Empowering development teams

Isabelle Mauny at WSO2 describes the ways that development teams can be freed up to do thir best work

 

There is a seismic shift in software development with the advent of AI combined with the “shift left” movement. This leaves developers with competing priorities. Where AI is concerned, they are under pressure to get software to market faster. But as security requirements shift left, they are taking on more tasks and responsibilities than simply coding.

 

 

Factors hindering DevOps success

Shift left involves integrating tasks, such as testing and security, earlier in the development process. Traditionally, developers would build software first and test it later. But that often meant discovering bugs or vulnerabilities late in the development cycle, when they’re more expensive and time-consuming to fix. Now it is yet another job for developers to tackle as they code.

 

Additionally, developing an app today involves constantly learning new tools in an AI world that is changing daily. Developers are at risk of cognitive overload. With so much new information to absorb, their ability to focus on their core responsibilities – creating quality code and developing great applications – is being compromised.

 

There are also skills issues, with good developers in high demand and teams struggling with a shortage of resources. All of this means that developers are stretched thin, torn between managing complex architectures, integrating security and compliance requirements, keeping up with evolving technologies, and meeting business demands.

 

As a result, developer workflows are riddled with friction between security, compliance and DevOps teams. This not only creates stress and inefficiencies but also makes it harder for developers to focus on what they do best: building great software.

 

Worse still, this move-fast-and-constantly-pivot mentality negatively impacts developer well-being and performance. Leading, in some cases, to burnout with over 83% of software developers experiencing symptoms at some point in their careers.

 

Delving deeper into the blockers that hinder developer productivity reveals friction and competing priorities. Developers are under constant pressure to release code to production quickly, while security and DevOps teams work to ensure that code is properly secured before it goes into production. The reality is that everyone is just trying to do their job, but they’re getting in each other’s way.

 

DevOps and security need to operate in a coherent way in their approach and governance processes. They want security, compliance, and their infrastructure to be well managed. This means there are often many barriers and validations needed as developers move through the software development lifecycle.

 

Developers face constant pressure from the organisation to deliver applications quickly. To stay productive, they need to remain focused - not sidetracked by hunting down additional information in random places. Empowering them with self-service autonomy ensures they can access what they need instantly, without waiting for hours or days to move forward.

 

I recently read a study that showed all the aspects of a developer’s “day job”. It left them with one hour a day to write code. Most of the time, they are fixing issues, attending meetings, cramming up on new technology and more. I also read that if interrupted, it takes up to 20 minutes to get your mind back on the task at hand.

 

If they only have one hour a day to write code and they face constant interruptions, it is no wonder developers are suffering from burnout.

 

 

Giving DevOps more time

The critical question is not only how do we make the most of that hour, but how can we give developers more time?

 

The answer is to automate the process of developing applications whereby developer pipelines and libraries are all created for them. The underlying infrastructure is automatically configured with security/network policies, reviewed and enhanced periodically.

 

Code sharing via GitHub is populated with all the structures they need for version control and collaboration as well as other requirements including security, quality control and governance tools. In this way, the platform behind the scenes takes care of all the infrastructure which they can easily change as and when required.

 

What they need is a developer-first approach starting with the API contract, clearly defining what an API should do and what the contract should be between consumers and providers. This enables developers to discover compliance and security issues as early as possible.

 

They can also undertake mock deployments and automate test generation. This is also about focus. The idea is that everything is in the IDE, which bundles together all the essential tools developers need to write, test, and debug code.

 

Additionally, developers lose a lot of time finding code they can reuse to avoid reinventing the wheel. This is one of the reasons we have a marketplace: so developers can ask, “I am trying to write code for X, Y and Z. Is there something that already exists so I can do this faster?”

 

 

Streamlining development

The overriding goal is to streamline code deployment and testing by eliminating friction which can be achieved by defining all infrastructure as code, so developers can easily reuse and manage it like any other part of the software.

 

Debugging is another area where developers spend a lot of time. Often, they didn’t create the code and now they must debug the entire base, which will be complicated unless they have the right tools to do it. They also need good code explanations to understand what it does quickly and how it will enhance their productivity.

 

Likewise, when creating a CI/CD pipeline, there must be steps taken to consider how it will impact developer productivity. It should help software development teams deliver code changes more frequently, reliably, and efficiently.

 

Enterprises must show empathy, not just in words but through meaningful action by simplifying development workflows, automating repetitive tasks, and enabling seamless collaboration. Meet with the developers to discuss the current situation, identify the issues, and work together to find effective solutions.

 

The goal is to help developers move faster without compromising security or compliance. Providing developer-friendly tools as well as a platform that eliminates unnecessary complexity, will enable teams to focus on innovation instead of fighting through bottlenecks.

 

A developer-first approach, backed by the right technology, can help organisations unlock efficiency, improve retention, and empower their teams to do their best work.

 

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Isabelle Mauny is Chief Developer Advocate at WSO2

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and NicoElNino