Operations: the last Mile for DevOps | Damon Edwards

Unlocking efficient operations through self-service empowerment, reduced toil, and trust.

Key takeaways
  • Context switching is a major problem in operations: Meetings, interruptions, and escalations lead to disconnection from the problem.
  • Silos and queues create barriers: Checks, approvals, and handoffs lead to wasted time and reduced productivity.
  • The four horsemen of operations apocalypses: Low trust, excessive toil, silos, and queues cause problems and hinder progress.
  • Self-service operations can help: Empowering teams to take action and rely on each other can reduce toil and improve outcomes.
  • Operations needs to shift left: Moving decision-making and execution closer to the problem can improve responsiveness and reduce queues.
  • Reducing toil is key: Toil is time spent on non-value-added work, and reducing it can free up resources for engineering work.
  • Operations teams need autonomy and trust: Giving teams the ability to make decisions and take action can improve performance and reduce toil.
  • Ticket-driven processes can be limiting: Encouraging self-service and rethinking ticket-driven processes can help reduce toil and improve outcomes.