DevOps
is a cultural, philosophical and organic approach toward automating workflow
and getting products to market more efficiently and effectively.
DevOps
engineers are in top demand right now. According to studies by Gartner, 25 percent of top global 2000
organizations will have adopted DevOps as a mainstream strategy by the end of
2016.
DevOps
is both a cultural movement and a philosophy … which can make it difficult to
define the specific skill set you need a DevOps team to possess in order to
function successfully.
Of
course, an excellent way to show fluency in DevOps is by earning a DevOps Institute certificate—for example, DevOps
Foundation®.
That
being said, there are some “mission-critical” DevOps skills that organizations
are searching for pretty universally right now.
1.
Experience with infrastructure automation tools and fluency in web languages
Experience
with tools such as Ansible, SaltStack, Puppet, Docker, Chef and Windows
PowerShell DSC as well as fluency in languages including Ruby, Python, Java and
PHP are must-have skills for DevOps pros.
Organizations
are searching for DevOps candidates who are highly proficient in many of these
tools and languages and open to increasing their competencies further when
given the opportunity to do so.
2.
Expertise in “soft skills”
DevOps
evolved as a way to enhance collaboration across project life cycles and
connect front-end and back-end professionals on either side of the software
development and operations spectrum.
When
software developers and operations staff (system engineers, systems admins,
DBAs, etc.) collaborate effectively, communicate honestly and work as a
cohesive team, the software development life cycle (SDLC) is streamlined, risk
factors are mitigated, and projects are completed and deployed with a minimum
of bugs, quality defects and glitches.
In
addition, it can be useful for organizations to have DevOps specialists on
their team who are comfortable in the role of client consultant, able to
interact effectively and build positive business relationships with customers
while addressing their needs and wants.
Organizations
look for DevOps candidates who are skilled in interpersonal communication, with
an arsenal of listening, negotiation, problem-solving and team-building skills
at the ready.
3.
Familiarity with CI (continuous integration) tools
Continuous
integration is a DevOps methodology that continually merges source code updates
from all developers on a specific software build, notifying the team of any
failures in the process.
This
offers a real-time window into the developing software system, allowing
immediate and constant engagement of all team members throughout the project
lifecycle.
CI
tools DevOps candidates should be familiar with include CruiseControl,
CruiseControl.NET, Jenkins, Bamboo, Hudson, ThoughtWorks’ Go, Urbancode’s
Anthill Pro, Microsoft’s Team Foundation Server and Jetbrains’ Team City.
4.
Bonus Skills
Other
skills hiring managers are on the lookout for in the DevOps space include:
- Extensive
knowledge of software build cycles
- Experience
deploying code
- Experience in software
architecture
- Familiarity with
application programming
- Database
management
- System design
Useful
experience and certifications include:
- Project
Management
- Risk Management
- Scrum Master
The
good news is that the industry’s need for DevOps team members with diverse and
evolving skill sets is in sync with what DevOps candidates want from their
workplace. According to the 2014 State of DevOps Report
from Puppet Labs, an atmosphere conducive to learning is a primary component of
job satisfaction among DevOps engineers.
