What is “shift left”?
"Shift Left" started with the idea that it’s always best to identify and fix problems as early as possible in the software development life cycle (SDLC). For site reliability engineers (SREs) and developers, this means integrating concepts like software testing, reliability, and operational practices into the early stages of development. In other words, these items are moved to the left of a project timeline. Ultimately, the goal is to improve efficiency, reduce downtime, and make life easier for everyone involved. The best way to accomplish this goal is to collaborate early and often to prevent issues in production.
For example, when shifting left, you can automate testing pipelines that check for performance and scalability issues during the coding phase. Shifting left might also include implementing golden paths—pre-approved, repeatable workflows that guide developers to build reliable and compliant services from the start. These proactive measures reduce firefighting and allow teams to focus on innovation.
The "shift left" movement
Traditionally, problem-solving and quality assurance tasks—such as testing, reliability checks, and production readiness assessments—happen late or during production. By shifting left, teams identify and resolve potential issues sooner, minimizing downtime and improving collaboration. Key components of shifting left include:
- Proactive ownership: Developers take responsibility for writing code and ensuring its reliability and availability in production.
- Shared tools: Teams use unified frameworks and tools to manage services, diagnose issues, and respond effectively to incidents.
- Streamlined collaboration: Developers and SREs work together more seamlessly, supported by clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
A key part of shifting left is ownership. Developers take responsibility for their applications, including reliability. SREs focus on building systems and standards to support this.
How an internal developer portal helps SREs and developers shift left
A unified service catalog, delivered through an internal developer portal, is a game-changer. It provides visibility, simplifies processes, and empowers teams to take control of their work. Here’s how it helps:
- Clear dashboards
Unified service catalogs offer easy-to-read dashboards that show ownership, dependencies, and health metrics. They simplify complex systems, so teams get the information they need at a glance. This clarity helps reduce confusion during incidents and improves collaboration.
Imagine logging into a portal and instantly seeing which team owns a failing service, its current health, and its dependencies. This transparency eliminates guesswork and speeds up issue resolution.
Learn more about how internal developer portals help create Golden Paths. - Self-service tools
Self-service tools empower developers to handle routine tasks without SRE intervention, meaning tasks like rolling back changes or scaling services can be done with a click. This independence accelerates recovery times and reduces stress for all involved. Self-service tools allow SREs to focus on strategic work, like designing resilient system architectures, creating automated scalability solutions, and conducting capacity planning for high-growth scenarios. These activities directly contribute to business outcomes, like improved uptime, better customer experiences, and lower operational costs.
During incidents, developers can use predefined workflows for quick resolutions, reducing reliance on SREs. Over time, this approach builds confidence in handling production responsibilities and eliminates bottlenecks. Explore developer self-service to see how it empowers teams.
- Production readiness checks
Service catalogs can include built-in scorecards for production readiness. Developers can see what needs fixing before launching. If something doesn’t meet standards, they’ll get an alert—no need for manual reviews. This transparency helps prevent problems before they occur.
For example, a readiness scorecard might flag missing monitoring configurations or untested critical paths. By addressing these gaps early, teams can avoid costly outages later.
Discover the benefits of a service catalog for tracking reliability goals. - Streamlined incident management
When incidents happen, a unified portal can create real-time Slack or Teams channels. It automatically pulls in the right people and provides access to logs, metrics, and service dependencies. This reduces chaos and helps teams resolve issues faster. Centralized communication makes it easier to collaborate under pressure.
During a recent outage, one team used a unified portal to set up an incident channel instantly. Within minutes, they had access to deployment logs, performance metrics, and relevant stakeholders. This proactive approach shortened recovery time significantly.
Check out how developer portals improve onboarding and collaboration. - Golden paths for reliability
Golden paths provide pre-approved workflows and best practices for common tasks. These can include automated processes for scaling, rollbacks, or testing. By following these paths, developers can ensure their work meets reliability standards. This reduces errors and speeds up development.
For instance, a golden path for deploying a new service might include automated checks for compliance, scalability, and observability. Developers can focus on coding, knowing the system will guide them toward best practices.
Shifting left is all about working smarter, not harder. It’s a way for teams to catch issues early, work better together, and build more reliable systems. With tools like unified service catalogs and internal developer portals, developers and SREs can stay on the same page, fix problems faster, and focus on what they do best. Ultimately, shifting left makes everyone’s job easier and helps deliver great software without headaches.
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