If you’re already an Agile org following DevOps best practices, what do you believe is the most impactful step you can take toward improving the software delivery process? Is it a matter of using specific tools, offering different training for staff, or something else?

A few thoughts...

Simplify the tooling landscape (reduce tool sprawl)

Acquire and use modern tools (integrated developer platform) to reduce context switching

Incorporate security into your toolchain early to shift left

Create the right culture - developers are their to solve business problems and challenges, not to "just" cut code

You build/you run it approach

Agile practices and work transparency

Deliver incrementally and ship often

Build skills, understanding, engagement, and can-do supportive culture within teams - lead and develop them well

I think software delivery robustness is a mix of efficient Sprint Planning for features implementation, reviews, their functional and integration QA, Automated Regression and gatekeeper tools to ensure software development metrics are defined and followed properly.

Strong emphasis on culture. You build it, you run it. Given teams ownership of their product/outcome. Put the right guardrails and controls in place, but empower teams to deliver in a way that best works for them. Also a strong emphasis on delivering value, often and early. How can they deliver thin slices of value. Start shifting the dial on the culture then approach to software delivery, tools and training can come soon after. Easier if right leadership is in place.

A platform approach to the CI/CD pipeline and also to IaC for provisioning reasources.

I take the view that the software is built by the team, and everyone is responsible for the quality or the work that they do and that others on the team do also. No excuses, no finger pointing, build as a team, deliver as a team, help each other out, as a team. If somebody is late, or the quality of their code is not good enough, don't complain about it, ask yourself what you are doing to improve that situation.