Build the Right Software Better and Faster with Agile and DevOps Metrics

Some people call it the age of the Internet. Others call it the age of the smartphone.

We think it should be called the age of software.

Why?

Because it's software that powers not only the Internet but also your smartphone and tablets, your laptop, your watch, and even your TV.

Since the software is critical to so many products and services, there is a constant desire to develop software that is better. And this desire extends to developing software in ways that are faster than before.

How can you build software better and faster?

We believe that two methodologies, when used together, can help you build software better and faster.

These two methodologies are Agile and DevOps.

What is Agile

Agile, in the context of software development, refers to a methodology or approach of creating software by quickly releasing a minimum viable product (MVP) and then iteratively improving the product based on user feedback.

In contrast to older methodologies, the Agile approach to software development enables change easily, supports changing requirements, and enables early and continuous release of working features.

What is DevOps

According to the DevOps (developer & operations) approach, the teams that traditionally operated in their own silos now work together throughout the software development life cycle.

DevOps fosters a culture of collaboration between teams: this is achieved through joint planning and sharing of processes, priorities, and concerns.

How do Agile and DevOps work together?

Agile and DevOps actually don’t compete. Rather, they are complementary approaches to developing better software.

The benefits of using both Agile and DevOps approaches compound through:

• Quicker software delivery through a shorter development life cycle.
• Rapid, feedback-based testing and quality assurance.
• Enhanced collaboration leads to happier and more productive teams.
• Greater customer satisfaction.
• Improved customer loyalty.

Metrics

The ability to make accurate quantitative measurements not only gives insight but allows developers and leaders to make appropriate decisions and actions. Agile and DevOps metrics that are applicable to software development give the required insight that helps you make informed and timely decisions.

Agile Metrics

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): this metric measures the likelihood of customers recommending the software to someone else, typically a friend. This metric provides feedback about how customers feel about your product. Since NPS is a number, it doesn’t tell you why the customers are unhappy. The workaround for this is asking for feedback once the customer selects a score. The feedback can be grouped into categories, which will give insight that your teams can use to improve the software.
• Time to Market (TTM): this metric should come from the development team and can help you see how quickly an idea can be transformed into reality. The TTM should not be chosen arbitrarily, as that could lead to team members taking shortcuts to meet the target and consequently missing the goal behind the target.
• Team Health Check: this metric gives you insight into team productivity and the sustainability of the team’s working pace. Based on this insight, you can make necessary changes, such as changing project assignments or changing the scope. This metric lets you know where your help is required so that you can take appropriate action.
• On-time delivery via Sprint Burndown: a graphical display of the rate at which development work is being carried out and the work that remains. This metric helps you to see whether a committed feature can be delivered to the market on time. The insight it provides can be used to take remedial action if required.
• Software quality through defect trends: there are many qualitative and quantitative metrics for measuring software quality. This metric, however, looks at the defects that make it into the actual released product. The metric can be used by software teams to make an impact by allowing them to focus on something that is in their control: ensuring that the bugs are removed in the least amount of time possible.

DevOps metrics

• Lead time: the time taken to implement, verify and deliver software code. This metric gives insight into the expected amount of time required to deliver a feature or new software. The goal of speeding up development can be aided by automated testing and integration.
• Deployment frequency: measures the frequency of new code that goes into actual production. This metric is critical to measuring DevOps success. This metric also gives you insight into which teams/team members are regularly delivering higher levels of performance.
• Change failure rate: measures the failure of changes made after production for fixing problems. If increased deployment frequency leads to an increase in change failure rate, then you know that there are issues in the development process which need to be fixed, even if that requires reducing the deployment frequency.
• Customer ticket volume measures bugs reported by customers over time. This metric gives feedback about the number and seriousness of bugs that escape your development and test processes. Bugs are inevitable. If the ticket volume is low, then you know that the software. If robust, but if the ticket volume is high, then you need to investigate further.

The magic of metrics is that, in contrast to vague or subjective information, they give you quantifiable insight. You can develop dashboards that display all relevant metrics, and a quick look will give you an accurate overall picture of what is working and what needs to change.

The metrics will also tell you whether your investments in Agile and DevOps are delivering the results that you desire.

A lot that seems nice in theory doesn't work out well in practice. Most often, the reason is that we tend to get carried away with the surrounding hype and implement based on our own perceptions rather than on the basis of experience and on the ground realities.

Let Pronix help

This is where Pronix can help you leverage the best of Agile and DevOps approaches to help you build better software and to do it faster.

Pronix offers a wide range of IT-based services, including digital transformation, consulting, infrastructure management, product engineering, and security. Our experts have over ten years of experience in implementing SAP and Microsoft solutions. We also offer solutions based on cloud offerings from Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.

Contact us today to start a discussion that could be the first step towards adopting Agile and DevOps for supercharging your software development efforts.