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While a decade ago, DevOps was very much a new term and concept, today, research shows that 83% of IT companies utilize DevOps practices in some way. DevOps principles have become so mainstream that even non-IT organizations look to implement DevOps transformations to speed up their product development and delivery process.
There are different ways to achieve a successful DevOps transformation, but one of the most important aspects is getting the right training. But between the DevOps Institute courses, Microsoft DevOps solutions (such as Microsoft Azure DevOps), AWS certification options, and others, how can you know which one is right for you?
To make things easier, in this blog post, we will explore the two most sought-after types of DevOps training: SAFe DevOps and ICAgile DevOps, to see how your business can benefit from each.
SAFe DevOps Training
We will start by looking at the SAFe DevOps training, developed from the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) methodology that focuses on scaling lean and agile practices to a large organization with distributed teams.
Given that this type of DevOps training is closely linked to SAFe, you can expect to learn about SAFe concepts, such as:
- Value streams – the processes of creating and delivering value to the customer from the moment the customer requests a change until the value is delivered and deployed to production.
- Value stream optimization and mapping – the process of optimizing the flow of value to satisfy business goals.
- Agile release trains – are features developed together to deliver them as an integrated product offering.
Of course, these are not the only concepts that you will learn in a SAFe DevOps course. In addition, you will also gain an understanding of the following:
- CALMR approach to DevOps – CALMR stands for Culture, Automation, Lean flow, Measurement, and Recovery.
- CI/CD – Continuous integration, deployment, and delivery are the foundation of DevOps and are essential for implementing a DevOps pipeline.
- Continuous testing and security – These two are also crucial for a successful DevOps transformation because they help achieve high-quality and secure products.
- Prioritizing DevOps solutions – To get the most out of a DevOps transformation, it is important to prioritize and sequence the DevOps toolsets that provide the most business value.
Professionals who will benefit most from undergoing SAFe DevOps training include:
- Developer, Engineering, Configuration, and Release Manager roles
- Scrum Masters, Release Engineer roles
- Product owners and Product Managers
- Development Leads, Developers, UX/UI Developers, and more
The SAFe DevOps training will give you the skills and knowledge to help your organization successfully scale its agile and lean practices. It covers everything from team collaboration and communication to DevOps tools, value stream mapping, and product delivery.
However, suppose you are not interested in the SAFe methodology and would rather learn DevOps that isn’t tied to any specific framework. In that case, you may want to consider the ICAgile DevOps training.
ICAgile DevOps Training
Another type of recommended training is developed by the International Consortium of Agile (ICAgile), a not-for-profit organization that promotes agile methods through education and training.
In contrast to SAFe DevOps, ICAgile DevOps training does not focus on any specific agile framework (such as Kanban, Scrum, XP, etc.). Rather, it provides techniques required to change one’s mindset from waterfall to agile and best practices for implementing DevOps concepts such as CI/CD, continuous testing, and similar.
The ICAgile DevOps training provides a flexible approach tailored to any organization’s needs, making it an attractive option.
The ICAgile has an entire learning track dedicated to DevOps, and it consists of four certifications:
- Agile fundamentals
- Foundations Of DevOps
- Implementing DevOps
- Expert In DevOps
Agile Fundamentals
The Agile Fundamentals certification is a starting point for anyone who wants to get into ICAgile DevOps and agile practices in general. This course is recommended for anyone interested in learning the basics of Agile and Lean principles and how they can be applied to real-life scenarios.
Adopting the Lean-Agile mindset is one of the most important aspects of ICAgile DevOps training, and this certification will help you do just that.
The Agile Fundamentals certification covers the following topics:
- What is agile?
- The history of agile
- How does agile work?
- Principles behind agile and value-driven development
- Principles of collaboration between team members
- How to manage and prioritize work, and more
Once you complete the Agile Fundamentals course, you can continue down the DevOps learning path by enrolling in the Foundations Of DevOps certification.
Foundations Of DevOps
The first step on your ICAgile DevOps journey, the Foundations Of DevOps certification, will give you a strong foundation in the key concepts and practices of DevOps.
This course offers an overview of the essential skills and knowledge required to implement a DevOps environment in your organization, including topics such as:
- CI/CD pipelines
- Automation
- Testing
- Security
- Organizational design for DevOps, and more.
The Foundations Of DevOps certification is aimed at professionals who want to learn the basics of DevOps, such as Managers, Team Members, and anyone interested in transitioning into a DevOps role.
Once you have completed the DevOps foundation cert, you can continue to the Implementing DevOps certification.
Implementing DevOps
If you are already working in a DevOps team or are in a DevOps supporting role, the Implementing DevOps certification is the next logical step on your learning journey.
This course will help you deepen your understanding of how to implement DevOps in your organization effectively and covers topics such as:
- DevOps culture
- Planning and executing a DevOps deployment
- Designing and implementing the pipeline
- Monitoring the pipeline and pinpointing the bottlenecks
- Configuration Management
- Implementing Continuous Improvement and similar
This certification provides the hands-on experience required to implement DevOps in your organization successfully. After completing this course, you can move on to the Expert In DevOps certification training.
Expert In DevOps
The final stop on your ICAgile DevOps road comes with a few strict requirements:
- Obtaining the Foundations In DevOps certificate
- Obtaining the Implementing DevOps certificate
- At least six months of practical experience after receiving both of the certifications mentioned above
This training is aimed at DevOps professionals who want to take their DevOps skills and understanding of DevOps concepts and practices even further and become an expert in the field. They can work as a software developer, software engineer, tester, operations lead, DevOps architect, automation architect, and similar.
ICAgile is currently reviewing the learning outcomes of the Expert In DevOps certification and will update them as soon as possible.
Bonus Training
Together with all the training and courses outlined above, there are other learning paths that will help you better understand and implement DevOps in your organization.
If you are indeed running a software development company, some additional courses can help you improve your methods, processes, and practices.
These include, but are not limited to:
- Agile Programming – for better understanding the principles of agile development and how they can be applied to writing code.
- Agile Test Automation – for helping agile testers learn how to automate their tests and improve the overall quality of testing in agile teams.
- Agile Software Design – teaching simple and agile technical design with the right design patterns.
These three courses will pave the way to an agile working environment that is more sustainable, scalable, and manageable. Together with DevOps, they will help you build better software faster.
Furthermore, for transforming an entire business and not just specific teams or individuals, there are courses on Agile Business.
They will greatly help transition the entire organization to adopt and use DevOps practices to achieve the desired business outcomes.
- Agility In The Enterprise – This training provides an overview of the Lean-Agile mindset in the context of organizational design and structure, agile scaling, and agile leadership. The main focus is agile approaches at the enterprise level, which can be adapted and tailored to any organization.
- Delivery At Scale – Agile principles can be applied to projects, portfolios, programs, and other processes. This course’s top three learning outcomes include optimizing the organizational system, empowering the organization to deliver, and aligning value delivery at scale.
The bonus training options will help you build a solid foundation for successful DevOps implementation in your organization. If you want your business to run smoothly and be well-prepared for the future, you must continuously improve and update your skills and knowledge. Investing in certifications such as these will give you the competitive edge, ensure your company’s sustainable growth, and provide better business outcomes.
Conclusion
Once you decide that learning DevOps is the logical next step for your organization, it might be overwhelming to find where to start. Choosing the right DevOps training and certification path can be challenging, but with this guide, you should have a better idea of what to look for.
The two primary types of DevOps online training are SAFe For DevOps and ICAgile DevOps courses. The former relies on a specific framework (the Scaled Agile Framework), while the latter is more general and doesn’t rely on any specific framework.
Both have their pros and cons, and it is important to choose the one that fits your organization’s needs best. In addition to them, some bonus training options will solidify your Agile DevOps learning and help you run a successful business.
If you are looking for hands-on courses that will help you immediately start implementing DevOps in your organization, look at our upcoming training events. Don’t hesitate to contact us at The I4 Group for more information on our courses and how we can help you make the most of your investment.
