devops lifecycle diagram :
The DevOps lifecycle represents a continuous and collaborative approach to software development and IT operations. It aims to deliver high-quality software at a faster pace, with maximum reliability, stability, and efficiency. The lifecycle includes a series of repeated phases such as planning, coding, building, testing, releasing, deploying, operating, and monitoring. All these steps work together in a continuous loop, ensuring that feedback from each stage is used to improve the next iteration.
This model is used by highly successful technology companies and has become a global standard for modern engineering teams. Understanding each stage deeply is essential for becoming an effective DevOps engineer or building high-performing software systems.
What Is the DevOps Lifecycle?
The DevOps lifecycle is a structured sequence of processes that guide teams in developing, releasing, and maintaining applications. Unlike traditional development models that follow long cycles and isolated teams, DevOps encourages continuous collaboration between development and operations teams. This lifecycle is often illustrated as an infinite loop, representing constant improvement and uninterrupted delivery.
Each stage focuses on specific tasks, tools, and responsibilities, but they all connect back to the central goal: delivering software quickly and reliably.
The Eight Stages of the DevOps Lifecycle
Below is a detailed explanation of each phase and its importance.
1. Plan
The lifecycle begins with planning. During this phase, teams identify the requirements, define project scope, prioritize tasks, and align on business goals andEffective planning ensures that development efforts move in the right direction and that all stakeholders share the same understanding.
Activities in this stage include roadmap creation, sprint planning, requirement documentation, and architectural discussions.
Tools commonly used: Jira, Confluence, Trello, Notion, Asana.
2. Code
In this stage, developers write the application code based on the planned features. This includes following coding standards, maintaining best practices and using version control systems to collaborate efficiently.
Version control allows developers to manage code changes, create branches, review code, and merge contributions without conflict and also Clean, well-structured code helps reduce bugs and supports long-term maintainability.
Tools commonly used: Git, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, VS Code and also IntelliJ IDEA.
3. Build
Once the coding phase is completed, the build stage compiles source code into executable artifacts. This may include packaging, running static code analysis, applying dependency managemen and also performing automated unit tests.
Automated build pipelines reduce manual work, decrease human error, and ensure that every change is validated immediately. Continuous Integration (CI) practices are heavily applied here.
Tools commonly used: Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, CircleCI, Maven, Gradle.
4. Test
Testing is a critical part of the lifecycle, ensuring that new features, updates and also changes do not break existing functionality. Automated testing helps detect bugs early before reaching production environments.
Different types of testing include functional testing, regression testing, integration testing, load testing, API testing, security testing, and performance testing.therefore so many testing included in software lifecycle.
Tools commonly used: Selenium, JUnit, Postman, SoapUI, SonarQube, JMeter, Cypress.
5. Release
After testing, the software moves into the release stage. Here, the application is prepared for deployment, versioning is applied, and approvals are obtained based on organizational policies. Release automation ensures consistency and reduces deployment risks.
A controlled release process creates confidence that deployments will proceed smoothly.
Tools commonly used: Jenkins, Argo CD, Spinnaker, GitOps pipelines.
6. Deploy
The deployment stage delivers the application into production or staging environments. DevOps aims for automated, reliable, and zero-downtime deployments. Deployment techniques such as rolling updates, blue-green deployments, and canary releases are often used.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is applied to manage servers, networks, and cloud configuration in a repeatable and consistent manner.
Tools commonly used: Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud.
7. Operate
After deployment, the application is now running in production. The operations team ensures that systems function efficiently and reliably. Operational tasks include managing servers, handling configurations, maintaining system uptime, and ensuring application performance.
This stage focuses on reliability, performance optimization, infrastructure health, and routine maintenance.
Tools commonly used: Kubernetes, Linux servers, configuration management tools and also cloud dashboards.
8. Monitor
Monitoring ensures continuous visibility into the application and infrastructure. It helps detect issues early, track performance, analyze logs, and understand user behavior. Effective monitoring allows teams to make informed decisions, avoid downtime, and improve system reliability.
Insights from monitoring feed directly back into the planning stage, completing the DevOps loop.
Tools commonly used: Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack, Datadog, AWS CloudWatch, Splunk.
Why the DevOps Lifecycle Is Represented as an Infinite Loop
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The infinite loop symbolizes continuous improvement. Unlike traditional models where development ends after release, DevOps practices ensure that teams constantly refine and enhance applications based on real-time feedback.
The loop also emphasizes the following principles:
- Continuous integration and continuous delivery
- Consistent improvement
- Seamless collaboration between teams
- Rapid delivery cycles
- Reliable and stable operations
- Fast recovery from failures
This continuous loop also helps maintain high product quality and supports organizational agility.
Benefits of Following the DevOps Lifecycle
Organizations that adopt a proper DevOps lifecycle experience several advantages:
- Faster software delivery
- Enhanced collaboration between teams
- Early detection of bugs and issues
- Improved operational stability
- Reduced deployment failures
- Streamlined development workflows
- Higher customer satisfaction
- Better utilization of automation
- Increased business competitiveness
- Continuous innovation
Real-World Example of the DevOps Lifecycle
Consider a team building a cloud-based web application. First, the team plans features and improvements. Developers then write the code and push it to a version control system. A CI tool automatically builds and tests the application. After quality checks, the app is released and deployed to a cloud platform using IaC and automated pipelines. The operations team maintains system performance also monitoring tools track logs, errors, and usage behavior. This feedback goes back to the planning stage, resulting in constant improvements.
This cycle repeats for every new update, allowing the team to deliver features faster and maintain system reliability. This is the exact process followed by leading companies across the world.
Conclusion
The DevOps lifecycle is a powerful model that brings development and also operations teams together to achieve continuous improvement and rapid delivery. By understanding each stage and applying the appropriate tools, organizations can build highly scalable, efficient, and also stable software systems. This lifecycle encourages automation, collaboration, feedback, and performance optimization. Whether you are a beginner learning DevOps or an experienced engineer looking to refine your approach, mastering the DevOps lifecycle is a fundamental step toward building world-class systems.
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