Transitioning from conventional business approaches to BizDevOps can be a lot to take in, especially if you only have a faint idea of what it is and how to do it.
Businesses embracing digital transformation face many new concepts and processes, with pressure to adapt quickly as technology grows. Thankfully, BizDevOps teams are ready to lead the way.
This blog will guide you in understanding this approach and how your business can benefit from it.
Let’s start!
What is BizDevOps?
BizDevOps is basically a software development approach that brings together three key areas: Business, Development, and Operations. It aims to ensure that all these areas work in sync and are aligned with a project’s overall goal.
It’s a fancy way of saying that everyone, from the business team to the development and operations team, is involved in the development process of a product or software. The idea is to collaborate and integrate feedback from different stakeholders to create something that meets business objectives.
Imagine your company wants to launch an app to help people find local pet groomers. Traditionally, the business team would conceive the idea and then hand it off to the developers and operations teams.
However, in a BizDevOps framework, everyone collaborates from concept to reality.
To put it simply, BizDevOps is all about breaking down the barrier that often exists between the business leaders and technology sides of a project. Developers speak in code and syntax, which can confuse the business team who doesn’t understand that language.
What makes BizDevOps different from DevOps?
If you’re familiar with DevOps, you might wonder what sets BizDevOps apart.
The key difference is that BizDevOps involves the business team in addition to the development and operations teams. It simply means that the technical aspects of the project and the business objectives are considered. By bringing all these perspectives together, the team can create a product that aligns with the end users and the company’s goals.
Who is in the BizDevOps Team?
Similar to a DevOps team, several people are involved in the BizDevOps team.
Each team brings a unique skill set to the table, and their collaboration is vital to achieving business outcomes. Let’s dive deeper into who is on the BizDevOps team and what their responsibilities are.
Business teams
This includes anyone with a stake in the project’s success, such as product managers, sales teams, marketing teams, and executives. These individuals are responsible for understanding the product’s business component, identifying opportunities, and defining requirements for the software delivery.
Development teams
From the name itself, the development teams are responsible for building the product or software. It includes developers, testers, and quality assurance teams. The team works closely with the business team to understand the business requirements and ensure that the end product aligns with these goals.
Operations teams
The operations team is responsible for deploying and maintaining the product or software once it’s launched. They include IT operations teams, system administrators, and network engineers working closely with the development team to ensure the product can be deployed and maintained with minimal disruptions.
Through a BizDevOps framework, these teams collaborate comprehensively throughout the entire software development lifecycle, from ideation to launch and beyond.
The BizDevOps Methodology
The BizDevOps approach is all about integrating different teams to work collaboratively on a project. But there’s a catch: implementing BizDevOps is not technical but cultural.
To enable the BizDevOps methodology, set priorities on building an empowered work culture without a hierarchical structure. By doing so, everyone feels invested in the project’s success and works together to achieve business goals.
Another important aspect of creating a culture that supports BizDevOps is preventing “us against them” mentalities. It’s all about working together rather than against each other.
Here are the goals of BizDevOps:
– Build a harmonious relationship among different teams
– Create a culture that is flat and empowered
– Encourage collaboration rather than competition
– Use customer feedback to make informed decisions
– Ensure that projects align with business goals and delight customers
If these align with how you want to establish a development workflow within your team, give BizDevOps a go!
The Benefits of Following a BizDevOps Model
If you’re looking for innovative ways to improve your software development process, BizDevOps might be the answer. By breaking down traditional silos and integrating teams from the very beginning of a project, you’ll get high-quality products!
Here are five key benefits of following a BizDevOps model:
A Product Aligned to Your Business Needs
With BizDevOps, the business team’s conceived idea is considered by the DevOps team. This ensures that the software or product aligns with your business needs, which is the primary goal of any project.
Reduces Rework and Increases Productivity
Following this method, all teams work together in a cross-functional team, which means they can identify and fix issues early in the business processes. Rewriting volumes of code with wasteful efforts is avoided and, thus, enhances the productivity of developers.
Everyone Feels Ownership Over a Project
Since everyone is involved in the project from the beginning, all the teams feel like they have ownership over it. As a result, you’ll be working with a more motivated team that will lead the project’s success.
Reduced Costs
By integrating the business process into the development process, there is less duplication of effort, fewer errors, and lower costs in the long run. This can help to reduce costs associated with business operations and improve the bottom line for the business.
Faster Time to Market
When you follow the BizDevOps model, all the teams work together from the beginning of the project, which ensures that the project is delivered faster. Continuous integration and testing help to identify issues early, reducing delays and speeding up the time to market.
6 Steps to Implement BizDevOps For Your Project
Now that you know the benefits of following a BizDevOps approach, you can start implementing this methodology in your projects.
Here are five steps to implement BizDevOps for your project:
1. Assess Your Project Needs
The first step in implementing BizDevOps is to assess your project needs. Meet with business stakeholders to understand the business objectives and requirements for the project. This resource will help you recognize what your business people should convey to the DevOps team so they can fulfill these objectives.
2. Conduct Strategic Planning
Once you clearly understand the business objectives, the next step is to establish a strategic plan. Align development goals with the business objectives to ensure everyone is working towards the same outcomes. Remember to put this on paper and communicate it to the whole team.
If you’re new to the BizDevOps method, consider starting within a small operation team rather than trying to apply it to the entire organization. This will allow you to test and refine the methodology before scaling it up.
3. Implement BizDevOps
After establishing a strategic plan, it’s time to start this business strategy. Begin by integrating teams, breaking down silos, and encouraging collaboration between the business, development, and operations teams.
Focusing on a blend of cultural philosophies, practices, and tools will enable your organization to deliver applications and services quickly and with maximum efficiency. Instill the attitude of learning and ongoing growth among your team.
4. Set Customer-Centric KPIs
Using KPIs to measure business performance or attain business value is not new. Still, when it comes to BizDevOps, you should establish customer-centric metrics to ensure that your new model is delivering the desired results.
This kind of KPI ensures that your project is aligned with your customers needs. As such, this will help you measure the success of your project and ensure that it delivers business value to your customers.
5. Encourage Everyone to Participate
Encourage key members of each team to participate in the BizDevOps process. By bringing everyone together, you can ensure everyone has a stake in the project’s success and working towards common goals.
Consider setting up regular meetings where everyone can provide feedback and suggest improvements. This will also help foster an environment of team collaboration and communication that will boost morale and help everyone stay motivated.
6. Use Tools for BizDevOps
Finally, take advantage of low-code platforms and other tools designed to support the BizDevOps method. These tools can help automate the process and streamline communication between teams, making the implementation of BizDevOps more efficient and effective.
Some low-code development platforms are:
- Pega
- AgilePoint
- WaveMaker
- Dell Boomi
Get Your DevOps Team from StarTechUP!
The collaboration of dev and ops teams, or DevOps teams, started to gain more traction in recent years due to the increased need for speed, efficiency, and agility. So it’s no surprise that BizDevOps is following the same trend.
On the one hand, it’s great to see it getting the attention right now, but it still needs a little polishing. DevOps adoption, on the other hand, has long been established and adopted as a standard. You can never go wrong choosing it to assist in your digital transformation!
As a software development company, StarTechUP understands the value of DevOps and BizDevOps. We are equipped with all the tools, resources, and support necessary to help you achieve your desired goals.
Book a FREE consultation today, and let’s figure out the best way to get our DevOps engineers to help you succeed in your projects!
