ACIT4410 Agile Service Delivery and Developer Operations Course description

This course has a focus on the practices and technologies used for network-based services such as large web sites and backend systems. It provides topics specific to large architectures, such as: containers, service architectures, load balancing and service continuity. In addition, topics which are relevant for working with software projects often found in this context are covered, such as release management, automated testing and agile development principles.

No formal requirements over and above the admission requirements.

The student should have the following outcomes upon completing the course:

Knowledge

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will:

• have advanced knowledge of service architectures and how they are applied in the industry
• have advanced knowledge of the platforms used to deploy large-scale  services
• have a deep understanding of the principle of service continuity and the techniques and methods used to make services scalable and robust
• have a deep understanding of the DevOps movement and its history
• have expert insight into release management from an operations perspective

Skills

Upon successful completion of the course, the student:

• can evaluate and discuss a service architecture in relationship to the intended service function with regard to performance, scale and robustness
• can apply load balancing and scaling techniques in order to create robust services
• can define release-management strategies
• can evaluate and discuss a release-management plan in relationship to an agile development project

General competence

Upon successful completion of the course, the student:

• can discuss the state of agile service management in the industry
• can communicate challenges, analysis and conclusions in developer operations with regard to service architectures and release management to specialists as well as the general public

The beginning of the course will focus of familiarizing oneself with the technologies used in building and delivering high-volume services. This will include containers and similar technologies, load balancing, automated testing and revision control systems. The students will put these technologies to the test in exercises in our lab environment.

All of the presented topics are relevant for the project which the students will work on and are continuously revised to be close to current industry practices. The focus is on providing an essence of each topic, which allows the student to get a large overview of the state-of-the-art of modern service delivery. The projects allow students to go deeper on a select set of technologies from the initial overview and apply them on a specific case.

This course uses the flipped classroom methodology to cover topics in its theoretical form as homework and let students experience them with hands-on work in the classroom. Students work individually in order to complete technical assignments. Lab-work is supervised by the teacher who provides feedback to the student along the way. 

Students will organize their work surrounding a chosen project. The project report will based on a task which they can choose from a list of available projects. The task will be a combination of technical work along with a theoretical discussion.

Towards the end of the course, students will spend more time on their own projects in class under continuous supervision from the course teachers. Students can use that time to discuss approaches and challenges to their own projects. 

None

The students will work individually to complete a task from the available list provided in the class. The results are documented as a project report. The total amount of text should be about 10000 +/- 2000 words, not including references and appendix with scripts etc.

The exam can be appealed.

New/postponed exam

In case of failed exam or legal absence, the student may apply for a new or postponed exam. New or postponed exams are offered within a reasonable time span following the regular exam. The student is responsible for applying for a new/postponed exam within the time limits set by OsloMet. The Regulations for new or postponed examinations are available in Regulations relating to studies and examinations at OsloMet.

All aids are permitted.

Grade scale A-F.

Two internal examiners. External examiner is used periodically.

Associate Professor Kyrre Begnum