Since releasing the DevSecOps Reference Architecture last year I've received a ton of feedback from the community. I took the feedback and spent some time over the past several months to update the architecture to roll in some of the suggestions. I'm happy to say that I finished a new version of the reference architecture and it’s now available for download here.
Evolution of Ideas
Before discussing changes in the architecture I need to point out that this diagram isn't a prescription for every organization on what they need to do to succeed in the adoption of DevSecOps practices. It should be considered as a possibility diagram showing what kind of security controls can we put in a development pipeline and where they should ideally sit to enable flow. No matter what kind of reference architecture you look at when planning your pipelines you'll never find one that matches your business or technical requirements exactly. This is because your products are your products, your developers are your developers, and your business requirements are your business requirements.
There have been various changes to the reference architecture since it was first released. In addition to suggesting new open source tools and other third-party applications that can be used the DevSecOps tool chain, there are three major changes in this version.
Don’t Stop Learning
The first change is the addition of a continuous education track. Continuous education is pivotal in the success of any team adopting DevSecOps practices. It’s essential to provide people with instructor-led training, computer-based training, reference architectures, and other learning material in order to keep innovating and experimenting on a day-to-day basis. This new track spans the entire length of the pipeline, all the way from an idea and into production (and beyond).
I Forgot My Phone
I forgot mobile development tracks. Dammit. Coming from a person that started his DevSecOps journey implementing secure pipelines for mobile development - well this is inexcusable. The mobile development track splits off in the delivery phase and details places where Dynamic Analysis can be applied and how mobile applications can be automatically deployed to vendor stores such as Google Play, and the Apple AppStore. Security testing left of delivery is fairly identical to any other applications flowing through the pipeline using tooling which supports mobile technologies and languages.
You’re Out of Order
Finally, there were a number of places where controls were out of place (like the firewalls), and where steps may have seemed out of place. I’ve corrected many of these areas thanks to the feedback of not just Developer Advocates in the industry but the DevOps and DevSecOps communities.
Check It Out
Head over here to get a copy of the newest DevSecOps Reference Architecture. Take it for a test drive using Draw.io, or look it over in PDF or PNG format. Most importantly, let me know your feedback. Continuous improvement is an essential part of community sharing.
