How to get started with Salesforce DevOps

Whether you’re entirely new to DevOps, or are familiar with the concept but haven’t yet applied it to Salesforce development, DevOps Launchpad is here to help!

At its simplest, 'DevOps' is a set of practices that merge the previously siloed areas of software development (Dev) and operations (Ops). DevOps helps teams build, integrate, test and deploy faster and more collaboratively than ever before.

But speed of delivery isn’t the only benefit! By changing to a DevOps workflow, development teams can release more reliably and with fewer bugs that would usually lead to costly downtime. And when something doesn’t go quite as planned, DevOps tools mean a faulty release can be reverted much sooner.

While DevOps is now common practice in the world of software engineering, its application to Salesforce development has been slower, because Salesforce is a unique platform (we’ll touch on why that is later). But many Salesforce teams are now adopting DevOps and reaping the benefits. If you’re looking to do the same, you’re in the right place!

Why introduce DevOps for Salesforce?

The Salesforce platform enables a low-code approach to development, by allowing users to make changes through the UI—also known as declarative changes. Although this is great for making small changes quickly and easily, it means that DevOps hasn’t been applied as readily to Salesforce development as it has elsewhere.

Gearset’s The State of Salesforce DevOps 2022 report found that 66% of Salesforce teams are now using source control, with 51% having adopted CI/CD practices—both of which are key pillars in any DevOps process.

So what has prompted more Salesforce teams to adopt DevOps practices? Quite simply, native tooling simply isn’t capable of keeping pace with the demand placed on development teams for customization. Teams find deployments via the ANT command line and change sets to be painful, time consuming and error-prone. To deliver the value a business needs and expects from Salesforce, teams have to move faster than these tools can allow.

DevOps practices and tools help with quicker delivery, reducing errors, and the ability to easily roll back should anything go wrong. It’s unsurprising that thousands of Salesforce teams globally have already adopted, or plan to adopt, DevOps practices.

Looking to get started?

Ready to get stuck into Salesforce DevOps, but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry, you’re not alone and there are resources available to help you get to grips with it!

If you’re still on the fence about how Salesforce DevOps can help you and your team, you’re not alone there either. Adoption of DevOps can sometimes be viewed as too great a challenge, or even unnecessary due to the size of the team or the scale of the projects. But that’s simply not the case!

When it comes to Salesforce DevOps, there are five core principles:

• Version control
• Automation
• Testing
• Backup
• Culture

These principles can easily be applied by teams of any size and on any project, to reap the benefits of DevOps wherever you are in your journey.

But don’t try to do everything at once! Teams often try to take on too much too quickly, which actually stalls adoption and maturity. By regularly taking small and practical steps to adopt these principles, you’ll be well on your way to a mature DevOps model that fits your team’s specific set-up.

If you’re looking for a good place to start learning more about how DevOps can transform your approach to Salesforce development and releases, sign up to get access to our free course ‘An introduction to Salesforce DevOps’. The course covers the what, why, and how of adopting Salesforce DevOps, and you’ll even get certification to show off your new skills!

See you over there!