We often hear that DevOps starts with Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment (CD). Everyone talks about pipelines, Docker builds, and automated tests.

But pause for a second — 👉 If I don’t even have a room, where do I develop?

That simple question changed how I understood DevOps forever.

🏠 The Home Analogy

Think of your DevOps system like building a home for your software.

Provisioning is building the house — setting up walls, doors, and electricity.

Configuration Management is furnishing the house — arranging furniture, lights, and Wi-Fi.

CI/CD is the people working and moving inside the house — building, testing, and deploying software.

Now imagine trying to work before your house exists — no power, no furniture, no desk. That’s exactly what happens when someone tries to start CI/CD without provisioning and configuration.

⚙️ What Really Comes First

Many tutorials make it look like CI/CD is the starting point. But in the real world, it’s not.

Here’s the true DevOps flow 👇

1️⃣ Provisioning

Create infrastructure (VMs, EC2, containers, networks, storage).

Use tools like Terraform, CloudFormation, or Pulumi.

This gives your pipeline a “room to live in.”

2️⃣ Configuration Management

Install required software, dependencies, and security rules.

Tools like Ansible, Chef, or Puppet ensure every environment is consistent.

This is like setting up your workspace before starting your job.

3️⃣ Continuous Integration (CI)

Now that your environment is ready, build and test your code automatically.

Tools: Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, CircleCI, etc.

4️⃣ Continuous Delivery / Deployment (CD)

Deliver or deploy builds to staging or production automatically.

Tools: ArgoCD, Spinnaker, FluxCD, etc.

5️⃣ Monitoring & Feedback

Use Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, etc., to keep everything healthy.

🤔 Why People Get Confused

In training or online courses, the sequence is often reversed. They show CI/CD first because cloud services (like GitHub Actions or Jenkins Cloud) already provide ready-made environments. Behind the scenes, someone else already provisioned and configured those machines.

That’s why learners think DevOps starts with pipelines — but in real enterprise environments, you must create and manage that base.

💡 My Realization

When I started connecting the dots, it became clear:

Provisioning is not optional — it’s the foundation. Configuration is not afterthought — it’s stability. CI/CD is not the start — it’s the action that happens after the stage is built.

Without provisioning, CI/CD is like running a marathon with no ground beneath your feet.

🔍 The DevOps Mindset Shift

Most engineers focus on what happens inside CI/CD pipelines. But the real architect thinks about where it all happens.

Asking “Where will Jenkins run?” or “How is the agent provisioned?” is the mark of a DevOps Engineer who thinks in systems, not just scripts.

That’s the mindset that separates a pipeline builder from a DevOps architect.

🏁 Final Thoughts

DevOps isn’t just about automating code delivery — it’s about automating the entire ecosystem that supports it.

So next time you think about CI/CD, ask yourself:

“Do I have a room to build in?”

Because without infrastructure and configuration, automation has nowhere to live