DevOps - Development and Operations Automation

DevOps is the use of software DEVelopment tools to automate Information Systems OPerations. It requires Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSA) of Information Technology (IT) components, configuration and programming that integrate IT components into Information Systems (IS), and the ability to automate the activities through use of the Application Programming Interfaces (API)  published by equipment and service providers. The main characteristic of DevOps is to strongly advocate  and implement automation and monitoring at all steps of software and infrastructure construction, from integration, testing, and releasing, to deployment and infrastructure management. DevOps aims at shorter development cycles, increased deployment frequency and more dependable releases in close alignment with business objectives.

Theexpected capacity for this interdisciplinary program is 20 studentseach semester for a total of 40. If we use the average CIS coursecompletion of 73% for Merritt College, we estimate approximately 29annual completers for this program.

The DevOps -Development and Operations Automation A.S. Degree and Certificate of Achievement is a terminal, high unit technical program designed to be the final program a student completes on the IT/IS pathway. It builds on the Information Systems Analyst competencies by relying on software and scripts to complete the bulk of day-to-day activities. Its emphasis on scripting and control of systems using Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) instead of Windows Icons Menus and Pointers (WIMP) interfaces permits operations monitoring and management of systems to happen at scale.

To qualify for the DevOps-Development and Operations Automation A.S.Degree, students must complete 14-16 units of required core courses for an IT Technician, 13 units of Information Systems Analysis/DevOps courses including Project Management, Scripting for Systems Automation & Analysis, Administering Cloud Systems & Containers, and Systems and Network Administration. Program completion requires selecting 9-12 units from a list of restricted electives which include:

• Group A - Social Media and Online Community Management

• Group B -Cybersecurity Operations

• Group C - Software Engineering Automation and Continuous Integration

• Group D - Mobile Applications Development with Build & Test Automation

• Group E – Cloud Systems and Services

• Group F – Site Reliability and Scaling

Eachelective may qualify the graduate to sit for occupational certification examinations such as the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)https://www.pmi.org/certifications/types/agile-acp. These exams are usually administered only to students who meet certain qualifications in hours of study or work experience.

DevOps - Development and Operations Automation Certificate of Achievement

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
CIS 5 or	Intro. Computer Science	5	S1
CIS 6 or	Intro. to Programming	5	S1
CIS 7 or	Control Structures and Objects	4	S1
CS 20 and	Python Application Programming	3	S1
CIS 110 and	Info. and Communication Technology Essentials	4	S1
CIS 106A and	Routing and Switching Networks	3	S1
CIS 35	Microcomputer Operating Systems	4	S1
CIS 51 and	Introduction to IT Project Management	4	S2
CIS 71 or	Introduction to Information Systems Security	3	S2
CIS 72 and	Systems and Network Administration	3	S2
CIS 107 and	Administering Cloud Services and Containers	3	S2
CIS 108 and	Scripting for Systems Automation and Data Analysi	3	S2
Select one group of Restricted Electives for Semesters 3 & 4
Group A (9 units)	Social Media and Online Community Management	SOC 1 - Intro Sociology (3) Psych1 Intro Gen. Psychology (3)	Psych 6 - Social Psychology (3)
Group B (10 units)	Cybersecurity Operations	CIS 55 Hacker Techniques (3) CIS 60 Computer Forensics (3)	CIS 53 Intrusion Detection (3) CIS 247 Info. Sys. Skills Challenge (1)
Group C (10 units)	Software Engineering Automation CI/CD	CS 80 Software Engineering (3) CIS 178 Build Automation for DevOps and QA (4)	CIS 179 Agile Software Management & Project Automation (3)
Group D (12 units)	Mobile Applications Build & Test Automation	CIS 33 Software Arch. & Algorithms (4) CIS 93 - Cross-Platform Mobile Application Dev. (4)	CIS 178 - Build Automation for DevOps and QA (4)
Group E (9 units)	Cloud Systems and Services	CIS 52 Cloud Security Fund. (3) CIS 58 Hacker Guard - Baseline IT Admin & Ops (3)	CIS 62 Intro. to Systems Design and Analysis (3)
Group F (10 units)	Site Reliability and Scaling	CIS 8 - Intro to Parallel and Cloud Computing (4) CIS 100 Intro. Blockchain, Crypto., and Identity	CS 60 Applications of Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning

Total Units:                                                                                36 - 41

DevOps - Development and Operations Automation Associate in Science Degree

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
CIS 5 or	Intro. Computer Science	5	S1
CIS 6 or	Intro. to Programming	5	S1
CIS 7 or	Control Structures and Objects	4	S1
CS 20 and	Python Application Programming	3	S1
CIS 110 and	Info. and Communication Technology Essentials	4	S1
CIS 106A and	Routing and Switching Networks	3	S1
CIS 35	Microcomputer Operating Systems	4	S1
CIS 51 and	Introduction to IT Project Management	4	S2
CIS 71 or	Introduction to Information Systems Security	3	S2
CIS 72 and	Systems and Network Administration	3	S2
CIS 107 and	Administering Cloud Services and Containers	3	S2
CIS 108 and	Scripting for Systems Automation and Data Analysis	3	S2
Select one group of Restricted Electives for Semesters 3 & 4
Group A (9 units)	Social Media and Online Community Management	SOC 1 - Intro Sociology (3) Psych1 Intro Gen. Psychology (3)	Psych 6 - Social Psychology (3)
Group B (10 units)	Cybersecurity Operations	CIS 55 Hacker Techniques (3) CIS 60 Computer Forensics (3)	CIS 53 Intrusion Detection (3) CIS 247 Info. Sys. Skills Challenge (1)
Group C (10 units)	Software Engineering Automation CI/CD	CS 80 Software Engineering (3) CIS 178 Build Automation for DevOps and QA (4)	CIS 179 Agile Software Management & Project Automation (3)
Group D (12 units)	Mobile Applications Build & Test Automation	CIS 33 Software Arch. & Algorithms (4) CIS 93 - Cross-Platform Mobile Application Dev. (4)	CIS 178 - Build Automation for DevOps and QA (4)
Group E (9 units)	Cloud Systems and Services	CIS 52 Cloud Security Fund. (3) CIS 58 Hacker Guard - Baseline IT Admin & Ops (3)	CIS 62 Intro. to Systems Design and Analysis (3)
Group F (10 units)	Site Reliability and Scaling	CIS 8 - Intro to Parallel and Cloud Computing (4) CIS 100 Intro. Blockchain, Crypto., and Identity	CS 60 Applications of Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning

Major Coursework Total:                                                          36 - 41

General Education                                                                    19 - 24

Total Units                                                                                          60

This terminal program combines technology management and automation with restricted electives are assembled from courses already regularly offered in Sociology/Psychology, Cybersecurity, and Computer science. It reflects the way DevOps is often deployed as a supplementary improvement to other disciplines.

College of San Mateo has a DevOps Certificate of Specialization that aligns with this proposal. I teach the DevOps course CIS 145 as part of that program and have been in consultation with CSM Dean Francisco Gamez (gamezf@smccd.edu) to support regional competency, alignment of courses, and equivalence of transfer credit.