Choosing the right DevOps Tools is a bit more complicated than just looking at a list of top-rated services. That’s because different tools are better suited for specific jobs. Additionally, tools alone don’t make DevOps work, but the right tools can make it much easier to be successful. The following tips cover what you need to know when evaluating DevOps tools for your business.

Define Your Workflow and Collaboration Strategy First

Before you start looking at DevOps tools, it helps to establish a collaboration strategy for development, QA, and operations. Understanding how these groups work together and how they address problems gives you insight into what your tools need to do. The collaboration strategy won’t point you to specific tools to use but will clarify what you need those tools to do for you. Before making a decision, you’ll need to examine how well tools work with an organization of your size and how much of a learning curve those tools require. Always keep in mind that a tool you don’t need is not the right DevOps tool. 

Look for DevOps Tools That Enable Real Collaboration

The right tool depends on your organization, but you’ll need to find communication and planning tools for your team. These tools include collaboration, workload management, instant messaging, ticketing, and documentation. Some tools handle more than one of the previously listed jobs. With many of these tools, you’ll need to use them to see if they work for your teams, so take advantage of free trials. Your organization might find tools like Slack, Jira, Confluence, Trello, InMotion, Dovetail, and others useful.

Automate Wherever Possible with the Right Tools

DevOps tools aim to eliminate as much of the human element from the workload as possible, which means the right DevOps tools should accomplish this goal. You should look into monitoring tools to track problems and look for potential improvements. Automated testing speeds up the development process. Acceptance testing prevents bad code from reaching production. Automation tools help with Continuous Integration, making it easier to properly test code several times a day as it’s submitted from early bug detection.

Choose Cross-Functional Tools for Seamless Handoffs

When your teams aren’t sharing resources, they may end up working against each other instead of with each other. The tools you use should enable development and operations teams to hand off tasks to each other in a loop. The goal is to avoid using multiple tools for the same purpose across different teams. It’s also important to identify how well a tool works within your DevOps workflow. A tool that is excellent in one workplace workflow may be counterintuitive for another business.

Prioritize Tools That Support Continuous Feedback

Avoid tools that only work in production because they step outside of the feedback loop. Feedback is an essential part of the DevOps process. These tools disrupt this valuable source of information. 

Ultimately, it’s up to your organization to determine the right DevOps tools to use. However, a strong understanding of how your organization collaborates, what tools should be doing for your organization, and how to identify which tools work best will point you to the right decisions.

Final Thoughts: DevOps Tools Are Only as Good as Their Fit

Ultimately, it’s up to your organization to determine the right DevOps tools to use. But success starts with understanding your workflows, collaboration patterns, and automation needs. Choose tools that make work easier, not more complex. And remember: the best tool is the one your team will actually use — consistently and confidently.

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