Item: Azure DevOps Services
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

As an IT Service Manager, I use Azure DevOps Services to improve on our existing software development and IT service management processes. We mostly use the built-in source control, work tracking, build automation, and release management functions of Azure DevOps. Our use case involves several software development projects and focuses mainly on Source Control and Collaboration to allow our dev teams to securely store and collaborate on their code, Work item tracking to track the progress of bug fixes and enhancements, as well as user stories, Build Automation to reduce errors and speed up the dev cycle Automating deployments using the built-in release management functions.

Pros and Cons

Tracking of user stories, bugs, and dev tasks, which allows our devs and business analysts to collaborate.
Automated and better-controlled software deployments.
DevOps has improved how our devs handle version control of their code (fewer conflicts).

The sheer number of features can be overwhelming for new users!
Better integration with external tools such as our service management platform.
Setting up build configs and pipelines can be tricky for first-timers.

Most Important Features

Source Control and Collaboration for software developers.
Tracking of work items like user stories, software bugs, and dev tasks.
CI/CD, such as build automation and automated software deployments.

Return on Investment

Increased dev team efficiency through more streamlined development processes and task automation.
Improved quality of software deployments due to better source control, automated testing, and release management options available in DevOps.
Better collaboration between the dev team, business analysts, and agile project managers.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Planner and ServiceNow IT Service Management

Microsoft Planner is used by project managers and IT service managers across our organization for task tracking and running their team meetings. Azure DevOps works better than Planner for software development teams but might possibly be too complex for non-software teams or more business-focused projects. We also use ServiceNow for IT service management and this tool provides better analysis and tracking of IT incidents, as Azure DevOps is more suited to development and project work for dev teams.

Key Insights

Do you think Azure DevOps Services delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Azure DevOps Services's feature set?

Yes

Did Azure DevOps Services live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Azure DevOps Services go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Azure DevOps Services again?

Yes

Other Software Used

ServiceNow IT Service Management, SAP SuccessFactors, Microsoft Power Automate

Likelihood to Recommend

Azure DevOps is great for agile software development with larger teams as the included features for managing user stories, sprints, and backlogs allow larger dev teams to more easily plan, track, and deliver software releases. It is also great for CI/CD because of the options for automating build, testing, and deployment processes. The integration with various Azure services makes it easy to deploy in cloud environments, and therefore it is an ideal tool for us as we use Microsoft Azure extensively for hosting our business applications. It's less useful for smaller projects or individual developers as many of the features will simply never be used, and there are more lightweight tools available. There are also better tools available for task tracking in non-software development projects or if your organization relies heavily on non-Microsoft products.

Improved dev team efficiency and collaboration with Azure DevOps Services.

Overall Satisfaction with Azure DevOps Services