> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://ms-teams.gitbook.io/ms-teams-devops-user-document/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://ms-teams.gitbook.io/ms-teams-devops-user-document/introduction/background.md).

# Background

DevOps program is a tool that can help break a software programming project down into smaller achievable subtasks and visualize the workflow \[1]. In a college-level group project environment, students often experience difficulty working in a team because they aren’t guided clearly or because they get pushed aside due to other members over-contributing.  Pfaff and Huddleston’s research shows that absence of a “free-rider” problem was one of the significant predictors of attitudes toward teamwork \[2]. A free-rider in the context of a group project is someone who does not contribute to the project but reaps the benefit of submitting one. The group work process can be streamlined through the use of a clear DevOps process. Other times, project specifications within a CS class are very open-ended and make it difficult for a team to figure out how to go about tackling the problem at hand. Learning how to break down a larger project into smaller parts via a tool such as DevOps can optimize the in-class group project experience by making the software development process faster and more effective \[3].<br>