt size | is often used to refer to the size of a project or feature. For example, a “small t-shirt” project might involve a few hours of work, while a “large t-shirt” project might take several days or weeks to complete. | |
| Version Control | Version control is a system for tracking changes to files and software code over time, enabling multiple developers to work on a project simultaneously and to manage conflicts and changes. Popular version control systems include Git, Subversion, and Mercurial. | |
| Westrum culture | refers to a model of organizational culture that emphasizes communication, collaboration, and openness. In DevOps environments, Westrum culture is often seen as a key enabler of high-performing teams and fast-paced innovation. The Westrum model categorizes organizational cultures as pathological, bureaucratic, or generative, based on their level of openness and information flow. |