Overview

Context

Development teams were struggling with disconnected deployment workflows between GitHub and Azure. Engineers needed to constantly switch platforms to manage their cloud resources, leading to inefficient processes and potential errors. Our goal was to create a native GitHub integration within Azure.

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User Personas

We identified four key roles the integration needed to serve:

• Software Engineers: Writing code and managing deployments
• Release Managers: Coordinating feature releases and maintaining stability
• DevSecOps: Implementing security practices and compliance
• Infrastructure Owners: Managing cloud resources and automation

Research

Survey Insights

We gathered comprehensive data to understand deployment patterns:

• Collected responses from 330 customers
• Asked 13 questions about deployment workflows
• Focused on understanding GitHub and Azure DevOps usage

Direct Customer Input

Conducted detailed interviews to understand needs:

• Met with 6 engineering teams of varying sizes
• Included managers, leads, and developers
• Discussed deployment processes and pain points

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Key Problems

1. Deployment Setup Barriers

Teams faced several challenges:

• No way to configure GitHub workflows within Azure
• Manual setup required for each repository
• Limited guidance for GitHub-Azure integration

2. Resource Visibility Gaps

Critical tracking issues included:

• Inability to view GitHub repositories from Azure resources
• No way to track which workflows deploy to specific resources
• Missing connection between commits and deployments

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Solution

1. DevOps Project Integration

Created a seamless connection between platforms:

• Built native GitHub provider within Azure
• Simplified repository setup process
• Streamlined workflow configuration

2. Git Traceability in Azure Kubernetes

Implemented comprehensive tracking features:

• Direct linking between commits and deployments
• Detailed history of namespace changes
• Analytics for pipeline performance
• Clear attribution for all deployments
• Quick access to GitHub repositories

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Design Decisions

We made strategic choices to ensure adoption:

1. Prioritized GitHub-first experience while supporting existing Azure DevOps users
2. Created unified dashboard for managing both platforms
3. Aligned terminology across services for consistency

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Impact

The integration delivered significant improvements:

• Substantial increase in GitHub-based deployments to Azure
• Higher success rates for first-time deployments
• Reduced time spent switching between platforms

Documentation

Note: The implementation has evolved since 2021. Current documentation reflects the latest changes.
Integration Documentation