Transitioning from a centralized version control system to Git fundamentally transforms the software development process for your team. For companies dependent on their software for critical operations, this shift in workflow reverberates throughout the entire organization.
This article delves into the multifaceted advantages of Git across various facets of your organization, spanning from the development team to the marketing department and beyond. By the conclusion of this piece, it will be evident that Git transcends the realm of agile software development—it catalyzes agile business practices.
Git for developers
Feature branch workflow
Git’s branching capabilities stand out as one of its most significant advantages. In contrast to centralized version control systems, Git offers lightweight and effortless branch creation and merging. This streamlined process is particularly conducive to the feature branch workflow favored by a large segment of Git users.
Feature branches offer a segregated workspace for each modification made to your codebase. Whenever a developer embarks on a task, regardless of its magnitude, they initiate a new branch. This practice guarantees that the primary branch consistently upholds production-ready code standards.
Embracing feature branches not only enhances reliability compared to direct alterations to production code but also yields organizational advantages. They enable you to mirror development activities with the same level of detail as your agile backlog. For instance, you could adopt a strategy where each Jira ticket corresponds to its dedicated feature branch.
Distributed development
In SVN, every developer receives a working copy linked to a centralized repository. Conversely, Git operates as a distributed version control system. Here, each developer is provided with their individual local repository, encompassing a comprehensive record of commits.
Having a complete local history significantly enhances Git’s performance, as it eliminates the necessity for a network connection to execute various tasks such as creating commits, reviewing previous versions of a file, or conducting diffs between commits.
Furthermore, the distributed nature of development in Git simplifies the process of scaling your engineering team. In SVN, if someone disrupts the production branch, it prevents other developers from committing their changes until the issue is resolved. However, Git operates differently; such impediments are non-existent. Each individual can seamlessly continue their tasks within their own local repositories without interruptions.
Moreover, akin to the advantages offered by feature branches, distributed development fosters a more dependable environment. Even in the event of a developer inadvertently wiping out their own repository, they can effortlessly clone another repository and resume their work without disruption.
Pull requests
Several source code management platforms like Bitbucket augment the fundamental capabilities of Git through pull requests. A pull request serves as a means for one developer to request the integration of their branch into another developer’s repository. This not only streamlines the process for project leaders to monitor alterations but also enables developers to initiate discussions regarding their contributions prior to merging them into the main codebase.
As they essentially serve as a comment thread linked to a feature branch, pull requests exhibit remarkable versatility. When a developer encounters a challenging issue, they can initiate a pull request to seek assistance from the rest of the team. Conversely, junior developers can rely on pull requests as a structured code review process, ensuring that their contributions do not inadvertently jeopardize the integrity of the entire project.
Community
In numerous domains, Git has become the standard version control system for initiating new projects. With Git in place, the likelihood is high that you won’t need to provide extensive training to new team members regarding your workflow. This is because they are likely already acquainted with distributed development methodologies.
Moreover, Git enjoys widespread popularity among open-source projects. Consequently, it becomes effortless to utilize third-party libraries and encourage others to fork your own open-source code.
Faster release cycle
The culmination of feature branches, distributed development, pull requests, and a cohesive community yields an expedited release cycle. These functionalities foster an agile workflow that promotes the sharing of smaller changes at more frequent intervals. Consequently, alterations can progress swiftly through the deployment pipeline, contrasting with the monolithic releases often associated with centralized version control systems.
Unsurprisingly, Git seamlessly integrates with continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) environments. Git hooks provide the capability to execute scripts upon specific events within a repository, enabling extensive automation options for deployment. This flexibility allows you to customize deployment processes according to your requirements. For instance, you can set up Git to automatically deploy the latest commit from the develop branch to a designated test server whenever a pull request is merged into it. By amalgamating such build automation with peer review practices, you can ensure the utmost confidence in your code’s progression from development through staging to production environments.
Git for marketing
To grasp the impact of transitioning to Git on your company’s marketing endeavors, consider the following scenario where your development team has three distinct changes scheduled for completion in the upcoming weeks:
- The entire team is finalizing a groundbreaking feature that has been in development for the past 6 months.
- Mary is implementing a smaller, unrelated feature that primarily affects existing customers.
- Rick is implementing necessary updates to the user interface.
In a traditional development workflow reliant on a centralized version control system (VCS), these changes would likely be bundled into a single release. Consequently, marketing would be limited to making one announcement, predominantly focusing on the game-changing feature, while the marketing potential of the other two updates would be overlooked.
However, the shorter development cycles facilitated by Git significantly simplify the process of dividing these changes into individual releases. This, in turn, provides marketers with more content to communicate about, more frequently. In the aforementioned scenario, marketing can devise three separate campaigns, each centered around a specific feature. Consequently, they can target very specific market segments, maximizing the marketing potential of each update.
For example, the marketing team might plan a substantial public relations push for the game-changing feature, along with crafting a corporate blog post and newsletter excerpt specifically highlighting Mary’s feature. Additionally, they could develop guest posts focusing on Rick’s fundamental UX theory to be submitted to external design blogs. Each of these marketing activities can be synchronized with a distinct release, aligning with the timing and significance of each feature’s deployment.
Git for product management
The advantages of Git for product management mirror those for marketing. More frequent releases translate to more frequent customer feedback and quicker updates in response to that feedback. Rather than waiting for the next release cycle, which could be eight weeks away, you can swiftly deploy solutions to customers as soon as your developers can implement them.
The feature branch workflow offers flexibility in adapting to shifting priorities. For instance, if midway through a release cycle, you decide to defer one feature in favor of a more time-sensitive one, it poses no issue. The initial feature can remain in its designated branch until engineering has the availability to revisit it.
Moreover, this functionality simplifies the management of innovation projects, beta tests, and rapid prototypes as distinct codebases.
Git for designers
Feature branches are conducive to swift prototyping. Whether your UX/UI designers aim to introduce an entirely new user flow or merely update some icons, creating a new branch provides them with a controlled environment to experiment. This allows designers to preview their modifications within an actual working copy of the product without the risk of disrupting existing functionality.
Segregating user interface modifications in this manner simplifies the presentation of updates to other stakeholders. For instance, if the director of engineering wishes to review the design team’s progress, they can simply instruct them to inspect the corresponding branch.
Pull requests enhance this process by offering a formal platform for interested parties to deliberate on the new interface. Designers can incorporate any necessary adjustments, and the resulting commits will be visible within the pull request. This inclusive approach invites everyone to contribute to the iterative process.
One of the most advantageous aspects of prototyping with branches is the ease of merging changes into production or discarding them altogether. There’s no pressure to commit to either action. This fosters an environment where designers and UI developers can experiment freely, while ensuring that only the most promising ideas are ultimately implemented for the benefit of the customer.
Git for customer support
Customer support and customer success teams often perceive updates differently compared to product managers. When customers reach out to them, it’s usually because they’re encountering some issue. If the problem stems from your company’s software, a bug fix must be deployed promptly.
Git’s efficient development cycle circumvents the delay of bug fixes until the next comprehensive release. Developers can promptly address the issue and deploy the fix directly to production. Swift resolution translates to happier customers and a reduction in recurring support inquiries. Instead of responding with, “Sorry, we’ll address that promptly,” your customer support team can confidently relay, “The issue has already been resolved!”
Git for human resources
In many ways, your software development workflow influences the types of candidates you attract when hiring. While it’s beneficial to onboard engineers who are well-versed in your technologies and workflows, integrating Git into your processes offers additional advantages.
Prospective employees are often attracted to companies that offer opportunities for career advancement. Proficiency in leveraging Git within both large and small organizations is a valuable skill for any programmer. Opting for Git as your version control system signals to potential candidates that your company embraces forward-thinking development practices, making it more appealing to forward-looking developers.
Git for anyone managing a budget
Git epitomizes efficiency. For developers, it eradicates inefficiencies ranging from the time spent transmitting commits over a network connection to the laborious integration of changes in a centralized version control system. Moreover, it maximizes the contributions of junior developers by providing them with a secure environment to operate in. These enhancements directly impact the bottom line of your engineering department.
However, it’s crucial to recognize that these efficiencies don’t solely benefit your development team. They also shield marketing from investing resources into collateral for unpopular features, enable designers to test new interfaces on the live product with minimal overhead, and empower you to promptly address customer complaints.
Agility entails swiftly determining what works, amplifying successful efforts, and discarding those that aren’t fruitful. Git acts as an amplifier for all your business activities by ensuring that each department operates more efficiently in their respective roles.
