Agile, DevOps and software development methodologies
Agile software development, and popular variations such as Scrum, underpin the work of many developers and testers. Regardless of the team or methodology you currently use, read expert advice on process, structure and skills for Lean, Agile, DevOps, Waterfall and more to make it work in your enterprise.
Top Stories
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Tip
26 Nov 2024
Agile estimation: Predicting the unpredictable
Agile teams' overreliance on estimates detracts from the overall goal to deliver value to the customer. Avoid these agile estimation pitfalls in your software development efforts. Continue Reading
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News
21 Nov 2024
WasmCloud makes strides with Wasm component model
After a stall in 2023, this year's WASI Preview 2 pushed server-side WebAssembly forward, turning heads at companies such as American Express -- but it's far from mainstream use. Continue Reading
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Podcast
21 Nov 2024
Rethinking 'secure by design' amid slippery SecOps shifts
An expert discusses the fallout from a CISA report that raised doubts about the last decade's DevSecOps trend, and where the industry goes from here. Continue Reading
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Tip
21 Nov 2024
Know these top 5 Scrum antipatterns
Embrace sprints, set clear goals, engage with customers -- these behaviors and others will help your teams avoid common Scrum antipatterns. Continue Reading
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News
21 Nov 2024
IT pros revise pipelines for software supply chain security
Software supply chain security has reached an awkward stage for enterprise IT, as platform and security pros grapple with adding upstream tools to existing workflows. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Nov 2024
Scrum master responsibilities: What does a Scrum master do?
While the title may sound authoritative, Scrum masters have little control over their team. So, what exactly does a Scrum master do? The answer might surprise you. Continue Reading
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Definition
15 Nov 2024
What is a Waterfall model? Definition and guide
The Waterfall model is a linear, sequential approach to the software development lifecycle (SDLC) that is popular in software engineering and product development. Continue Reading
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News
12 Nov 2024
OpenShift AI boosts LLMOps chops with Neural Magic deal
The acquisition of a top contributor to an open source library already linked to OpenShift AI comes as LLMOps fundamentally alters the platform engineering scene. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Nov 2024
How to improve DevOps through collaboration
Collaboration is key in DevOps, surpassing any one tool, product or individual. Discover why collaboration is crucial and tips for collaborating effectively in DevOps. Continue Reading
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News
01 Nov 2024
IBM Apptio preps FinOps link with Terraform via GitHub
IBM drops another hint about its plans for HashiCorp with a shift-left FinOps integration in private beta, while tie-ins with Red Hat remain an open question. Continue Reading
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News
29 Oct 2024
GitHub Copilot Autofix expands as AI snags software delivery
GitHub Copilot Autofix could help vulnerability management keep pace as the volume of AI-generated code swamps delivery processes, but can AI be trusted to rein in AI? Continue Reading
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Definition
23 Oct 2024
What is Jira?
Jira is an application lifecycle management (ALM) and Agile project management tool from Atlassian. Continue Reading
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Definition
22 Oct 2024
What is acceptance testing?
Acceptance testing is a quality assurance (QA) process that determines to what degree an application meets end users' approval. Continue Reading
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Definition
22 Oct 2024
What is a product owner?
A product owner is a role on a Scrum team that is responsible for the project's outcome. Continue Reading
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Podcast
21 Oct 2024
Security observability, AI require data hygiene in DevSecOps
Sound data management is the heart of observability for security, which guides DevSecOps practices and determines the usefulness of AI apps, New Relic CISO says. Continue Reading
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Definition
18 Oct 2024
What is Agile software development?
Agile is a type of software development methodology that anticipates the need for flexibility and applies a level of pragmatism to the delivery of the finished product. Continue Reading
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Definition
18 Oct 2024
What is change failure rate (CFR)?
Change failure rate is a software development performance metric that measures the percentage of software deliveries that required remediation after release to production. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Oct 2024
CI/CD pipeline security: Know the risks and best practices
Rapid release cycles need not compromise the security of an application and supporting infrastructure. Follow these guidelines to ensure security throughout the CI/CD pipeline. Continue Reading
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News
17 Oct 2024
HashiCorp CTO talks AI strategy, Ansible tie-ins, FedRAMP
In a Q&A to wrap up HashiConf, the company's co-founder and CTO gave his outlook on HashiCorp's approach to AI, configuration management and cloud compliance. Continue Reading
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News
16 Oct 2024
Terraform Stacks, HCP Waypoint prompt migration questions
HashiCorp fends off challengers that sell ease of use with fresh infrastructure-as-code abstraction, while Terraform users grapple with a potential move to cloud-first services. Continue Reading
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Tip
15 Oct 2024
OKRs vs. KPIs: Driving bold outcomes and measuring steady performance
KPIs track outputs, and OKRs focus on outcomes or changes in user behavior. Here's how business can use them together to measure outcome-driven progress and success. Continue Reading
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News
11 Oct 2024
Buildkite: CI/CD pipelines still a job for app developers
In an era of platform engineering, Buildkite and its high-scale users maintain that CI/CD pipelines and testing should remain the purview of app developer teams. Continue Reading
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Video
11 Oct 2024
Git commit message conventions and best practices
Never underestimate the power of a good git commit message. Need help writing one? Here are the commonly accepted git commit message guidelines and best practices. Continue Reading
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News
09 Oct 2024
Atlassian 'cloud-first' becomes 'enterprise-first'
Atlassian's tune has changed in the past few months, as the company builds bridges to Data Center products and works on FedRAMP cloud compliance. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Oct 2024
Top 8 configuration management tools in DevOps
Configuration management tools ease the IT burden. Explore the top configuration management tools in DevOps, evaluate their features and consider key aspects that set them apart. Continue Reading
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Podcast
03 Oct 2024
Microsoft security overhaul offers blueprint for SecOps
Better late than never: Microsoft lags major cloud competitors in making security a top priority. But other enterprises might learn from how the company is catching up. Continue Reading
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Definition
01 Oct 2024
What are ModelOps (model operations) analytics models?
ModelOps (model operations) is a holistic approach to building analytics models that can quickly progress from the lab to production. Continue Reading
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Definition
27 Sep 2024
What is Jenkins and how does it work?
Jenkins is an open source continuous integration/continuous delivery and deployment (CI/CD) automation software DevOps tool written in the Java programming language. Continue Reading
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News
26 Sep 2024
Fresh crop of startups takes on infrastructure-as-code toil
Emerging vendors, including a new venture from the founder of Chef, set out to put a fresh face on IT infrastructure automation for the platform engineering era. Continue Reading
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News
25 Sep 2024
Harness DevOps tools add database, QA automation, AI agents
With a series of updates this week, Harness claims unique support for database DevOps, as well as pipeline generation and UI test automation using AI agents. Continue Reading
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Definition
23 Sep 2024
What is systems development life cycle?
The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a conceptual model used in project management that describes the stages involved in an information system development project -- from an initial feasibility study all the way through maintenance of the completed application. Continue Reading
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News
19 Sep 2024
Platform engineers embrace secrets management tool
Pulumi's ESC, now GA, filled an automation gap in multi-cloud identity and permissions management for platform engineers well-versed in general-purpose programming languages. Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Sep 2024
CI/CD pipelines explained: Everything you need to know
CI/CD can transform an organization, but there's a lot to consider. This comprehensive guide explains the CI/CD pipeline stages, benefits and challenges, best practices and more. Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2024
Docker pricing changes hike mid-tier costs
Docker adds features but raises Pro and Team prices and adds consumption-based Docker Hub pricing for container image pulls and storage. Continue Reading
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Definition
10 Sep 2024
What is a sprint (software development)?
In Agile product development and software project management, a sprint is a set period of time during which specific work has to be completed and made ready for review. Continue Reading
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Tip
29 Aug 2024
QAOps vs. DevOps: Important differences
QAOps represents an extension of DevOps that can help enterprises mature their software QA practices. Learn how QAOps can help DevOps-driven organizations zero in on quality. Continue Reading
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News
27 Aug 2024
VMware Tanzu hones integration, but faces Broadcom backlash
VMware Tanzu now offers a single UI for Cloud Foundry and Kubernetes, a feature years in the making, but the improvement could get lost in post-Broadcom drama. Continue Reading
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Definition
26 Aug 2024
What is value-sensitive design?
Value-sensitive design is a concept that advocates the consideration of human principles and standards when planning technology. Continue Reading
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Video
22 Aug 2024
Sprint review vs. retrospective: What's the difference?
While the purposes of Scrum sprint planning and the daily standup are self-evident, people often confuse the sprint review and retrospective. Here's the difference between them. Continue Reading
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Definition
14 Aug 2024
What is a build server?
A build server, also called a continuous integration server (CI server), is a centralized, stable and reliable environment for building distributed development projects. Continue Reading
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Definition
09 Aug 2024
What is shift-right testing?
Shift-right testing is a method of continuously testing software while it is in a post-production environment. Continue Reading
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Definition
09 Aug 2024
What is software resilience testing?
Software resilience testing is a method of software testing that focuses on ensuring that applications perform well in real-life or chaotic conditions. Continue Reading
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Tip
09 Aug 2024
How to weigh the benefits and challenges of CI/CD
Many organizations begin their DevOps journey with a continuous integration and delivery pipeline. Before getting started, understand some fundamental benefits of CI/CD. Continue Reading
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News
08 Aug 2024
Sysdig Sage early adopters kick the tires on CNAPP AI agents
AI agents in Sysdig Sage add more sophisticated multi-step reasoning than is available with generic LLMs. But it's meant to assist humans, not replace them. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Aug 2024
12 CI/CD best practices for DevOps teams
Building and maintaining a CI/CD pipeline requires more than just chains of automation. Adopt these CI/CD approaches to maximize your development and deployment efforts. Continue Reading
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News
07 Aug 2024
CloudBees buys co-founder's AI test automation tools startup
Jenkins creator Kohsuke Kawaguchi rejoins CloudBees as co-CEO of Launchable, which aims to stem the tide of AI-generated code with AI-driven test optimization. Continue Reading
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Definition
07 Aug 2024
What is a quality gate?
A quality gate is a milestone in an IT project that requires that predefined criteria be met before the project can proceed to the next phase. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Aug 2024
Epics, features and user stories explained
Epics, features and user stories are all uniquely important work products in Agile product management. Learn the difference between them and how they work together to create value. Continue Reading
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News
05 Aug 2024
DevOps platform aids app modernization, sets stage for AI
Amid a company rebranding and product consolidation, IT ops teams at Rival HR paved a path for DevOps velocity and AI-based automation with updates to legacy infrastructure. Continue Reading
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Tip
05 Aug 2024
How to put CI, CT and CD together in a DevOps pipeline
DevOps pipelines aren't just about CI/CD. Learn why continuous testing is a crucial piece of the puzzle and how it ultimately results in cleaner code with fewer errors. Continue Reading
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Video
02 Aug 2024
Agile vs. Scrum: How to choose between them
Scrum and Agile both emphasize collaboration and efficiency for DevOps teams in different ways. Learn when to use each approach and when to use them in tandem. Continue Reading
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Definition
31 Jul 2024
What is continuous integration (CI)?
Continuous integration (CI) is a software development practice in which frequent and incremental changes are routinely added (integrated) to the complete codebase immediately after the changes and additions are tested and validated. Continue Reading
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News
30 Jul 2024
Court reverses Appian's $2B espionage win against Pegasystems
Two years ago, Appian was awarded damages in its lawsuit against Pegasystems, which it accused of spying. A court of appeals has reversed that decision. Continue Reading
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News
23 Jul 2024
GitLab users cautiously optimistic on Datadog DevSecOps deal
Datadog is reportedly a suitor for GitLab; existing users understand the rationale for such a deal, but key questions must be answered before they'd adopt deeper integrations. Continue Reading
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News
16 Jul 2024
AI gateways emerge in response to governance concerns
Enterprise IT investment is pouring into AI, but security and governance remain major stumbling blocks to production. Enter API gateway vendors eager to assist -- and cash in. Continue Reading
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Definition
12 Jul 2024
cache thrash
Cache thrash is an issue caused by an ongoing computer activity that fails to progress due to excessive use of resources or conflicts in the caching system. Continue Reading
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News
10 Jul 2024
IT ops pros grapple with glut of AI assistants
After nearly two years of hype, it's still early for enterprise GenAI. That said, skepticism -- and outright pessimism -- have begun to emerge about AI assistants for IT automation. Continue Reading
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Tip
02 Jul 2024
Requirements vs. user stories in software development
User stories fulfill the same purpose as software requirements but through different means. Learn how to write user stories and how they relate to software requirements. Continue Reading
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News
26 Jun 2024
Datadog DASH updates push into fresh IT automation turf
A series of product updates at Datadog DASH broke out of the vendor's usual observability domain and into territory held by Atlassian, PagerDuty and others. Continue Reading
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News
25 Jun 2024
JFrog buy bolsters MLOps combo with DevSecOps
JFrog plans to meld AI/ML development with established DevSecOps pipelines through the acquisition of Qwak in a bid to help more enterprise AI apps reach production. Continue Reading
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Video
25 Jun 2024
My 2024 Scrum Guide updates
An update to Scrum's defining document is brewing. Here are 10 changes I'd like to see in a 2024 Scrum Guide. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Jun 2024
5 principles of Agile project management
Through Agile project management, techniques such as self-management, self-organization and continuous delivery achieve benefits beyond the domain of software development. Continue Reading
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News
19 Jun 2024
SUSE Rancher gears up amid VMware-Broadcom 'feeding frenzy'
SUSE Rancher bolsters its bid to capture users dissatisfied with Broadcom's changes to VMware with the acquisition of StackState and other updates to its Prime package. Continue Reading
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Video
17 Jun 2024
The importance of Scrum masters
Learn about guiding questions and leadership skills to strive for success in a project management company in this video. Continue Reading
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Video
06 Jun 2024
Is Scrum a framework or methodology?
There has always been debate in the Agile community over whether Scrum is a process, methodology or a framework. It might actually be none of them. Continue Reading
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Definition
31 May 2024
CQRS (command query responsibility segregation)
CQRS (command query responsibility segregation) is a programming design and architectural pattern that treats retrieving data and changing data differently. Continue Reading
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Feature
30 May 2024
Understanding and implementing the software testing pyramid
Frameworks such as the software testing pyramid help developers implement Agile core values. Learn how the testing pyramid helps teams prioritize test type frequency. Continue Reading
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News
29 May 2024
JFrog-GitHub partnership eyes software supply chain security
JFrog and GitHub released a set of focused integrations that provide better visibility across the software supply chain and advance the idea of 'EveryOps.' Continue Reading
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Tip
22 May 2024
Waterfall vs. Agile methodology: Differences and examples
Teams have a choice in the way they approach a new dev project. Learn about two main schools of thought -- Agile and Waterfall -- and why Agile is the prevailing methodology today. Continue Reading
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Conference Coverage
20 May 2024
Red Hat Summit 2024 news and conference guide
Use this Red Hat Summit conference guide to stay up to date on current trends, emerging technologies and information from keynote speakers and industry experts. Continue Reading
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Video
15 May 2024
Jira story vs. epic: What's the difference?
Anyone who has opened a Scrum board in Jira knows projects are organized into stories and epics. But what exactly is the difference between the two of them? Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2024
Slow Ansible Lightspeed adoption might reflect AI qualms
Customers with Ansible Lightspeed in pilots or production remain rare, as concerns about the risks of AI and the need to shore up a solid IT automation foundation prompt caution. Continue Reading
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News
03 May 2024
Cloud campaign intensifies for Atlassian software products
Atlassian plans to continue updating Data Center products, but accelerating cloud updates and migrations touted at Team '24 prompt questions about their long-term future. Continue Reading
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News
01 May 2024
Atlassian Jira now a hub for knowledge management, AI tools
Atlassian's raft of product updates at Team '24 spanned long-awaited product integrations and previews of AI automation updates, all of which advanced broader ambitions. Continue Reading
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News
01 May 2024
Amazon Bedrock users adapt app dev to GenAI
Early adopters of Amazon Bedrock shared lessons learned about incorporating generative AI into software engineering workflows, from managing cloud costs to writing prompts. Continue Reading
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Definition
26 Apr 2024
feature-driven development (FDD)
Feature-driven development (FDD) is an Agile software development framework that organizes work around product features. Continue Reading
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Definition
25 Apr 2024
DevOps Dojo
A DevOps Dojo is a place where DevOps team members go for hands-on training. Continue Reading
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Feature
23 Apr 2024
What are the 5 Scrum values?
Scrum defines five key values: openness, courage, respect, focus and commitment. Here's why they are important. Continue Reading
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News
19 Apr 2024
OpenTofu forges on with beta feature that drew HashiCorp ire
Defying a HashiCorp cease and desist, OpenTofu 1.7 beta ships with the removed blocks feature and client-side state encryption support long sought by the Terraform community. Continue Reading
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News
18 Apr 2024
GitLab Duo plans harness growing interest in platform AI
GitLab's next release will tie its Duo AI tools to the full DevSecOps pipeline in a bid to capitalize on increased interest in AI automation among platform engineers. Continue Reading
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Video
10 Apr 2024
Jira story vs. task: What's the difference?
To help teams progress from vision to implementation, Jira provides stories and tasks. Here's the difference between a Jira story and a task. Continue Reading
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News
02 Apr 2024
GitHub Actions-hosted runners tie in Azure private networks
Private network support is also planned for AWS and Google Cloud Platform, but industry watchers see a power play for Microsoft Azure in GitHub Actions updates this week. Continue Reading
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Video
27 Mar 2024
Do the 5 Scrum values really add value?
Do the Scrum Guide's five values really provide value as proponents claim? A scientific examination suggests they should be a lot more helpful to software development teams. Continue Reading
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News
19 Mar 2024
HashiCorp stock rises, users' hearts fall on sale report
HashiCorp could be an enticing asset for a large IT vendor. But a sale wouldn't necessarily be great news for customers who value the neutrality of its cloud-native apps. Continue Reading
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Definition
18 Mar 2024
continuous delivery (CD)
Continuous delivery (CD) is an approach for software delivery in which development teams produce and test code in short but continuous cycles to improve software quality. Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Mar 2024
Summit speakers break down new era of developing software
Top thought leaders discuss their strategies to choose the right software development process and to best utilize AI and ML in this comprehensive BrightTALK summit. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Mar 2024
GenAI risks, rewards arise for DevOps and platform engineers
From chatbots that alleviate pressure on IT help desks to full-fledged LLMOps, DevOps and platform teams are at the forefront of enterprise generative AI adoption. Continue Reading
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News
26 Feb 2024
Octopus Deploy reels in Codefresh for GitOps expertise
By joining forces in CI/CD and GitOps, the combined companies look to even the odds with bigger competitors, but this will be a daunting task, experts predict. Continue Reading
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News
15 Feb 2024
Dapr brings microservices principles to platform engineering
With microservices now mainstream -- and past the trough of disillusionment -- a framework developed for them appeals to platform engineers with shared services consistency. Continue Reading
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News
12 Feb 2024
Observe ties in Snowflake to slash observability costs
The emerging competitor to Dynatrace, Datadog and Splunk shuns AIOps, and its approach to data management and price tag intrigued one experienced customer. Continue Reading
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News
07 Feb 2024
GitOps vendor's close echoes wider funding, open-core woes
Score one for IT orgs that rely solely on upstream code, as Flux CD sails on. But Weaveworks' demise points to larger issues for vendor sustainability, especially in open source. Continue Reading
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Definition
05 Feb 2024
work in progress (WIP)
Work in progress (WIP) refers to the number of tasks or projects that are currently in the process of being completed. Continue Reading
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News
29 Jan 2024
Credit Karma preps 'Zero-touch' Argo Rollouts
The Intuit subsidiary is in the process of moving to a homegrown event-driven progressive delivery platform and has already contributed some related code upstream. Continue Reading
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Definition
25 Jan 2024
DevOps engineer
A DevOps engineer is an IT professional who works with software developers, systems operators and other production IT staff to oversee code releases and deployments. Continue Reading
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Feature
16 Jan 2024
Log management discipline saves ERP company $3M
IT ops pros at a SaaS provider made a set of simple changes to log management over the last two years and reaped substantial cost benefits. Continue Reading
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News
11 Jan 2024
Analysts anticipate fresh wave of enterprise technology M&A
CI/CD vendor Harness acquired Armory, reports surfaced of private equity takeover talks for PagerDuty, and that's just the start of more M&A to come, industry experts predict. Continue Reading
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Feature
10 Jan 2024
Cloud and observability tools help global first responders
How an NGO 'Uber for ambulances' service used observability tools from New Relic to improve AWS-based app performance under life-and-death circumstances. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 Jan 2024
How to write a sprint goal in Scrum
The product of every sprint planning session is a sprint goal. Here, we look at its purpose along with how to write a sprint goal properly. Continue Reading
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Definition
20 Dec 2023
session ID
A session ID, also called a session token, is a unique identifier that a web server assigns to a user for the duration of the current session. Continue Reading
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News
19 Dec 2023
DevSecOps pros prep for GenAI upheavals in 2024
Generative AI models have been a hot topic of discussion in 2023, but their real-world impact on each of the major IT disciplines is just beginning. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Dec 2023
When FinOps met devx at Capital One
Capital One has kept cloud costs flat as its infrastructure grows, and now looks to share lessons learned -- including the subtle art of devx -- through the FinOps Foundation. Continue Reading
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Definition
11 Dec 2023
Scrum master
A Scrum master is a facilitator for an Agile development team. They are responsible for managing the exchange of information between team members. Continue Reading