In recent years, DevOps, which aligns incentives and the flow of work across the organization, has become the standard way of building software. By focusing on improving the flow of value, the software development lifecycle has become much more efficient and effective, leading to positive outcomes for everyone involved. However software development and IT operations aren’t the only teams involved in the software delivery process. With increasing cybersecurity threats, it has never been more important to unify cybersecurity and other stakeholders into an effective and united value stream aligned towards continuous delivery.

At the most basic level, there is nothing separating DevSecOps from the DevOps model. However, security, and a culture designed to put security at the forefront has often been an afterthought for many organizations. But in a modern world, as costs and concerns mount from increased security attacks, it must become more prominent. It is possible to provide continuous delivery, in a secure fashion. In fact, CD enhances the security profile. Getting there takes a dedication to people, culture, process, and lastly technology, breaking down silos and unifying multi-disciplinary skill sets. Organizations can optimize and align their value streams towards continuous improvement across the entire organization. 

To help educate and inform program managers and software leaders on secure and continuous software delivery, the Linux Foundation is releasing a new, free online training course, Introduction to DevSecOps for Managers (LFS180x) on the edX platform. Pre-enrollment is now open, though the course material will not be available to learners until July 20. The course focuses on providing managers and leaders with an introduction to the foundational knowledge required to lead digital organizations through their DevSecOps journey and transformation.

LFS180x starts off by discussing what DevSecOps is and why it is important. It then provides an overview of DevSecOps technologies and principles using a simple-to-follow “Tech like I’m 10” approach. Next, the course covers topics such as value stream management, platform as product, and engineering organization improvement, all driving towards defining Continuous Delivery and explaining why it is so foundational for any organization. The course also focuses on culture, metrics, cybersecurity, and agile contracting. Upon completion, participants will understand the fundamentals required in order to successfully transform any software development organization into a digital leader.

The course was developed by Dr. Rob Slaughter and Bryan Finster. Rob is an Air Force veteran and the CEO of Defense Unicorns, a company focused on secure air gap software delivery, he is the  former co-founder and Director of the Department of Defense’s DevSecOps platform team, Platform One, co-founder of the United States Space Force Space CAMP software factory, and current member of the Navy software factory Project Blue. Bryan is a software engineer and value stream architect with over 25 years experience as a software engineer  and leading development teams delivering highly available systems for large enterprises. He founded and led the Walmart DevOps Dojo which focused on a hands-on, immersive learning approach to helping teams solve the problem of “why can’t we safely deliver today’s changes to production today?” He is the co-author of “Modern Cybersecurity: Tales from the Near-Distant Future”, the author of the “5 Minute DevOps” blog, and one of the maintainers of MinimumCD.org. He is currently a value stream architect at Defense Unicorns at Platform One. 

Enroll today to start your journey to mastering DevSecOps practices on July 20!