The planning stage in DevOps is the first phase of the DevOps pipeline and refers to the business value and application requirements. In this phase, the full workflow of the project is planned which includes activities like creating the development roadmap for guiding the team through the process, gathering information and feedback, and breaking down the workflow into specific tasks. During this stage, it is necessary that everyone can share and discuss anything: ideas, strategies, goals, requirements, roadmaps, and documentation to make sure that any aspect is not forgotten or overlooked.
There are many DevOps tools for planning available in the market. Many of these tools are free, open-source, and have a community that administers, develops, and supports them. Depending on the requirements and budget, it is advisable to choose a planning tool that can be adapted to your own needs and processes. It is also important to have reliable support that can be reached immediately for uninterrupted operation.
Let’s go through the top considered DevOps tools for the planning phase:
Jira
Jira by Atlassian is an Agile-friendly planning tool. It is also one of the most considered DevOps tools for planning. Jira supports sprint planning with out-of-the-box or customizable Kanban and Scrum workflows. Jira software integrates with complex enterprise platforms. It also enables streamlined feedback loops, open communication, and collaboration with multiple projects.
Jira’s key features:
- Create user stories and issues, plan sprints, and distribute tasks across your software team
- Prioritize and discuss your team’s work in full context with complete visibility
- Ship with confidence and sanity knowing the information you have is always up-to-date
- Improve team performance based on real-time, visual data that your team can put to use
Pros of Jira:
- Easy separation of projects
- Run in the cloud
- Code integration
- Run on your own
- Great customization
- Easy Workflow Configuration
- Integrates with virtually everything
The high level of complexity of the software must be taken into account, which poses great challenges for inexperienced users in particular and makes a quick start difficult.
Redmine
Redmine is a free and open-source, web-based project management and issue-tracking tool. It allows users to manage multiple projects and associated subprojects. It features per-project wikis and forums, time tracking, and flexible, role-based access control. It includes a calendar and Gantt charts to aid the visual representation of projects and their deadlines. Redmine integrates with various version control systems and includes a repository browser and diff viewer.
Redmine’s key features:
- Multiple projects support
- Flexible issue tracking system
- Custom fields for issues, time entries, projects, and users
- SCM integration (SVN, CVS, Git, Mercurial, Bazaar, and Darcs)
- Multiple LDAP authentication support
- Multiple databases support
Pros of Redmine:
- Customizable workflow with themes and plugins
- Powerful custom queries
- Integration with code version control like git/svn
- Integration with email clients
- Support for MS SQL Server
- Projects and groups separation
Redmine can be a great added value for project management if it is used for issue tracking, bugs, and the coordination of several projects. However, Redmine cannot score in terms of interface and support, which can weigh heavily depending on where it is used.
Trello
Trello is a collaboration tool that organizes your projects into boards. In one glance, Trello tells you what’s being worked on, who’s working on what, and where something is in process. Developers prefer it because it’s easier to configure and manage the interface. Trello comes in 2 versions: Web-based and mobile-based.
Trello’s key features:
- Add a checklist to keep on top of all those little to-dos with a progress meter
- Attach photos, drawings, sketches, and mockups to quickly illustrate ideas at a glance
- Customize labels and use filters by keywords and by a person
- Track deadlines with gentle reminders
- Keeps a record of everything that happened on the card
Pros of Trello:
- Great user interface
- Drag and drop attachments
- Integration with other work collaborative apps
- Recognizes GitHub commit links
- Visually express the scope of projects and project status
Other considered DevOps tools for planning are Rally, Trac, XMind, Adobe XD, Zeplin, draw.io, Slack, Wrike, Confluence, and Git.
These DevOps tools are critical for the future of DevOps and can automate the software development lifecycle. These tools can help in the preparation and planning of all the important requirements for the project and the designing of the workflow.
