It isn’t difficult to understand why continuous delivery has found a receptive audience amongst business managers. The idea of frequent, low-risk software releases fits naturally with the drive to make organizations responsive and agile. But recent research shows that there is a significant disconnect between leadership and delivery teams.
HfS analyzes IT and business services, with specific focus on global business services, digital transformation and outsourcing. Its latest research revealed that whilst 53% of operations leaders view ‘As-a-Service’ as critical compared to 29% of middle managers and delivery staff.
By ‘As-a-Service’ it means ‘removing unnecessary complexity, poor processes, and manual intervention to make way for a more nimble way of running a business.’ One of the ways that will be achieved is by introducing ‘enabling technologies’.
Another of its surveys showed that one in five buyers has definitive plans to invest in IT talent that will help the organization migrate away from legacy systems.
That’s a lot of planning, vision and good intention but as ever different strands of business are failing to tie up. And as long as that happens, any vision will remain largely theoretical or delivered piecemeal.
It is one thing to set out and buy into a business strategy but before any ‘enabling technologies’ are introduced; senior management needs to go back before it goes forward.
Understand existing complexities, poor processes and where manual intervention is still standard and work with delivery teams as they are best placed to help organizations focus on what to prioritize.
One key area to address is the reluctance of senior management to extend an invitation to developers and testers at the requirements gathering stage. Creating clarity at this crucial early point saves a lot of the guesswork and missteps that characterise development. Keeping channels of communication open matters too.
Only then is it likely that continuous delivery can play its part in establishing a far more nimble business.
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