Guess what it is not just being good at implementing technical processes, championing cultural shifts is just as important. So what are the key traits of successful DevOps teams?
One of the most vital traits for a good DevOps team is their attitude. After all they represent what is a relatively new area of IT and fortunately they carry that metaphor along with a newer and more fluid way of thinking. Much as agile arose to address waterfall, DevOps bridges the gap between dev and operations to provide a better more efficient way of working together. This means the team must know they are the conduit between IT and the business leadership and as such be able to speak the language of both.
Communication is obviously very important in DevOps as it requires an ability to traverse multiple departments spreading the word of DevOps, this takes a specific type of personality. One that does not apportion blame but understands that cohesive thinking gets the results for everyone concerned, solving the problem is the prime motivator for the DevOps team after all the second most vital trait is the desire and ability to collaborate – the true essence of DevOps.
Since this team does not do well within a blame culture which is deemed far too emotionally incompatible, they derive great satisfaction from facts. Data driven decisions are what they use to win an argument. Performance metrics provide the tools to influence and drive which projects to scale or focus on next so being able to stand with firm resolve is another facet of the DevOps individual. At this juncture the speed for which DevOps teams are known starts to rears its head, they do not work in haste which squanders quality but with a firm view on delivering value quicker. One way to achieve this is through automation which enables the mundane tasks to be carried out so the more crucial pieces can be emphasized without compromising on time.
At all times the DevOps team will place great value on accountability which is essential since collaboration between departments can throw up unknown results that do not always work out well. They prefer to treat these incidents which are deemed as failures as self improvement and key learning about themselves and others. This brings me back full circle to the culture and attitude of DevOps where the fear of trying and failing is less important than trying in the first place.