1
Copyright   ©  Serena   Software   2015
Creating  High  Performance  Teams  by  using  a  DevOps  Culture  
2013Mark  Levy,  Product  Marketing  Manager  
Mark  Levy,  Serena  Software
2
What  is  DevOps
It  isn’t:  
• Just  tools
• Just  culture
• Just  dev  and  ops
• A  job  description
• Or  another  silo’d  organization
The  DevOps Principles
Culture
Automation
Measurement
Sharing
3
Why  DevOps
• Empowered,  demanding  customers
• Increasing  digital  competition
• Increased  expectations  of  software
Enables  IT  alignment  by  aligning  development  and  operations  
roles  and  processes  in  the  context  of  shared  business  objectives
CONTROL
Need  to  drive  competitive  
advantage  and  respond  to  market  
needs
Agile  practices  have  increased  the  
speed  of  engineering   delivery
Still  ruled  by  a  SLA’s,  stability  and  
an  inherent  resistance  to  change
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS
AGILITY CONTROL
Broken
4
4
Components  of  DevOps
5
• Deploy  30x  more  frequently  with  200x  shorter  lead  
times
• 60x  fewer  failures  and  recover  168x  faster
• Lean  management  and  continuous  delivery  
practices  
• Greenfield  or  legacy.  
• IT  managers  play  a  critical  role
• Diversity  Matters
• A  better  place  to  work!  
What  is  a  High  Performance  IT
CONTROL
Deployment  pain  can  tell  you  a  lot  about  your  IT  performance
6
What  is  DevOps  Culture
• Shared  values  and  behaviors
• There’s  no  right culture  for  
DevOps,    but  there  are  
characteristics:
– Open  communication
– Alignment
– Flexible
– Collaborative
– Respect  and  Trust
• If  your  organization  isn’t  these  
things,  you  have  to  build  them
7
Organizational  Cultures
How  Organizations  Process  Information
Pathological
Power  oriented
Bureaucratic
Rule  oriented
Generative
Performance  oriented
Low  cooperation Modest  cooperation High  cooperation
Messengers  shot Messengers  neglected Messengers  trained
Responsibilities  shirked Narrow  responsibilities Risks are  shared
Bridging  discouraged Bridging  tolerated Bridging  encouraged
Failure  leads  to  scapegoating Failure  leads  to  justice Failure  leads  to  inquire
Novelty  crushed Novelty  leads  to  problems Novelty  implemented
8
Shared  Risk  and  High  Cooperation
• Self-­service  deployments
• You  built  it,  you  run  it
• You  build  it,  you  deploy  it
• If  I’m  awake  your  awake
• Developers  on  call
• Warranty	
  periods
• Facebook’s  push  karma
9
Bridging  Encouraged
http://www.jedi.be/blog/2012/05/12/codifying-­devops-­area-­practices/
10
• Team  members  are  accountable  but  not  responsible
• Foster  complete  transparency  
• Focus  on  the  situational  aspects  of  the  failure’s  
mechanism  and  decision  making  process
• Capture  a  detailed  account  without  fear  of  punishment  or  
retribution
• What  happened  and  how  to  improve  (Agile  Retrospective)
• Start  doing
• Stop  doing  
• Continue  doing
Messengers  Trained:  Failure  Leads  to  Inquiry  
Blameless  Post  Mortems
11
Transforming	
  Your	
  Organization	
  to	
  DevOps
Setting  Goals
Gaining  Executive  Support
Building  Pilot  Projects
Training  and  Prioritization
Outreach  And  Evangelism  
12
Setting  Goals
Get  agreement  up  front  on  the  metrics  
Give  the  goals  a  timeline
Ensure  goals  are  measureable  and  support  the  business
Understand  the  primary  goal  of  the  business
Go  ask  the  business
13
Goal  Examples
Reduce  time-­to-­
market  for  new  
features  from  
quarterly to  monthly.  
Reduce  the  time  it  
takes  to  deploy  a  
software  release  from  
12  hours  to  90  
minutes.
Increase  the  
percentage  of  defects  
detected  in  testing  
before  production  
release  by  80  percent.
Increase  service  
availability  from  98  to  
99.9  percent
14
Key  2:  Gaining  Executive  Support
15
• The  right  goals  will  get  buy  in
• Your  DevOps  transformation  
will  need  some  people,  some  
budget,  some  time
• You  may  have  to  move  people  
around,  or  change  their  
workloads
Air  Cover
16
• It’s  tempting  to  just  go  for  it  and  
hope  for  the  best
• In  some  organizations  this  
definitely  works!
• In  others,  you’ll  want  someone  to  
help  cut  through  red  tape  and  make  
resources  available
Skunkworks
17
Silos
• Exist  for  reasons
• Based  on  “Silos  of  Excellence”  with  
Management  oversight
• Primary  focuses  on  policies,  
systems  and  structures
• Secondary  focus  on  people,  
principals  and  values
• Batch  and  Queue  model
• Has  to  be  addressed  in  a  
constructive  Manner
18
• Prominent  team  members  that  people  
look  up  to
• Look  for  informal  lines  of  influence
• “Let’s  see  what  Bob  thinks  of  that”  or  “We  
should  ask  Jane”
Non-­Executive  Influencers
Look  for  the  People  Everyone  Wants  on  Their  Team
19
19
The  Role  of  Management  in  a  DevOps Transition
• Workload  prioritization
• Influence  on  external  teams
– “Who  do  I  have  to  talk  to  to  make  this  
happen?”
• Managing  personnel  issues
– Orgs  in  transition  may  end  up  moving  
people  to  new  teams,  changing  
someone’s  role  drastically,  letting  people  
go,  or  other  scary  things
• You  want  someone  respected  in  your  
organization  to  back  your  project
• Getting  top  down  alignment
20
Key  3:  Building  Pilot  Projects
21
• CAMS
• Creating  a  Culture
• Building  Automation
• Measuring  all  the  Things
• Sharing  What  Happens
If  these  aren’t  natural  to  your  team,  
you  need  a  place  to  practice
Why  a  Pilot?
22
• Management  support
• Start  small,  but  deep
• Flush  out  all  the  gnarly  bumps  in  the  road
• Starting  small  is:
• less  expensive
• Is  not  a  threat
• Can  be  called  an  experiment  
• Representative  of  real  work
Picking  A  Pilot
23
• Teams  that  are  open  to  experimentation  
• Working  with  modern  platforms
– Programming  language,  OS  version
– Also  interfaces  – loosely  coupled  
upstream  and  downstream
• Brand  new,  greenfield  is  good  but  legacy  
will  work  also
• Established  projects  with  a  new  release  
are  too!
•
What  Makes  a  Good  Pilot
24
Key  4:  Training  and  Prioritization
25
• Train  everyone
• On  new  tools,  on  new  workflows,  new  patterns  
and  best  practices
• Training  is  part  of  sharing
• Internal  DevOpsDays
• Host  a  DevOps  Safari  
• Team  members  joins  the  DevOps  team  for  a  
couple  of  weeks
“People  do  not  truly  believe  in  new  things  unless  
they  have  actually  experienced  it”…Machiavelli
Training
26
Moving  Workloads
• The  folks  who  have  to  learn  new  
things  have  to  have  time  to  do  it
• Some  of  their  current  work  will  
have  to  be  deprioritized  or  moved
• Everyone  on  the  team  should  get  
a  chance  to  do  new  stuff  – don’t  
leave  someone  behind  to  maintain  
the  old  stuff  alone
27
• Don’t  kill  anyone  for  DevOps
• It  takes  time  to  learn  new  
processes  and  tools,  no  matter  
how  excited  the  team  is  about  it
• Your  entire  project  will  take  time  
as  well
Setting  Expectations
28
• Any  change  has  effects  on  the  
organizations  involved
• It’s  likely  that  adoption  and  
enthusiasm  will  not  be  universal
• Up  to  management  to  incentivize,  
reward
• Make  the  hard  decisions  about  an  
individual’s  future  with  the  group
Helping  the  Lost  or  Disgruntled
29
• No
• Expecting  brand-­new  individual  
contributors  to  change  your  culture  
is  a  losing  proposition
• Organizational  change  can  be  
created  with  new  leadership
– Still  requires  influence,  
credibility,  the  right  person
Hiring  for  DevOps?
30
• Split  and  Seed
• Add  more  teams  quickly
• Each  team  has  someone  with  DevOps Experience
• Grow  and  Split
• You  don’t  have  to  destroy  an  existing  team
• Team  members  feel  more  continuity
• Internal  Coaching
• Well  running  teams  do  not  need  to  be  split
• Coaching  can  be  hand  selected  for  new  teams  
• Coaches  can  be  moved  from  team  to  team
Patterns  for  Spreading  DevOps
31
Key  5:  Outreach  and  Evangelism
32
• Talk  about  the  New  Awesome!
• Internally
• Externally
• All  the  time
• Show  KPIs  that  support  the  change
• Tell  your  story  with  data
• Use  different  venues
• Brown  bags  sessions,  formal  workshops,  larger  talks,  All-­Hands
• Documents,  video,  graphs!  
Showing  Off
33
If  you  feel  like  you’re  talking  about  it  
too  much,  you’re  probably  just  
about  right
Over  Communicate
34
• It  will  take  time
• Some  will  be  experimental
• You  won’t  do  it  perfectly  the  first  time
Having  Patience
35
• Aspire  to  create  a  generative  
culture  
• Align  with  the  business  and  set  
measurable  goals
• Get  an  executive  sponsor  on  board
• Pick  the  right  pilot
• Train  and  prioritize  the  teams
• Communicate  and  share
In  Summary
36
References
37
37
Thank	
  You

Creating High Performance teams by using a DevOps culture (FUG presentation)

  • 1.
    1 Copyright   © Serena   Software   2015 Creating  High  Performance  Teams  by  using  a  DevOps  Culture   2013Mark  Levy,  Product  Marketing  Manager   Mark  Levy,  Serena  Software
  • 2.
    2 What  is  DevOps It isn’t:   • Just  tools • Just  culture • Just  dev  and  ops • A  job  description • Or  another  silo’d  organization The  DevOps Principles Culture Automation Measurement Sharing
  • 3.
    3 Why  DevOps • Empowered, demanding  customers • Increasing  digital  competition • Increased  expectations  of  software Enables  IT  alignment  by  aligning  development  and  operations   roles  and  processes  in  the  context  of  shared  business  objectives CONTROL Need  to  drive  competitive   advantage  and  respond  to  market   needs Agile  practices  have  increased  the   speed  of  engineering   delivery Still  ruled  by  a  SLA’s,  stability  and   an  inherent  resistance  to  change BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS AGILITY CONTROL Broken
  • 4.
  • 5.
    5 • Deploy  30x more  frequently  with  200x  shorter  lead   times • 60x  fewer  failures  and  recover  168x  faster • Lean  management  and  continuous  delivery   practices   • Greenfield  or  legacy.   • IT  managers  play  a  critical  role • Diversity  Matters • A  better  place  to  work!   What  is  a  High  Performance  IT CONTROL Deployment  pain  can  tell  you  a  lot  about  your  IT  performance
  • 6.
    6 What  is  DevOps Culture • Shared  values  and  behaviors • There’s  no  right culture  for   DevOps,    but  there  are   characteristics: – Open  communication – Alignment – Flexible – Collaborative – Respect  and  Trust • If  your  organization  isn’t  these   things,  you  have  to  build  them
  • 7.
    7 Organizational  Cultures How  Organizations Process  Information Pathological Power  oriented Bureaucratic Rule  oriented Generative Performance  oriented Low  cooperation Modest  cooperation High  cooperation Messengers  shot Messengers  neglected Messengers  trained Responsibilities  shirked Narrow  responsibilities Risks are  shared Bridging  discouraged Bridging  tolerated Bridging  encouraged Failure  leads  to  scapegoating Failure  leads  to  justice Failure  leads  to  inquire Novelty  crushed Novelty  leads  to  problems Novelty  implemented
  • 8.
    8 Shared  Risk  and High  Cooperation • Self-­service  deployments • You  built  it,  you  run  it • You  build  it,  you  deploy  it • If  I’m  awake  your  awake • Developers  on  call • Warranty  periods • Facebook’s  push  karma
  • 9.
  • 10.
    10 • Team  members are  accountable  but  not  responsible • Foster  complete  transparency   • Focus  on  the  situational  aspects  of  the  failure’s   mechanism  and  decision  making  process • Capture  a  detailed  account  without  fear  of  punishment  or   retribution • What  happened  and  how  to  improve  (Agile  Retrospective) • Start  doing • Stop  doing   • Continue  doing Messengers  Trained:  Failure  Leads  to  Inquiry   Blameless  Post  Mortems
  • 11.
    11 Transforming  Your  Organization  to  DevOps Setting  Goals Gaining  Executive  Support Building  Pilot  Projects Training  and  Prioritization Outreach  And  Evangelism  
  • 12.
    12 Setting  Goals Get  agreement up  front  on  the  metrics   Give  the  goals  a  timeline Ensure  goals  are  measureable  and  support  the  business Understand  the  primary  goal  of  the  business Go  ask  the  business
  • 13.
    13 Goal  Examples Reduce  time-­to-­ market for  new   features  from   quarterly to  monthly.   Reduce  the  time  it   takes  to  deploy  a   software  release  from   12  hours  to  90   minutes. Increase  the   percentage  of  defects   detected  in  testing   before  production   release  by  80  percent. Increase  service   availability  from  98  to   99.9  percent
  • 14.
    14 Key  2:  Gaining Executive  Support
  • 15.
    15 • The  right goals  will  get  buy  in • Your  DevOps  transformation   will  need  some  people,  some   budget,  some  time • You  may  have  to  move  people   around,  or  change  their   workloads Air  Cover
  • 16.
    16 • It’s  tempting to  just  go  for  it  and   hope  for  the  best • In  some  organizations  this   definitely  works! • In  others,  you’ll  want  someone  to   help  cut  through  red  tape  and  make   resources  available Skunkworks
  • 17.
    17 Silos • Exist  for reasons • Based  on  “Silos  of  Excellence”  with   Management  oversight • Primary  focuses  on  policies,   systems  and  structures • Secondary  focus  on  people,   principals  and  values • Batch  and  Queue  model • Has  to  be  addressed  in  a   constructive  Manner
  • 18.
    18 • Prominent  team members  that  people   look  up  to • Look  for  informal  lines  of  influence • “Let’s  see  what  Bob  thinks  of  that”  or  “We   should  ask  Jane” Non-­Executive  Influencers Look  for  the  People  Everyone  Wants  on  Their  Team
  • 19.
    19 19 The  Role  of Management  in  a  DevOps Transition • Workload  prioritization • Influence  on  external  teams – “Who  do  I  have  to  talk  to  to  make  this   happen?” • Managing  personnel  issues – Orgs  in  transition  may  end  up  moving   people  to  new  teams,  changing   someone’s  role  drastically,  letting  people   go,  or  other  scary  things • You  want  someone  respected  in  your   organization  to  back  your  project • Getting  top  down  alignment
  • 20.
    20 Key  3:  Building Pilot  Projects
  • 21.
    21 • CAMS • Creating a  Culture • Building  Automation • Measuring  all  the  Things • Sharing  What  Happens If  these  aren’t  natural  to  your  team,   you  need  a  place  to  practice Why  a  Pilot?
  • 22.
    22 • Management  support •Start  small,  but  deep • Flush  out  all  the  gnarly  bumps  in  the  road • Starting  small  is: • less  expensive • Is  not  a  threat • Can  be  called  an  experiment   • Representative  of  real  work Picking  A  Pilot
  • 23.
    23 • Teams  that are  open  to  experimentation   • Working  with  modern  platforms – Programming  language,  OS  version – Also  interfaces  – loosely  coupled   upstream  and  downstream • Brand  new,  greenfield  is  good  but  legacy   will  work  also • Established  projects  with  a  new  release   are  too! • What  Makes  a  Good  Pilot
  • 24.
    24 Key  4:  Training and  Prioritization
  • 25.
    25 • Train  everyone •On  new  tools,  on  new  workflows,  new  patterns   and  best  practices • Training  is  part  of  sharing • Internal  DevOpsDays • Host  a  DevOps  Safari   • Team  members  joins  the  DevOps  team  for  a   couple  of  weeks “People  do  not  truly  believe  in  new  things  unless   they  have  actually  experienced  it”…Machiavelli Training
  • 26.
    26 Moving  Workloads • The folks  who  have  to  learn  new   things  have  to  have  time  to  do  it • Some  of  their  current  work  will   have  to  be  deprioritized  or  moved • Everyone  on  the  team  should  get   a  chance  to  do  new  stuff  – don’t   leave  someone  behind  to  maintain   the  old  stuff  alone
  • 27.
    27 • Don’t  kill anyone  for  DevOps • It  takes  time  to  learn  new   processes  and  tools,  no  matter   how  excited  the  team  is  about  it • Your  entire  project  will  take  time   as  well Setting  Expectations
  • 28.
    28 • Any  change has  effects  on  the   organizations  involved • It’s  likely  that  adoption  and   enthusiasm  will  not  be  universal • Up  to  management  to  incentivize,   reward • Make  the  hard  decisions  about  an   individual’s  future  with  the  group Helping  the  Lost  or  Disgruntled
  • 29.
    29 • No • Expecting brand-­new  individual   contributors  to  change  your  culture   is  a  losing  proposition • Organizational  change  can  be   created  with  new  leadership – Still  requires  influence,   credibility,  the  right  person Hiring  for  DevOps?
  • 30.
    30 • Split  and Seed • Add  more  teams  quickly • Each  team  has  someone  with  DevOps Experience • Grow  and  Split • You  don’t  have  to  destroy  an  existing  team • Team  members  feel  more  continuity • Internal  Coaching • Well  running  teams  do  not  need  to  be  split • Coaching  can  be  hand  selected  for  new  teams   • Coaches  can  be  moved  from  team  to  team Patterns  for  Spreading  DevOps
  • 31.
    31 Key  5:  Outreach and  Evangelism
  • 32.
    32 • Talk  about the  New  Awesome! • Internally • Externally • All  the  time • Show  KPIs  that  support  the  change • Tell  your  story  with  data • Use  different  venues • Brown  bags  sessions,  formal  workshops,  larger  talks,  All-­Hands • Documents,  video,  graphs!   Showing  Off
  • 33.
    33 If  you  feel like  you’re  talking  about  it   too  much,  you’re  probably  just   about  right Over  Communicate
  • 34.
    34 • It  will take  time • Some  will  be  experimental • You  won’t  do  it  perfectly  the  first  time Having  Patience
  • 35.
    35 • Aspire  to create  a  generative   culture   • Align  with  the  business  and  set   measurable  goals • Get  an  executive  sponsor  on  board • Pick  the  right  pilot • Train  and  prioritize  the  teams • Communicate  and  share In  Summary
  • 36.
  • 37.