DevOps adoption has continued to increase this year. However, as more developers become involved in DevOps activities, the potential for developer burnout also rises — as such, 2023 saw many new platforms and products aimed at improving this developer experience.
Our top 10 stories about DevOps in 2023 explore these trends, examining platform engineering, the use of AI, the importance of a healthy organizational culture, and efforts to minimize code-review times.
1. Code Review Bottlenecks: Best Practices to Speed the Process
Long code-review wait times are creating bottlenecks in the software development pipeline, which affects a company's ability to deliver in a timely manner and, therefore, impacts how it innovates and stays ahead of the market. This article explores efforts to improve code-review time, including using industry benchmarks to judge performance and implementing emerging AI tools.
2. Comprehensive Guide to What a DevOps Engineer Does
Because DevOps engineers play a role in virtually all stages of software development, deployment, and management, they are a vital asset to businesses that depend on software. If you are looking for a career in software development, read this guide to the role of a DevOps engineer and how to become one.
3. Is Platform Engineering the Future of DevOps or Just a Passing Trend?
Platform engineering has emerged as a significant trend in DevOps, aiming to give developers inside an organization easy access to the tools and services they need to be productive. This article explores platform engineering's uses and best practices and looks at the potential of its longevity in DevOps teams.
Related: Organizations Seek Platform Team Expertise as DevOps Matures
4. The Downside of DevOps: Stress and Burnout of Engineers
DevOps is touted as a great way for a business to increase efficiency and productivity. However, it forces engineers to do two things that increase the stresses of their jobs: assume ownership of a broader set of responsibilities and adapt to faster-paced release cycles. In this article, Christopher Tozzi explores DevOps engineer burnout and how organizations might protect against it.
Related: Burnout Is Back in a Big Way — Here's Why
5. System Initiative Cooks Up New Approach for DevOps Modernization
Recent startup System Initiative is looking to solve key challenges in the DevOps space with its new intelligent automation platform. The platform's main capabilities include focused collaboration, intelligent automation, fast feedback loops, and customization. Read more here about how System Initiative plans to modernize DevOps.
6. Google DORA 2023 State of DevOps Report Finds Culture, User Focus Key to Success
This article explores the findings of Google Cloud's DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) report, which analyzed data from over 36,000 IT professionals worldwide. Key findings included that healthy, inclusive cultures saw 30% higher organizational performance, user-centric approaches enjoyed up to 40% greater performance, high-quality documentation increased key metrics, and infrastructure flexibility unlocked value. Read more about the findings here.
7. Atlassian Compass Brings New Direction to Improve Developer Experience
DevOps and workflow automation vendor Atlassian launched Compass, a developer experience (DevEx) platform aimed at helping engineering teams navigate software complexity. It provides capabilities such as a component catalog to track all software components, health modeling to monitor the health of components, templates to easily create new components, and extensibility to integrate with other tools. In this article, Sean Michael Kerner takes a look at how this platform aims to improve the developer experience.
8. GitHub Universe Doubles Down on AI as Developer Interest Grows
At its annual conference, GitHub announced a suite of new features aimed at transforming the developer experience. The new products more deeply integrate AI capabilities, with GitHub reshaping itself as an AI-first company. Read this article to find out more and to discover other key findings from GitHub's Octoverse 2023 report.
9. IT Operations vs. DevOps: What's the Difference?
IT operations and DevOps are closely related, and many similarities do exist, but it is incorrect to conflate the two. In this article, Christopher Tozzi examines ITOps and DevOps on several levels, explaining the role of each; how they compare in terms of processes, tools, and culture; and how to decide which best meets your business needs.
Related: What Is IT Operations?
10. CD Foundation State of Continuous Delivery Report Shows Growth in DevOps
In 2023, the Continuous Delivery Foundation (CDF) released its fourth State of Continuous Delivery Report, providing insights into DevOps trends. The report found that DevOps practices are continuing to increase, with more than 80% of developers now involved in DevOps activities, but that numerous challenges in the landscape still remain. Read more about the report's findings here.
What 2023 DevOps developments will help your team most? Let us know in the comments!
