DevOps Culture Transformation

When we first came across DevOps, we were mesmerised by the many possible ways in which it can transform the Software Industry. The cultural impact of DevOps particularly caught our attention. Generally, the approach is to ensure system integration or invest in integrated tools that support DevOps, however, no approach can be successful unless the requisite process changes are implemented that support the system change. Having said that, both System Integration and Process Changes, can be automated. A critical to success factor is the culture of collaboration, seamless communication and trust between people working in separate teams and disparate geographies. As these are all part of the socioemotional factors, they cannot be automated.

We  designed the DevOps Culture Transformation program in order to answer a pertinent question,

Which type of behaviour will bring out the best in DevOps?

We identified multiple emotional and psychological factors that need to be considered before DevOps can be implemented successfully. To name a few,

• Loss of control/power over teams
• Focusing on the overall goal instead of the functional goals
• Prioritising project delivery over task delivery
• Communication based on domain expertise instead of hierarchy

In order to look at the bigger picture, we listed out the specific impact areas of DevOps at the socioemotional level, the process level and the organisation level.

All of these observations boiled down to a culture that hinges on seamless leadership, communication and collaboration between functions, processes and systems.

How we go about it

The Be-Do-Have model aided us to design a program that brings about the best culture transformation for DevOps. It works in the following manner,

The ‘Have’- The key outcome of the cultural transformation for individuals and teams is experiencing the creative satisfaction of having achieved their full potential.

The ‘Do’- Creating an environment that supports collaboration, seamless communication and trust. For the individuals this involves,

• Moving out of the the comfort zone of how they have been working so far
• Loss of power, control, designation etc that they have painstakingly achieved
• Recognition for the display of right behaviours

The ‘Be’- The belief system of an employee makes a huge impact on their behaviour. So, the DevOps Culture Transformation program establishes the fact that success will be achieved by displaying the values of collaboration and trust at all levels.

The activities in our program are designed to ensure a positive emotional state because having fun while learning makes perplexing material engaging and easier to comprehend. These facts have been established by the study of the ‘Neuroscience of Play’.

In Conclusion

The DevOps Culture Transform journey has been an amazing experience for us. If DevOps is the way forward for your organisation then we’d be happy to support you through every stage of the culture transformation journey. Curious about the details? Contact us here.