Agile vs DevOps

Differences Between Agile and DevOps

Agile vs DevOps is the comparison between two software development approaches that are used in the industry presently. Agile is a standard practice of module development with incremental features delivery with SDLC phases, including requirements gathering, development, testing, debugging and maintenance. Whereas DevOps is the process of collaborating development with the operation team tasks for faster software development lifecycles. The agile approach focuses on a constant change process, whereas DevOps works based upon continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) with quality delivery. DevOps is a better approach for most of the business scenarios with time to market with large scale project implementations capabilities compared to the Agile process.

What are Agile and DevOps?

Let’s see some quick facts on Agile vs DevOps :

AGILE	DevOps
The core activities under the Agile practice of software development are the Requirement phase/ Design phase/ Development phase/ Test phase/ Debugging phase/ Maintenance phase.	The core activities under the DevOps are process/ Requirement/ Design/ Engineering/ Construction/ Testing/ Debugging/ Deployment and Maintenance.
Tools for Agile are Compiler/ Debugger/ Profiler/ GUI designer/ Modelling/ IDE/ Build Automation/ Release Automation/ Infrastructure as code/ Testing.	Tools for DevOps are Compiler/ Debugger/ Profiler/ GUI designer/ Modelling/ IDE/ Build Automation/ Release Automation/ Infrastructure as code/ Testing.
BABOK, PMBOK, CMMI are some of the standards and bodies of knowledge.	BABOK, CMMI, IEEE standards, ISO 9001, ISO and ITIL, are some of the standards and bodies of knowledge.

Head To Head Comparison Between Agile and DevOps (Infographics)

Below is the top 10 difference between Agile vs DevOps:

Key Differences Between Agile and DevOps

Both are recommended options in the business. Let us examine some of the key differences:

• Agile is about software development, and DevOps is about Software Development and Management.
• Agile operates in sprints, whereas DevOps stresses more on deadlines and benchmarks.
• Agile does not believe in automation, whereas in DevOps, automation is at its core.
• DevOps needs to be Agile for faster and better efficiency of the desired results, but the reverse does not hold any value.
• Agile is in the mid of LEAN DEVELOPMENT and DevOps.

Agile vs DevOps Comparison Table

Let’s look at the top Comparison between Agile vs DevOps –

The Basis Of Comparison	Agile	DevOps
Intention	A development and management approach for managing complex projects.	This is an end-to-end management process related to engineering.
Task	The agile process focuses on constant changes.	DevOps focuses on constant testing and delivery.
Practices	Some of the best practices adopted in Agile are listed below – Building a backlog Sprint development Daily Scrums	DevOps also have some best practices that ease the process – Respond to changes quickly Collaborate directly with users and incorporate their feedback Focus on technical excellence.
Speed of Production	Agile pertains largely to the way development is carried of; any department of the company can be agile in its practices. This can be achieved through training.	DevOps focuses more on software deployment choosing the most reliable and safest route.
Team Skillset	All the team members working in an agile practice have a wide variety of similar skill sets. This is one of the advantages of having such a team because, in the time of need, any of the team members can lend assistance rather than waiting for the team leads or any specialist interference.	DevOps has a different approach and is quite effective; most of the time, it follows “Divide and Conquer”. Work divided among the development and operation teams.
Team Size	Agile believes in “smaller and concise”. The smaller the team better it would be to deliver with fewer complexities.	DevOps, on the other hand, believes that “bigger is better”.
Scheduling	Since Agile teams are short, a predetermined amount of time is there, which are sprints. Hardy, it happens that a sprint has lasted longer than a month but often a week long.	DevOps, on the other hand, prioritizes reliabilities. It is because of this behavior that they can focus on a long-term schedule that minimizes business disturbances.
Shortcomings	In Agile, the gap between these teams is bridged in daily scrum calls where all the rollbacks are discussed and resolved with agile-scrum methodologies.	DevOps helps to bridge the line between several cross-functional teams (Development, QA, Monitoring, Deployment, Management etc.) by simplifying the process.
Advantages	Customer satisfaction is there as there is the short and continuous delivery of small chunks of working applications. People and interactions are preferred over processes and tools. Working software is delivered at frequent timings. Daily interaction among business people and developers. Late changes are welcomed. Agile prefers face to face communication over any other medium.	Faster solutions Improved performances Increased efficiency Continuous improvement Improved customer experience. Faster ROI Reduced failures and rollbacks.
Disadvantages	If there are some big projects, there can be issues in handling the efforts required at the initial stages of development. The project can get out of the track if the client or the representatives are not clear with their needs. No place for a newbie as the Agile works is based on the level of expertise. So there are lesser chances for newcomers.	Infrastructure changes No control over the evolution of the products that the services depend on. A Complexity level, in some instances, has a steep curve. These can be in terms of cost, performance, deployment, and Operations.

Note – there are several other practices that can be performed. The listed are the best just because they fit almost all the development scenarios (mentioned under each).

Conclusion

Software development method – yes, the above discussion can be concluded in an agreement that considers Agile vs DevOps as development methods as a whole. DevOps focuses on frequent communication, integration and collaborative approach behind its working. DevOps brings the development and the operations team together. Agile focuses on an iterative, evolutionary and incremental development approach. Agile prioritizes working software than documentation.

Recommended Article

This has been a guide to the top difference between Agile vs DevOps. Here we also discuss the Agile vs DevOps key differences with infographics and comparison table. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more.

1. PMP vs Agile
2. SASS vs LESS
3. HTML5 vs XHTML
4. SDLC vs Agile