Designing and managing automation

In this section, we will discuss automation for DevOps. For starters, automation is not only about tools, although we will discuss tools at the end of this section. The first questions that architects will need to answer regard what they need to automate and why. It's not about the tools but about the process.

First, we need to answer the following question: Why would we need automation? The answer to that question is because of standardization. The reason for businesses to adapt DevOps is because they want to speed up delivery processes. The only way to do that is by standardization of building blocks, workflows, processes, and technologies. By implementing and adhering consistently to standards, companies will limit varieties in the delivery chain and can then start automating it. The big trick in automation is cutting down the waiting time.

Before companies turned to DevOps, IT delivery was driven by waiting time. Developers had to...