For DevOps Success, Embrace Culture Change

For success in a DevOps environment, tech companies must provide their employees with a safe environment, easy access to knowledge, and freedom. Discussion and idea sharing should be encouraged. Once these are fulfilled, a company will reap the benefits that DevOps promises. Maybe. Written in a tweet from Ian Head, Research Director at Gartner, he estimates that "by 2018, 90% of I&O organizations attempting to use DevOps without specifically addressing their cultural foundations will fail.". A focus on the technical aspects of the software development methodology rather than the cultural aspects is where the challenge begins.

In order to over come these challenges, author Chris Cancialosi provides some cultural considerations for DevOps. These items include creating a space for employees to meet and discuss freely, providing support to leaders, as they are often the last position that is considered in need of support, actively engaging stakeholders, acknowledging that mistakes will happen, but to use them as a learning exercise, and understanding the difference between skepticism and cynicism. "It takes time and shared experience for a new DevOps culture to embed itself." Once the cynics are gone and the skeptics have started to see that a DevOps environment can yield benefits, that is when the culture begins to embed itself.

DevOps is a fundamentally different way of working that requires careful consideration to cultural and human dynamics. It cannot be solely implemented with tools, it requires attention to cultural aspects along side the infrastructure components. If done properly, however, this form of collaboration among teams will empower members with a sense of purpose and aligned leadership.

As an MIS student searching for job opportunities, it is key to understand what companies are engaged in DevOps, or other software development methodologies. It is important to know if a DevOps environment is the right fit, or if another methodology is better. Of course, no one can fully understand a companies culture until they are immersed but by educating oneself about the different methodologies, an easier more knowledgeable decision can be made.

Citation:
Cancialosi, Chris. "For DevOps Success, Embrace Culture Change." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 25 Jan. 2016. Web. 30 Jan. 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/chriscancialosi/2016/01/25/for-devops-success-embrace-culture-change/#789aeff9382f.