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Azure DevOps Explained
Azure DevOps Explained

Azure DevOps Explained: Get started with Azure DevOps and develop your DevOps practices

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Profile Icon Sjoukje Zaal Profile Icon Amit Malik Profile Icon Stefano Demiliani
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$20.98 $29.99
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.9 (7 Ratings)
eBook Dec 2020 438 pages 1st Edition
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$20.98 $29.99
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Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Sjoukje Zaal Profile Icon Amit Malik Profile Icon Stefano Demiliani
Arrow right icon
$20.98 $29.99
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.9 (7 Ratings)
eBook Dec 2020 438 pages 1st Edition
eBook
$20.98 $29.99
Paperback
$43.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m
eBook
$20.98 $29.99
Paperback
$43.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m

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Azure DevOps Explained

Chapter 1: Azure DevOps Overview

This chapter introduces the first topics of this book: DevOps principles and Azure DevOps project management. In this chapter, we are going start by introducing DevOps and provide an overview of the different DevOps principles. Then, we are going to cover the key concepts of Azure DevOps and the different services that Azure DevOps offers. Finally, we are going to introduce the scenario that we will be using throughout this book.

The following topics will be covered in this chapter:

  • Introducing DevOps
  • Understanding DevOps principles
  • Introducing Azure DevOps key concepts
  • Discovering Azure DevOps services
  • Introducing the scenarios

Let's get started!

Introducing DevOps

For a long time, development and operations had been divided into isolated modules with both separate concerns and responsibilities. Developers wrote the code and made sure that it worked on their development systems, while the system administrators were responsible for the actual deployment and integration in the organization's IT infrastructure.

As there was limited communication between these two isolated modules, both teams worked mostly separated on their projects. However, they heavily depended on each other because there was no cross-platform knowledge across the different teams.

This fitted in nicely with the Waterfall Methodology that was used for most projects. The Waterfall Methodology is based on the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), which has clearly defined processes for creating software. The Waterfall Methodology is a breakdown of project deliverables into linear sequential phases, where each phase depends on the deliverables of the...

Understanding DevOps principles

There are a lot of different definitions when it comes to DevOps. Most of them are good at explaining the different aspects of finding the right flow in delivering software and IT projects. In the upcoming sections, we will highlight six DevOps principles that we think are essential when adopting a DevOps way of working.

Principle 1 – Customer-centric action

Nowadays, it is important that software development projects have short cycles and feedback loops, with end users and real customers integrated into the team. To fully meet the customers' requirements, all activity around building software and products must involve these clients. DevOps teams and organizations must continuously invest in products and services that will allow clients to receive the maximum outcome, while also being as lean as possible to continuously innovate and change the chosen strategy when it is no longer working.

Principle 2 – Create with the end...

Introducing Azure DevOps key concepts

Azure DevOps provides a wide variety of services for DevOps teams so that they can plan, work, collaborate on code development, and build and deploy software and services. Most DevOps teams rely on several tools and build custom toolchains for each phase in the application life cycle.

The following diagram shows the phases that are defined in the application life cycle:

Figure 1.3 – Application life cycle phases

In the following sections, we'll explain these phases and the corresponding Microsoft tooling and products in more detail.

Plan

During the planning phase, teams can use Kanban boards and backlogs to define, track, and lay out the work that needs to be done in Azure Boards. They can also use GitHub for this. In GitHub, an issue can be created by suggesting a new idea or stating that a bug should be tracked. These issues can be organized and assigned to teams.

Develop

The development...

Discovering Azure DevOps services

In this section, we are going to introduce the different services that are offered by Azure DevOps. These services can be used to support teams throughout the whole life cycle of realizing business value for customers.

Azure Boards

Azure Boards can be used to plan, track, and discuss work across teams using the Agile planning tools that are available. Using Azure Boards, teams can manage their software projects. It also offers a unique set of capabilities, including native support for Scrum and Kanban. You can also create customizable dashboards, and it offers integrated reporting and integration with Microsoft Teams and Slack.

You can create and track user stories, backlog items, tasks, features, and bugs that are associated with the project using Azure Boards.

The following screenshot shows an example of an Azure Board:

Figure 1.4 – Azure Boards

Azure Repos

Azure Repos provides support for private...

Introducing the scenarios

Throughout this book, we will use two different scenarios for our demos. We are going to use sample projects that can be generated and installed in your Azure DevOps environment by using the DevOps generator. For this book, we are going to install Tailwind Traders and Parts Unlimited. Tailwind Traders is an example retail company that showcases the future of intelligent application experiences, while Parts Unlimited is an example e-commerce website.

Creating the starter project

To create the scenario project, we are going to use the Azure DevOps demo generator, which will generate the sample project for us. These projects are free to use. Before you generate the project, you need to install two different Azure DevOps extensions from the marketplace, both of which are used by the Tailwind Traders project. These extensions are as follows:

  • ARM Outputs: This extension reads the output values of ARM deployments and sets them as Azure Pipelines variables...

Summary

In this chapter, we covered some of the basics of DevOps and covered the six different DevOps principles. Then, we covered the key concepts of Azure DevOps and the different solutions that Azure DevOps has to offer to support teams throughout each of the application life cycle phases. After that, we looked at the different features that Azure DevOps has to offer, and we introduced and created the two scenarios that we will use in the upcoming chapters of this book.

In the next chapter, we are going to cover how to manage projects with Azure Boards.

Further reading

Check out the following links for more information about the topics that were covered in this chapter:

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Key benefits

  • Improve your application development life cycle with Azure DevOps in a step-by-step manner
  • Apply continuous integration and continuous deployment to reduce application downtime
  • Work with real-world CI/CD scenarios curated by a team of renowned Microsoft MVPs and MCTs

Description

Developing applications for the cloud involves changing development methodologies and procedures. Continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) processes are a must today, but are often difficult to implement and adopt. Azure DevOps is a Microsoft Azure cloud service that enhances your application development life cycle and enables DevOps capabilities. Starting with a comprehensive product overview, this book helps you to understand Azure DevOps and apply DevOps techniques to your development projects. You'll find out how to adopt DevOps techniques for your development processes by using built-in Azure DevOps tools. Throughout the course of this book, you'll also discover how to manage a project with the help of project management techniques such as Agile and Scrum, and then progress toward development aspects such as source code management, build pipelines, code testing and artifacts, release pipelines, and GitHub integration. As you learn how to implement DevOps practices, this book will also provide you with real-world examples and scenarios of DevOps adoption. By the end of this DevOps book, you will have learned how to adopt and implement Azure DevOps features in your real-world development processes.

Who is this book for?

This book is for developers, solutions architects, and DevOps engineers interested in getting started with cloud DevOps practices on Azure. Prior understanding of Azure architecture and services is necessary. Some knowledge of DevOps principles and techniques will be useful.

What you will learn

  • Get to grips with Azure DevOps
  • Find out about project management with Azure Boards
  • Understand source code management with Azure Repos
  • Build and release pipelines
  • Run quality tests in build pipelines
  • Use artifacts and integrate Azure DevOps in the GitHub flow
  • Discover real-world CI/CD scenarios with Azure DevOps

Product Details

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Publication date : Dec 11, 2020
Length: 438 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781800568655
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Product Details

Publication date : Dec 11, 2020
Length: 438 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781800568655
Concepts :
Tools :

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Table of Contents

16 Chapters
Section 1: DevOps Principles and Azure DevOps Project Management Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 1: Azure DevOps Overview Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 2: Managing Projects with Azure DevOps Boards Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Section 2: Source Code and Builds Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 3: Source Control Management with Azure DevOps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 4: Understanding Azure DevOps Pipelines Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 5: Running Quality Tests in a Build Pipeline Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 6: Hosting Your Own Azure Pipeline Agent Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Section 3: Artifacts and Deployments Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 7: Using Artifacts with Azure DevOps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 8: Deploying Applications with Azure DevOps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Section 4: Advanced Features of Azure DevOps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 9: Integrating Azure DevOps with GitHub Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 10: Using Test Plans with Azure DevOps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 11: Real-World CI/CD Scenarios with Azure DevOps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

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Adwait Ullal Dec 29, 2020
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free eBook in exchange for an unbiased review.The book, Azure DevOps Explained is a comprehensive tome of various components of Azure DevOps.It delves into:- Azure Boards and managing projects with it- Source Control Management- Pipelines and its processes such as quality testing- Hosting your own Pipeline Agent- How Artifacts fit into the Azure DevOps puzzle- Advanced features of Azure DevOps such as using Test Plans or integrating with GitHubIt concludes with a "real-world" example of CI/CD.This book is perhaps of more interest to the technical audience than the project manager since the latter maybe quite familiar with project management topics covered in this book.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
DIMITRIOS KRALLIS Jan 12, 2021
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
In my opinion, it is definitely one of the greatest book I ever read for DevOps.Although I am Azure DevOps certified, I really enjoy reading this book and it gives me an extra overview of what I have learned.It is well structured and the fact that is simple to read and follow along makes it more attractive.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Peter North Jul 15, 2021
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
The best I could find. Worth every penny.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Soren Klemmensen Dec 15, 2020
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
The book is very carefully walking the reader though everything you need to know to become an Azure DevOps expert. I use DevOps all the time to to build and manage Business Central AL development and found the book very useful. Put it under the Christmas tree. You will not regret it.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Amanda Aug 08, 2022
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
The book does not have a clear understanding of development and it's clearly the author's experience is outdated. There are multiple errors, incorrect information. Overall the book is good for vocabulary but wouldn't recommend it for beginners entering Azure DevOps
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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