DevOps is a mindset and approach that promotes collaboration, integration, and communication between development and operations teams.
By working together, these teams can deliver high-quality software at a faster pace, with enhanced efficiency and reliability.
To achieve these goals, various DevOps tools are available to help teams collaborate effectively throughout the software development lifecycle.
In this blog, we will list down the right DevOps tools your team can use for effective collaboration, along with their features and benefits.
Typical DevOps team roles
It takes a team to deploy applications, and DevOps teams are no exception.
Typically, a DevOps team consists of the following roles:
DevOps Evangelist
In a successful DevOps transformation, leadership is key. A DevOps evangelist champions the DevOps philosophy within your company, promoting its benefits and securing stakeholder support. They’re essential in breaking organizational barriers and building your DevOps team.
An effective evangelist fosters a culture of psychological safety where it’s okay to fail and learn. They’re a role model and mentor, guiding the team and driving change. This role requires technical know-how, leadership skills, and a solid grasp of your business processes.
Automation Architect/DevOps Engineer
Automation is essential for DevOps, and roles like Integration Specialist, CloudOps Architect, or DevOps Engineer focus on optimizing the rapid development cycle. The DevOps engineers join projects during Sprint planning to define requirements, set KPIs, and choose the best tools, ensuring continuous integration and development.
Their key tasks include deploying and maintaining infrastructure, setting up CI/CD pipelines, migrating to the cloud, and implementing top-notch automation practices. They also monitor technical operations and provide on-call IT support, keeping everything running smoothly and efficiently.
Software Engineer/Tester
DevOps brings teams together, and with that comes extra responsibilities for everyone. Our developers, for instance, take on some QA tasks. They are involved not only in developing new features but also in testing, deploying, and monitoring them in a live environment throughout the product’s entire lifecycle.
The team’s most senior engineer often steps up as the team lead, distributing tasks, reviewing code, and tackling the trickiest features. It’s all about collaboration and ensuring everyone plays a role in the process.
Quality/Experience Assurance Specialist (QA/XA)
With developers now testing software actively, QA specialists have taken on greater responsibilities. Their core role is to set quality standards and design tests to meet these benchmarks. As development speeds up, manual testing within a Sprint becomes challenging, making automated testing crucial for maintaining high product quality.
While embracing DevOps practices, it’s easy to get caught up in automation and tech details. Remember, delighting customers is your main goal. Ensuring a captivating User Experience is a key role for QA engineers in a DevOps environment.
Release Manager
Consider this role as a specialized project manager for DevOps. Release managers not only orchestrate the project’s entire lifecycle and oversee daily team operations using Agile methodologies, but they also adeptly address any challenges that arise.
Unlike traditional managers, they immerse themselves in the technical aspects, actively participating in product development, integration, testing, and deployment.
Product Owner (PO)
A Product Owner bridges the gap between customers and the DevOps team. Whether they’re familiar with your business or represent an outsourcing company, their main job is to communicate with stakeholders and shape a clear product vision.
The primary role of a PO is to communicate with stakeholders to define a clear product vision. They create a high-level roadmap, prioritize features in the backlog, and assess team progress. Also, they work with customers to understand user needs and deliver more value with each release.
Security & Compliance Engineer (SCE)
In today’s tech landscape, security often takes a backseat, leading to costly vulnerabilities. To avoid this, DevOps teams emphasize security from the get-go. On smaller projects, a DevOps engineer might double up on this role.
For bigger teams, having dedicated Security & Compliance Engineers is ideal. They work closely with developers to ensure secure code and infrastructure, staying involved throughout the product lifecycle to maintain security and compliance.
10 DevOps Collaboration Tools
One DevOps tool cannot solve all collaboration problems. The most effective DevOps teams develop their own workflow and integrate tools to support that process.
Below are some popular tools used by DevOps teams to facilitate collaboration:
1. Microsoft Teams
If you’re already using Microsoft’s cloud productivity tools, Microsoft Teams could be your perfect match. It’s got a chat-based workspace that makes collaborating across different DevOps tools a breeze.
Much like Slack, Teams lets you use the Azure Pipelines app to keep an eye on events and send notifications to the right channels. Plus, you can handle GitHub Pull requests directly in Teams, approve deployments, and even access your preferred Kanban board.
Features:
- Works with Azure DevOps, GitHub, and Office
- Set up chat rooms for specific projects or tools
- Use a powerful search to easily find past chats and files
Advantages:
- Easy to set up and use, especially for existing Microsoft users
- Customizable with a variety of apps and bots available
2. Atlassian JIRA
JIRA is an Agile project management platform, making it popular among DevOps teams. It offers a robust issue-tracking system that allows for detailed task management and progress monitoring.
Since JIRA also integrates with other tools like GitHub, it’s easy to keep track of code changes and deployment statuses, streamlining team collaboration.
Features:
- Agile project management capabilities
- Customizable workflows and issue types
- Advanced reporting and analytics
Advantages:
- Flexible enough to support various development methodologies
- Integrates with popular DevOps tools like Jenkins and AWS suite products
- Comprehensive documentation available for users
3. Bitbucket Server
Bitbucket Server is a popular Git repository management tool, making it an excellent option for teams working with code. It offers features like code review, branch permissions, and pull request approvals to ensure code quality and collaboration.
With its robust integration capabilities, Bitbucket Server allows teams to connect seamlessly with other DevOps tools like JIRA or Hipchat.
Features:
- Strong Git-based version control system
- Customizable workflows and access controls
- Integrates with Bamboo, JIRA, and HipChat
Advantages:
- Offers a distributed control system for easy collaboration and massive scaling.
- Provides unlimited private and public repositories.
- With granular permissions, BitBucket ensures a secure workflow
4. Basecamp
Among the best project management tools today is Basecamp. It’s suitable for all kinds of teams, from small startups to large enterprises.
Basecamp offers chat, workflow management, and document-sharing features that make it an excellent choice for DevOps teams. Its simple UI makes it user-friendly and easy to navigate.
Features:
- Built-in chat feature (with the Campfire module)
- To-do and calendar functions
- Document sharing and storage capabilities
Advantages:
- Conveniently browse all available discussions in a single location.
- Features a flat pricing model, making it budget-friendly for small teams.
- Offers an open API for users interested in designing their own third-party integrations with Basecamp.
5. Pivotal Tracker
Pivotal Tracker is an Agile project management tool designed to support the Scrum and Kanban methodologies. It offers features like backlog grooming, story mapping, and collaboration tools for efficient team communication.
With its clear visual representation of tasks and progress, teams can easily prioritize tasks and track their progress toward goals.
Features:
- Supports Scrum and Kanban methodologies
- Story-driven project management suited for Agile software development teams
- Provides complete project oversight with absolute transparency
Advantages:
- Streamlines collaboration, enabling teams to identify priorities effortlessly
- Offers clear and effective communication through task tagging and real-time updates
6. GitLab
GitLab is an end-to-end DevOps platform that offers a complete set of tools for software development teams. It integrates source code management, CI/CD pipelines, and project management into a single application.
With its powerful collaboration features, GitLab allows teams to work together efficiently and effectively in one shared space.
Features:
- Has tools to manage Kanban boards, Scrum boards, and Product roadmaps
- Provides quick updates about changes to all team members
- Integrates with popular tools like JIRA, Teams, and Jenkins
Advantages:
- Offers a complete solution for DevOps teams with integrated features
- Provides encryption and two-factor logins for enhanced security
- Works with small and big teams, making it scalable for any organization size
7. Trello
When it comes to software development or DevOps tools, Trello is a popular choice for its simplicity and effectiveness. It is a Kanban-based tool for managing projects and tasks, enabling teams to visualize their workflow and collaborate efficiently.
With its user-friendly interface, it’s easy to create boards, lists, and cards to keep track of tasks and progress. help streamline collaboration for DevOps teams.
Features:
- Offers scheduling tools tailored for remote teams
- User-friendly drag-and-drop interface for seamless task management
- Customizable workflow boards enhance flexibility
- Sends notifications directly to mobile devices
Advantages:
- A highly visual approach aids teams in maintaining organization and focus
- Integrates with products like Azure DevOps through third-party integrations
8. Atlassian Confluence
Confluence is a widely favored collaboration tool, particularly among DevOps teams. It facilitates document creation and sharing, project tracking, and note-keeping—all within a centralized platform.
Thanks to its robust integration capabilities, Confluence seamlessly connects with other Atlassian products like JIRA and Bitbucket Server, making it an ideal choice for DevOps teams seeking a comprehensive collaboration solution.
Key Features:
- Centralized document storage and management
- Advanced search functionality for quick and easy information retrieval
- Customizable templates for various document types
Advantages:
- Organizes meeting notes, project plans, requirement documents, concept notes, discussions, release notes, project roadmaps, and more
- Offers SSO for seamless access to JIRA content
- Provides granular permissions for detailed access control of your pages
9. Grafana
Grafana is an open-source data visualization and monitoring tool. It allows DevOps teams to monitor and analyze their systems, applications, and microservices in real time through visually appealing dashboards.
With its extensive plugin library and support for multiple data sources, Grafana can be easily integrated with other tools like Prometheus, InfluxDB, and Elasticsearch.
Features:
- Each team is provided with its own isolated monitoring in Adform’s instance.
- Allows viewing of all organizations’ data while keeping admin access to your own.
- Supports Prometheus Alertmanager, which lets anyone access any alert company-wide.
Advantages:
- Powerful data querying capabilities
- Customizable dashboard creation
- Provides a user-friendly interface for visualizing complex data sets
- Integrates with popular DevOps tools like Kubernetes, AWS Cloudwatch, and more
10. Slack
You are most likely already familiar with Slack. Its versatile chat-based workspace allows for easy communication and collaboration among teams. And, it is one of the ideal collaboration DevOps tools today.
Security and user-friendliness are among the best features Slack offers. It allows for quick communication and collaboration with team members, who can be grouped into channels to target specific discussions.
Features:
- Organizable chat channels for specific projects or teams
- Send direct messages and make audio/video calls
- Advanced search functionality to easily find past conversations and files
Advantages:
- User-friendly interface, making it easy for teams to communicate effectively
- Can be accessed through a web browser or mobile app, promoting remote collaboration
Hire a DevOps Engineer in Startechup!
Using DevOps tools to streamline the software development process brings a lot of benefits to any company, from increased efficiency and productivity to improved collaboration and communication among team members.
However, it takes a skilled DevOps engineer to implement these tools and practices effectively.
At Startechup, we offer the services of experienced DevOps engineers who can help your company adopt and integrate the best DevOps tools for your specific needs. As a trusted software development company in the Philippines, we provide top-notch DevOps services to our clients.
Contact us today, and let’s discuss how we can help elevate your business through DevOps!
