DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / December 14, 2021 / What does improving your business's software creation have in common with car manufacturing? Probably more than you realize.
The launch of the Model T Ford in the early 20th century brought with it an introduction to the principles of mass production. Each Model T underwent the same journey from blueprint to inception. These repeatable steps made it possible for Ford to churn out impressive numbers of Model Ts on a massive scale. Within 15 years, more than one million Model Ts were made annually by the industrial giant.
Over the years, these production methods were adopted worldwide. Then between the late 1940's and 1970's Toyota started evolving their "Toyota Production System" (TPS). This was a set of management practices and technology improvements (what we call "socio-technical systems") that even further advanced the manufacturing industry. Key to the TPS were the ideas like:
- Just-in-time manufacturing
- Eliminating waste and inconsistency
- Continuous improvement
- Building learning organizations
- Culture of respect for individuals and teamwork
Based on these principles, Toyota soon became unsurpassed in manufacturing speed, efficiency, and quality. Since the 1990's these TPS principles (sometimes called "Lean Manufacturing") have been adopted by manufacturers of everything from aircraft to caskets.
How does all this relate to software development? Simply put, companies that engineer software can minimize their risk, improve their quality, lessen their financial outlay, and move faster by adopting these Lean approaches.
That's where DevOps comes into the picture.
Credera: Bringing DevOps Strategies to Growing Software Brands
DevOps models bring together a company's development and operations workflows in the same socio-technical systems that underpin the TPS. Typically, development and operations departments work independently, which can cause miscommunications, delays, and unpredictable output. By combining all the players into one DevOps team, focusing on automation, reducing waste, and continuous improvement, companies can make better use of their resources and speed up progress.
Moving toward a DevOps mindset can seem simple, but is more complicated in execution. That's why management and technology consulting firm Credera's CTO Jason Goth shares lessons companies should learn from lean manufacturing in the application to software development.
"Today, the ability to deliver technology is critical to business success. Jeff Bezos once declared to investors that Amazon is not a retailer, it's a software company," Goth says. "Companies like Amazon, Google, Netflix, and Facebook have outpaced their competitors by adopting DevOps principles. They produce software like Ford produces cars."
Credera helps organizations embrace this mass production-focused software engineering model and gain similar benefits.
What are some advantages companies could enjoy if they saw software development as a process to be automated and replicated? Here are three:
Advantage #1: Tremendous Speed-to-Market
Software companies face fierce competition from all sides. Not only do they battle for market share from existing businesses, but they often find themselves disrupted by nimble startups.
A DevOps approach provides a quick way to get new ideas from the drawing board to end users. Why? The secret is in the consistency of processes. Since most steps are automated, it's easy to replicate what works and eliminate waste (manual effort). Even though each type of software may have a different purpose, it can be built in a structured way. And that translates into speed.
Advantage #2: Constant Reliability
Software users aren't the most patient people in the world. They want all software-including new systems and updates-to perform as expected. Yet many software programs that are released contain plenty of flaws.
DevOps can limit those mishaps because everything that's done has been continuously tested and manual effort has been minimized. This boosts consumer confidence. It may even assist with resales and upselling. Ultimately, the less software breaks down, the better it's going to win loyalists-and earn its makers steady revenue.
Advantage #3: All-In Teamwork
The collaborative aspects of DevOps shouldn't be overlooked. Because DevOps requires collaborative efforts from many people, it becomes a wonderful vehicle for driving employee engagement. Essentially, everyone can have a chance to take the lead in some aspect of mass-produced software development.
Is it hard to get professionals accustomed to DevOps at first? Sometimes. However, this is where a partner like Credera can shine by helping a team see the value in leaning into mass production principles. This drives buy-in and unity.
Mass production isn't just for tangible products like cars. It's a delivery method that can work in many areas, including software engineering. Sometimes, future-forward thinking just requires a willingness to revisit yesteryear's success.
CONTACT:
Sarah Bruner
[email protected]
972-759-1843
SOURCE: Credera