A Short History of DevOps explained how DevOps got started and how it acquired its name.
The origins of the DevOps movement are commonly placed around 2009, as the convergence of numerous adjacent and mutually reinforcing movements:
- The Velocity Conference movement, especially the seminal “10 Deploys A Day” presentation given by John Allspaw and Paul Hammond
- The “infrastructure as code” movement (Mark Burgess and Luke Kanies), the “Agile infrastructure” movement (Andrew Shafer) and the Agile system administration movement (Patrick DeBois)
- DevOps became an IT grassroots movement [over Twitter]. The movement folks created all new software which had the possibility of helping a lot of people. They were able to get it into big firms and different parts of the firms to create what DevOps is today.
What is DevOps?
Just trying to help you to comment. Feel free to comment on this or other articles you read, if you don't like my questions. See Assignments on D2L for more about this post.
Here is a powerpoint slide deck about DevOps that I created, with the help of Nicole Forsgren, a DevOps expert and also a previous Ph.D. student from our MIS dept, and Gene Kim's article on "The Top 11 Things You Need to Know About DevOps" D2L, Week 11.
ReplyDeleteImagine a world where product owners, Development, QA, IT Operations, and Infosec work together, not only to help each other, but to ensure that the overall organization succeeds. By working toward a common goal, they enable the fast flow of planned work into production (e.g., performing tens, hundreds, or even thousands of code deploys per day), while achieving world-class stability, reliability, availability, and security.
ReplyDeleteIn this world, cross-functional teams rigorously test their hypotheses of which features will most delight users and advance organizational goals. This enables organizations to create a safe system of work, where small teams are able to quickly and independently develop, test, and deploy code and value quickly, safely, securely, and reliably to customers. Simultaneously, QA, IT Operations and Infosec are always working on ways to reduce friction for the team, creating the work systems that enable developers to be more productive and get better outcomes. These are the outcomes that result from DevOps.
But for most of us in IT, this is not the world we live in. More often than not, the system we work in falls short of our true potential. In this world, Development and IT Operations are adversaries; testing and Infosec activities happen only at the end of a project, too late to correct any problems found; and almost any critical activity requires too much manual effort and too many handoffs, leaving us to always be waiting. As a result, we fall short of our goals, and the whole organization is dissatisfied with the performance of IT, resulting in budget reductions and frustrating employees who feel powerless to change the process and its outcomes. DevOps is a best way forward, but it is not an easy process.
Questions: From what you read, and your own experiences working in cross-functional project teams (at school or work), as well as your IT experiences, respond to these questions or consider others.
Q.1 Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be both your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team (e.g., clients).
Q.2 What are some of the factors that would create successful cross-functional teams, i.e., what work processes reduce friction for the team, creating work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
From the slides and talks, we learn that DevOps is (1) tooling and automation implemented as Continuous Delivery, (2) practices and processes seen in Lean Management principles, and organizational culture.
Q.3 - Consider these aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
While I agree that "for most of us in IT, this is not the world we live in", there is still much work to be done to reach that goal with DevOps, but I think that we're on a good path to that goal. While I have worked in an organization where goals have fallen short, and there have been a handful of hiccups, especially with budgeting issues, we've implemented DevOps and it is helping. I do think that the most difficult part of it is adjusting to the process and to the organizational change. In my experience, this has been mainly true for the staff members who have been with the organization for so many years and are set in doing things the "right way", whereas the newer staff are open and willing to try something new that could make things easier.
DeleteQ.1 It is most difficult when people have different backgrounds but at the same time this can lead to better solutions. People that are more technically minded may have a different understanding of what solutions they want to use then those that are more business minded. However, these different ways of thinking could lead to solutions that just one set of people alone may not have been able to come up with. It is also difficult when those different background lead to extra constraints on a project. For example, if your client is a financial company there may be certain solutions you can't use because certain regulations or laws.
DeleteQ.2 A smaller team has proven to be better as it is easier to stay on track and communicate. It is also important to have clear goals of the team so everyone knows what needs to be accomplished and when. A decentralized decision process and less of a hierarchical structure could also help to create a better work system and be more productive.
Q.3 Organizational culture would be one of the hardest to change to implement DevOps. People can become very set in their ways and it could be hard for people who have been with the company for a while to change how they have been working and running their departments. DevOps will only be successful if everyone is on board with it so all employees in the company must make changes to how they operate, no matter what level they are at.
Q.3, #2 follow-up. Recall that lean software principles came out of lean manufacturing. Maybe you read about Toyota's Total Production System (TPD). By adopting Lean principles and practices, manufacturing organizations dramatically improved plant productivity, customer lead times, product quality, and customer satisfaction, enabling them to win in the marketplace.
ReplyDeleteBy 2005, with the widespread implementation of Lean practices, average product lead times had dropped, and more than 95% of orders were being shipped on time. Organizations that did not implement these lean practices lost market share, and many went out of business entirely. You can Listen to This American Life for insight into why GM could not adopt Toyota's lean principles.
Given the success of Toyota's TPD systems and its success in U.S. markets (over American cars), why do you think lean management practices and processes are followed by high performing companies in DevOps? (Consider the HBR article we read earlier.)
Taking a look at the HBR article, it shows us that Lean Startups use quick, responsive development. They are looking for a business model instead of starting out with a business plan. Lean Management practices implement learning cycles and are very hypothesis based. So, they are about learning for their success. Because of this, it makes sense that they are followed by DevOps. DevOps needs cross-cultural organization to work, and this can only come about from a process of learning by those involved.
Delete1. Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be both your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team
ReplyDeletea. If they have different backgrounds might be difficult when we are all trying to solve one problem, but have different approaches. Or, if they have different ways of accomplishing their goal. There could be some discrepancies when deciding what tactic to choose or one process to take in order to both accomplish the same goal.
2. What are some factors that would create successful cross-functional teams? What work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
a. For many cross functional teams, it has been proven often times that the smaller the team, the better. A team of about four to six people in order to increase team membership and using a core team to make key decisions. Clear goals will be necessary, for example creating action items and due dates so that the team can be clear about what pieces each of them needs to deliver. Since a cross-functional team is very diverse, their manager must be diverse as well, possibly with a technical background to understand the contributions made by a variety of people, as well as great people management skills. Some work systems that could enable more productivity could be reduced hierarchical structure for a more decentralized decision making process and for organizations to continue constant reorganization.
3. Consider the aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
a. I think the change of organizational culture might be one of the hardest things to implement because people are very hesitant to change, especially when it comes to changing their current ways of doing things.
Given the success of Toyota’s TPD systems and its success in U.S. markets, why do you think lean management practices and processes are followed by high performing companies in DevOps?
Lean approaches emphasize testing the product’s design and business model by performing user research frequently, from the very beginning of the product life cycle. Therefore, Toyota’s TPD systems have a better idea of what the user desires from the beginning rather than later down the road.
Q.1 Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be both your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team (e.g., clients)?
ReplyDelete-- I think one of the biggest things to consider when dealing with different backgrounds is expectation/perception. The developers see the code & features as the most important piece and think spending 90% of project time on coding. Operations could see the implementation, testing, and configuration equally important and want to spend 50%+ of the time on that. 50+90 does not equal 100, and here lies the problem. Manage timeline and expectations and create a cross-functional team to mediate the sides.
Q.2 What are some of the factors that would create successful cross-functional teams, i.e., what work processes reduce friction for the team, creating work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
--Going off of number one, background and expectation can be some of the most important factors. The team has to gel relatively well and defining roles and expectations is important.
Q.3 - Consider these aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
-- I think the hardest thing would be to create employee and management buy in. Changing day-to-day operation is always a challenge, let alone a change of such significance and size. First you need to convince middle level managers and team supervisors and without them the executives cannot switch to a true DevOps environment smoothly.
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ReplyDeleteQ.1- The most difficult circumstance in dealing with people who have different backgrounds is that everyone is settled in their approach and how they can solve problems. However, I think that while it can be difficult, it also presents new ways to think of things, and consider things in a way we might not have done so before.
ReplyDeleteQ.2 - Some factors that would create successful cross-functional teams would be the organization of and the tools used by the teams. At UITs, we use Kanban boards and do weekly stand ups to ensure that everyone is doing what they're supposed to be doing, and doing it well. The stand ups are extremely helpful in finding out my coworkers' progress on a project, or how much communication they've had with a client. The Kanban and JIRA boards lead to a much more organized, and easy to read format of all of the tickets and tasks we are dealing with. While the team is relatively small (about 10 people), we focus a lot on communicating with each other which definitely improves the outcomes of our projects.
Q.3 - While any of the three aspects of DevOps can be difficult to implement, based on the group, I think that the organizational culture would be difficult to change. This isn't something that can change quickly or overnight, it takes time. It also takes even more time for its participants to become accustomed to it and adopt it.
Q.1 Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be both your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team (e.g., clients).
ReplyDeleteThe challenging aspects of dealing with people having different backgrounds are the cultural and communication barriers. Miscommunication due to language can bring conflicts which affect productivity and performance in the workplace. People with different culture behave and think differently. The dynamic of daily interactions can be difficult at times. Close minded individual with limited perspective can be detrimental to the coherent of the team. However, diversity of backgrounds can bring value to the organization and enhances creativity. Different cultures can bring different perspectives, opinions and approaches to team work.
Q.2 What are some of the factors that would create successful cross-functional teams, i.e., what work processes reduce friction for the team, creating work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
Cross-functional teams (CFT) is a temporary group that has different functional area within an organization. This group gathers to support or design new project or services. CFT helps organizations to improve problem solving, creating diversity and coordinating decision making. CFT usually works under pressure because the organization expects CFT to create new products or services in a timely manner, within budget and impeccable product/service performance as well. For CFT team to succeed, several workflows may be required
• Good project management with excellent communication and decision making skills
• Team members must be creative, and open minded
• Team member must understand their goals and objective
• Team oriented to working together to be successful
From the slides and talks, we learn that DevOps is (1) tooling and automation implemented as Continuous Delivery, (2) practices and processes seen in Lean Management principles, and organizational culture.
Q.3 - Consider these aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
Implementing DevOps is not easy even for a well thought out project. The hardest thing to implement DevOps is how people within an organization interact with themselves and their team. DevOps will impacts every employee in the organization. Many of the functional area must change in order to make DevOps work. The employees have to willingly embrace and to learn the new system. Not only that, the required training for new knowledge of operation and new methodology of daily activities must be considered. Otherwise, if everyone is not on the same page it will disrupt production, delay shipping and cost the organization their profits. However, there are steps that can reduce the fear of implementation:
• Do not change everything all at once. Breakdown the step or process to help align the team
• Manager need to support employees overcome the change to the new system
• Providing training for employees to help them succeed.
Given the success of Toyota's TPD systems and its success in the U.S. markets (over American cars), why do you think lean management practices and processes are followed by high performing companies in DevOps? (Consider the HBR article we read earlier.)
The organization needs more cooperation and working together to be successful in DevOps implementation. Lean management is one of the baselines of contribution to the process. Lean management provide the framework to start measuring, planning and eliminate bottleneck in the DevOps delivery process. If applying Lean management in DevOps will help the organization more efficiency, supporting progress toward company goal in a timely manner would overall improve the company’s margin.
Q.1 Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be both your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team (e.g., clients)?
ReplyDelete-- I think the biggest challenge in dealing with people with different backgrounds is that every person has things they value more. People who have skills in different areas are going to value certain things more than others. It is important that all members of the team hold a common vision for the product to work better together and see each other’s points of view.
Q.2 What are some of the factors that would create successful cross-functional teams, i.e., what work processes reduce friction for the team, creating work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
Having a good open flow of communication within the team regarding where you are currently at in the development of a product is crucial. It is good for the team to have a singular vision of the future of the product. Cross-functional teams should consist of people different sets of skills. It also important that everyone can rely on each other. This will help the development of the product move along quicker and more efficiently.
Q.3 - Consider these aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
I think the hardest aspect will be to implement an environment where everyone is knowledgeable about all the aspects of the project. This will be difficult because a company’s environment takes time to develop. But once everyone is on the same page, it will help the process run much smoother.
Q.1 Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be with your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team (e.g., clients).
ReplyDeleteFor many instances working with individuals from various backgrounds can be very beneficial. But many times with these enhanced benefits that you receive, come many difficulties. Many of these situations especially circulate around when there needs to be one specific goal or accomplishment that needs to be made in a certain time period. The reason for this is because of individual ideas about how to approach the situation, the steps to take in order to accomplish it, and the finalized solution to be presented in the end. Finding one solution can be difficult due to the various types of experience and knowledge that one may know that others may not. Or the feeling that one’s idea is better than the others, when realistically they may not know any other way to accomplish it so they are not familiar with any other way. It may be difficult to do so with a boss due to not wanting to offend them, or it may be difficult to do so with teammates because of not wanting to step on one’s toes unintentionally.
Q.2 What are some of the factors that would create successful cross-functional teams, i.e., what work processes reduce friction for the team, creating work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
Based on the readings there are three key values that are attributed to DevOps; faster time to market, reduced amount of IT waste, and increased organizational effectiveness. There are many factors that can greatly contribute to the success of a cross-functional team. One factor, even though the previous question pointed out all the negativities of it, is having diversity in a group or team. Another factor could be for the team or group size to be relatively small in order for all the variety in experiences and knowledge to be big enough to see multiple viewpoints but small enough to keep it all contained and stay focused. Ensuring that each individual has the ability to speak their mind without interruption or criticisms prior to fully sharing their ideas and thoughts. Another factor that can help the effectiveness is to layout the goals and objectives that will need to be accomplished within the set timeframe to make sure all individuals in the team know how much time to devote to each segment of the process, ensuring that each member is on track and does not get side tracked. And the last factor that I would think that possibly may be the most important, that somewhat ties into the other point that I made, is that the team should have complete and total open communication in the group.
Q.3 - Consider these aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
I believe that the change of day to day operations would be the most difficult to implement. I think this would be the most difficult because it not only includes just changing day to day operations, but it includes so much more that factor into it to make the change successful. By this I mean that in order to change the day to day operations you will need to change many things; the culture of the organization (it being so used to one way of operations, getting them to conform to another way), the management style of the organization (the higher up individuals may need to change the routines of the organization in order to accomplish this task), and even the training of new hires for the organization (the training of new individuals will need to made so that they are accustomed to the new way of daily operations prior to the integration with the rest of the employees that were there before them). Overall I think that even just the day to day operations that many more pieces to change in order for it to be a successful and easy transition of the change in daily operations.
Q.1 Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be with your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team (e.g., clients).
ReplyDeleteIn some circumstances working with people who have different backroads can pose a positive effect in representing many opinions. However, many times the conflicting view can cause many difficulties. Some situations where dealing with people with different backgrounds may cause a difficulty is when there needs to be a common goal. An example my Entrepreneurship teacher mentioned is when he was the fundraising coordinator of a company, a vice president who was just hired removed the whole fundraising team because they were a group of employees with a variety of fundraising specialties. The Vice President did this to align the whole fundraising department on traditional fundraising techniques specifically. Although it may appear that the narrow scope will narrow the solutions, often the collaborative vison can create more abstract solutions with more depth. Finding the one best solution is the priority, but as my Australian rugby team mate says, ‘you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet.’ Over all, dealing with people of many backgrounds can provide many view points, but may cause a conflict in interest when creating solutions. Having a team with less diversity will expedite the process of finding that best solution from the collective effort.
Q.2 What are some of the factors that would create successful cross-functional teams, i.e., what work processes reduce friction for the team, creating work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
After reading the 11 top things to know about DevOps, I was able to understand some of the factor that create a successful cross-functional team. I noticed there are several factors that are most important. The first factor is having a team with diverse skills. Contrary to the previous question, diversity in cross-functional team is necessary. The diversity allows for the team to simultaneously work on a project, while each person has an individual task. Since each person has their own task, the next factor is communication. In order to align a cross-functional team, communication between functions allows the team to have a common goal. After all, without all parts contributing toward the common goal, the project will begin to fall apart. The third factor is accountability. This closely relates with communication that every function must provide their part of the puzzle. Although each person has a separate task, they are all in a dead line based environment. A quote my coach say that applies to this is, ‘do your job so I can do mine.’ In my opinion this quote supports the principle that accountability is key in cross-functional teams. If a cross-functional team can value diversity, communication, and accountability, then the team will perform with less friction which allows more productivity.
Q.3 - Consider these aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
I think the most difficult aspect of DevOps to implement is the organizational culture. DevOps requires continuous delivery, and precision agility. A DevOps team that lacks organizational structure will end up running circle inside the system, and ultimately not reach any reliable productivity. A practice that management should be using to align with DevOps is lean management. If the organization can successfully align with DevOps, then the continuous delivery will result in frequent deploys per day that are reliable. The most important level to include in this implementation is the middle management. Since they directly interact with the DevOps team, they must have the most clarity in combining development with operations.
Q.1 - Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be both your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team (e.g., clients).
ReplyDelete--From my own experiences working in project teams at Eller, it seems like it is especially difficult to deal with people with different backgrounds when it comes to the delegation of tasks and work ethic within the group. I have seen both extremes multiple times in multiple groups. There are some instances where I see someone with a very strong work ethic who completely takes charge of the problem and doesn't wait to be asked to do something. Other times I see members who lay in the fold, waiting for someone to tell them what to do, hoping it will be accomplished without them. These background differences seem to make or break the group dynamic and is reflected in the resulting outcome/grade.
Q.2 - What are some of the factors that would create successful cross-functional teams, i.e., what work processes reduce friction for the team, creating work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
--One factor that would create a successful cross-functional team and enable more productivity is to layout the policies and methods of how this particular team is going to operate and function to succeed at an early stage. If all team members are made aware of what is expected of them and how they will be assessed/rewarded for their individual performance on the team, this will create an environment of responsibility and ownership of the overall goal. Another factor would be to have a clear chain of command when it comes to leadership and communication with horizontal and vertical departments within the organization.
Q.3 - Consider these aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
--I think the hardest aspect to implement would be organizational culture. People are stubborn in general. After working years at the same company, they become comfortable and set in their ways. When an outsider or outside idea comes in to disrupt their methods, they become resistant and hesitant to change. If DevOps is to be successfully implemented within an organization, management would need to be firm with the change and ensure that all employees are on board.
Q.1 Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be with your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team (e.g., clients).
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, many of the Fortune 500 companies I have worked for stress the importance of diversity. Bringing different backgrounds and ethnicities to the workplace is seen as a very beneficial strategy. However, the difference in opinions and approaches from individuals poses the biggest challenge. Progress is delayed and disputes in approach eat away at the project deadline. Some circumstances that give rise to these progress halts are quick deadlines and the political agenda of people in the group. For example, quick deadlines may cause disputes among a diverse group because one individual will have a quicker way to finish the project. Further, some individuals may want to take on a certain aspect of the project in order to look better to upper management. These issues can be resolved by setting clear objectives and distributing the work fairly.
Q.2 What are some of the factors that would create successful cross-functional teams, i.e., what work processes reduce friction for the team, creating work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
The biggest factor in my experience has been how comfortable you are with your team members. A close group of diverse individuals understand the way others think and operate and are less likely to engage in disputes. Compromises are much more common. Further, some work processes to help reduce friction would be outlining steps in detail to complete each objective of the project. Discussing the sub steps of each step help the group consider the train of thought everyone brings to the table. In addition, keeping groups small is also advantageous.
Q.3 - Consider these aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
It is hard to implement team synergy. It is something that is created organically and cannot be solved instantly. However, implementing processes to cultivate a smoother work environment will speed up the intangible of team synergy. The aspects of DevOps that management are looking to implement starts at the stop. In every organization, the tone at the top where senior management works needs to adopt the principles that they want to see trickling down through the organization. It takes time but starting at the top is the only way to see organizational change.
Q1. It is difficult dealing with people who all have different skill sets and strong personalities. Especially in teams when people possess different skills it can be hard to cooperate. Finance and information skill sets are very rigid, but creative skills may not mesh well. By balancing skill sets teams can work more efficiently and combine efforts to create something that not just one person could develop. Strong personalities can be difficult within a team or even the workplace. People with strong personalities may not know when they are talking over others and may not accept others ideas or opinions. It is important that a person with a large personality recognizes that and flexes their work style to meet their teammates and colleagues.
ReplyDeleteQ2. For cross-functional teams to work best everyone on the team needs to recognize the skills they possess and understand how each team member works. People work and communicate differently and understanding each other can go a long way. Individual team members can flex their work styles to meet the other team members and the team collaboration and efficiency will greatly benefit.
Q3. The hardest of DevOps to implement will be organizational culture. Culture in an organization starts at the top and filters down. In large organizations there may be a different culture in each office and the top can only influence a little. If a large company with multiple offices was using a DevOps strategy for technology within the company the different culture in each office may hinder or slow the process.
Q.1 Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be both your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team (e.g., clients).
ReplyDeleteI think it’s difficult to work with individuals who are not willing to see the bigger picture and get caught up on the small details. I don’t intend to discredit detail, which is important, however one cannot get so engrossed into the details they don’t see anything else. I also think it’s difficult dealing with people who refuse to consider the perspective and thoughts of someone else or admit they were wrong. It becomes difficult to work with these kinds of individuals because they often adopt the “my way or highway” mentality which can often times be counterproductive to the work process.
Q.2 What are some of the factors that would create successful cross-functional teams, i.e., what work processes reduce friction for the team, creating work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
Some of the factors that would create successful cross-function teams would be to have them smaller and to have effective communication and collaboration. This release from Sys-Con Media discusses a few good points regarding a successful cross-functional or DevOps team. One of the points that I think is an important point to consider is valuing continuous feedback.
In order to create a successful DevOps plan it requires constant and continuous feedback and employees being able to learn from their mistakes. Another aspect that I think should be incorporated across DevOps cross function teams is encouraging dialogues and transparency across the team, department and production. By doing so, individuals can freely discuss any issues that arise during the work process and address them with the best possible solution.
From the slides and talks, we learn that DevOps is (1) tooling and automation implemented as Continuous Delivery, (2) practices and processes seen in Lean Management principles, and organizational culture.
Q.3 - Consider these aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
I think the organizational culture would be the hardest to implement because many individuals are creatures of habit. Change in terms of process work flow is not very well received among companies. It takes time and money for a company to implement a certain type of system, process or workflow change.
Q.3, #2 Given the success of Toyota's TPD systems and its success in U.S. markets (over American cars), why do you think lean management practices and processes are followed by high performing companies in DevOps? (Consider the HBR article we read earlier.)
I think lean management practices and process are followed by high performing companies in DevOps because they allow for continuous improvement while focusing on being effective and efficient. Given Toyota’s success, it was essentially based on the idea that they were focusing on efficiency, eliminating bottlenecks in conjunction with product development.
http://news.sys-con.com/node/4058174 link to sys-con news release
DeleteYet another good site. Thanks.
DeleteQ.1 I find it particularly difficult to collaborate with teammates who have different backgrounds than I do. With a boss, I think it’s easier because it becomes an opportunity to learn from that person and benefit from the experience, but when someone is a coworker or an equal, it’s tougher to take the lead with whose experience is most relevant to the task at hand.
ReplyDeleteQ.2 In my experience, the most beneficial thing to cross functional teams are shared documents and knowledge. Making sure everyone is on the same page at all times is the most important thing, and this is often as easy as making sure everyone is using the same template, or has been briefed on the best way to approach a certain deliverable or goal. Consistent quick meetings to establish consensus before proceeding are important as well.
Q.3 I think the part of DevOps that would prove the biggest challenge in continuous delivery. As I mentioned in my answer to Question 2, I think teams being sync is extremely important, and if code is constantly being tested and shipped it creates the potential for confusion between teams and team members. However, I’ve also worked in a continuous delivery environment and was pleasantly surprised by how well it seemed to work.
1. Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be both your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team
ReplyDeleteAnswer: Admittedly, people with different background may have totally different opinions for the same problem. However, I think it is not difficult to dealing with people who have different background, if we have the same goal. Take me for example, as a foreigner, I usually work with people who have the different background with me. However, most of time, I can cooperate with them closely and finish our project effectively. When we encounter the problems, we will talk our own opinions and give reasons why we agree or disagree with each other. I believe effective communication is a key.
2. What are some factors that would create successful cross-functional teams? What work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
Answer: A cross-functional team is a group of people with different functional expertise working toward a common goal. I believe there are three major factors to make a successful cross-functional team:
• Having the right team: A good team should have a proper size for effective management. Most effective virtual teams are fewer than 10 people, with the best team size being 4-5. In addition, the team leader should assign each individual a specific role based on their capability and interest.
• Right leadership: The atmosphere of the group is critical. A leader should keep an open, trusting atmosphere. State clear guidelines and minimize misunderstanding through frequent and clear communication. A cross-functional team compass people with different strengths and backgrounds. Therefore, right leadership is a key to integrate all the members’ capability.
• Right technology: Implement right technology such as facetime, online chatting room, and email system to reach to the team fast and effectively. Other technologies such as online calendar will be great as well.
3. Consider the aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
Answer: After considering the aspects of DevOps, I believe the organization culture is one of the hardest aspects to implement. Since every company has its unique company culture and people have their unique way to do work. It is really hard to change their ways. A new member of a team may take long time to adapt to the new culture. Also, maintaining a positive organization culture requires contribution from all the employees.
Q3.#2 Given the success of Toyota’s TPD systems and its success in U.S. markets, why do you think lean management practices and processes are followed by high performing companies in DevOps?
Answer: Lean approaches is aim to achieve small, incremental changes in processes in order to improve efficiency and quality. The Toyota production system succeeded because it eliminated waste and improved efficiency. Although these are small improvement, it helped Toyota to build up a positive reputation and raise the company’s performance significantly in the long run.
Q.1 Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be both your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team (e.g., clients).
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult dealing with people with different background since they view things differently. An employer would not be focused on the specifics in the assignment but would have a general understanding on how to execute effective solutions. On the other hand teammates within your group would have a better sense of what is missing, specifically, to achieve a deadline.
Q.2 What are some of the factors that would create successful cross-functional teams, i.e., what work processes reduce friction for the team, creating work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
The main factors that create successful cross-functional teams is by establishing effective communication. Having effective communication can help team members get to know each other's work styles and skills. This helps the team to be more productive and effective when finding solutions. I believe once you have good communication it tends to leads to better collaboration among team members.
Q.3 - Consider these aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
Having effective organizational culture is the hardest part about implementing DevOps. If a team cannot effectively implement a culture which promotes the continuous nature of DevOps then they will end up at a stopping point. The benefits of DevOps is the ability to create multiple deploys in single work days. This means that daily operators should be able to have a efficient line of communication and understanding between multiple parties and levels of management. The way this is managed will effect the level of success in the implementation of DevOps.
Q1:
ReplyDeleteOne circumstance that I have experienced where it is difficult dealing with people from different backgrounds was in conference calls. During my internship the past summer the vast majority of people that were in my office were Indian and a good amount of them had heavy accents. In person it was easier to fully understand them, but over the phone there were times where someone would speak for minutes and it was difficult to understand most of the things they were saying. Many of the times I was responsible for taking notes of the meetings, and sometimes if someone’s accent was really hard to understand I had to email or direct message them to clarify exactly what there were saying in the meeting. Another issue I dealt with was working on projects with other colleagues that were working from a different office in another part of the country. They would use different terms to describe project management aspects that were not common with the office I was in, and this would require me to either clarify in the meeting or through email/direct messaging.
Q2:
One aspect that I have experienced to be successful when working with cross-functional teams is to have daily standup meetings to ensure everyone is on the same page. During these meetings it gives everyone a chance to voice if there is any concern with getting their part of the project done and say what has been finished and what still needs to be accomplished. If there is any confusion or challenges, it is a good opportunity to speak with everyone else in the project as many times other people have experienced similar obstacles in the past. Other processes that help with team/organizational outcomes and reducing team friction is by having meeting notes being published and action item logs that detail what needs to be done from each individual working in the project. These processes can be very useful as many times people are working on various projects at one time and this helps clarify the tasks that an individual needs to get done.
Q3:
I believe a hard part of implementing a new methodology in how to tackle projects is having everyone truly work within these new principles. Most people will be used to doing their job a certain way, and will likely be wary of changing their habits especially if they believe the current way is already successful. However, it could be easier to implement new work strategies if there is an obvious weakness to the current solution, then I could see most people being eager to try to work in new methods.
Q1 - Different jargon from different offices around the country is certainly something I can relate to. This summer, I worked alongside many Germans. In the office, we all understood each other very well. However, when we would do pipeline meetings with the London and German offices, it would be challenging for me to understand some of the deal talk. It is great that technology can bring teams together but also sometimes make the interaction not as productive as desired.
DeleteQ2 - Weekly standup meetings are common to successful cross-functional teams. The issue comes that because people tend to get busy week to week, people often see it as not important and either end of scheduling other meetings during the weekly standup or just continue their work. Enforcing attendance would make these meeting most affective in keeping everyone in the loop.
Q3 - I think you’re onto something – pointing out flaws to a program may be an effective way to get people to convert to a new technology. Getting people to change their routines is challenging and as result convincing them that there is a way to make their life even more efficient may be a great method.
Question 1:
ReplyDeleteEveryone has a different perspective so every job is different. Someone form an IT Department will understand something differently with a different perspective while a Finance employee will understand the financials but not the technical content. Perspective is always what makes things difficult. In every positon, you will have someone in a different positon and they have to make decision for the company based off of their position; this would make communications difficult and finding solutions difficult.
Questions 2:
Factors that would make a successful cross functional team would be a better organizational structure. Without organizational structure, every operation in the company will struggle to succeed. At my current job, we had an issue with organization in supplies and inventory. When I joined, my first task was to consider a solution and we chose a modified Kanban solution. Since then most of the operations have been easier and faster to execute.
Question 3:
I believe organizational structure will be the hardest to implement and sustain. There are many employees who have been in the company and they are reluctant to change. When you offer change, it can cause more problems before it becomes a solution. From personal experience in the workforce, implementing a change and keeping it running is very difficult because “muscle memory” kicks back in and things go back to what they used to.
Q1. It is difficult to collaborate with individuals who are simply not willing to listen to what other members in the team have to contribute. It makes the work difficult and work has to be done in a way in which the individual is satisfied. I have worked with teams in nonprofit organizations who simply did not want to collaborate when introduced to new ways of accomplishing tasks. It could sometimes lead to conflict because members were accustomed to doing things in a different manner and it can be difficult for them to understand especially when they don’t take the time to listen or to understand the reasoning of their fellow teammates.
ReplyDeleteQ2. In order to create a successful cross-functional team I believe it is essential to create an atmosphere of collaboration and responsibility amongst members. Collaboration will allow members in a team to create trust, by engaging members to work toward a common goal instead of setting individual goals for each member. Responsibility creates a sense of commitment to the team and to the accomplishment of tasks assigned to individuals in a team.
Q3. The hardest part would be changing the organizational culture to comply with new practices and processes. It can be hard to convince people to make a change especially if a company’s culture has been around for many years. Employees may be comfortable with current culture for the reason that they understand the current system and don’t see the need for change. Management should incentivize employees to make the change by educating them on the benefits achieved as an organization and the potential for individual growth during the process.
Question 1 answer:
ReplyDeleteI think anytime you work on a team with people from different backgrounds and skills. Different people have different ideas and what the best solution is. If the team isn’t in agreement, then it can take longer to finish the task. But different backgrounds can bring different perceptions. And if used to the benefit of the team, and can be a positive.
Question 2 answer:
Communication is important to have successful cross-functional teams. It helps everyone get on the same or similar page when it comes to completing a task. Ineffective communication could slow things down and cause problems. Work may have to be redone and edited more when if the teams communicated, that would not have been the case.
Question 3 answer:
The most difficult part of implementation I think would be change. People get use to a patter, and the continuous delivery and lean processes could be a big change for a company. Employees would have to be motivated and truly believe that this is the best way of doing things. They must believe in the method. If that belief is not there, implementing DevOps won’t succeed.
Q.1 Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be both your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team (e.g., clients).
ReplyDeleteFrom my experiences working in teams in Eller and over the summer in NY finance, I have noticed the most challenging aspect of dealing with people from different backgrounds is the tendency for everyone to have different quality standards concerning the finished project. This in turns affects the entire workflow for completing one project with many components. Some cultures value efficiency while others value meticulousness. People who prefer to work efficiently sometimes have the tendency to just want to meet the project requirements and be done. Meanwhile, there are some individuals who want to make the most perfect product and exceed expectations. These people tend to be more meticulous and want to spend more time making the product the best it can be. If everyone has a different quality standard, some people will complete their tasks much quicker or much slower than others. This in turn creates huge bottlenecks that hinder the overall workflow of the project. It can also lead to frustration and conflict when someone has to rely on another component that either is not complete when that person who relies on that component is ready to work on his or her section or, on the other hand, someone is ready to work on something but the information/component they have received is not adequate or does not have enough detail for them to feel comfortable moving forward with their portion. Overall, I have found this aspect of working with people from different backgrounds the most challenging.
Q.2 What are some of the factors that would create successful cross-functional teams, i.e., what work processes reduce friction for the team, creating work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
ReplyDeleteThe most successful cross-functional teams have a few common factors. One, every team member in the group understands their role and purpose in the team as well as the primary main object for the group and the deliverable at hand. This factor assures everyone is not only working to complete the same project based on the same criteria but it also assures that everyone knows how and why he or she is important to the successful completion of the project. Another very important factor that successful cross-functional teams have is a clear organizational structure. Even in school projects, students need to clearly establish at the onset of the project who is the leader: who is responsible for all deliverables being completed and submitted appropriately, who is responsible for keeping track of deadlines, who is responsible for making sure all requirements are met. A final factor I would say all accomplished cross-functional teams have is an excellent mode of communication as well as comfort in communicating with one another. That is, there must be a reliable, convenient platform for everyone to be able to communicate with each other. Then, each member must be willing and able to successfully communicate with their team members their individual progress, their concerns, conflicts, absences etc. All of these factors contribute to successful cross-functional teams.
Q.3 - Consider these aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
ReplyDeleteOrganizational culture will be the most difficult to implement. This is due to a variety of factors. One, teams are becoming more and more diverse. The consensus on whether this is good or bad can be questioned; however, that is beyond the scope of this topic. Diverse teams create highly divergent organizational styles within one team. Converting everyone to this new way of thinking will thus take even more energy and time for everyone to get on board because everyone will have to learn this method in their own way and at their own pace. Furthermore, since no two styles are the same, it will be difficult to “phone a friend” as they most likely are not struggling with the same aspects of DevOps another. More so, it is important to stress that people form routines very quickly in life. Although everyone is taught to be flexible and accommodating to other’s workstyles and schedules, the simple matter is that everyone has their own base routine. It creates stability and comfort day to day. These routines are supported by systems and thus when these systems are altered, people routines and therefore comfort completing day to day task alters. A disruption in the routines of the team can cause tremendous disorder within the team and therefore delay progress for completing the deliverable.
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ReplyDeleteFrom what you read, and your own experiences working in cross-functional project teams (at school or work), as well as your IT experiences, respond to these questions or consider others.
ReplyDeleteQ.1 Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be both your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team (e.g., clients).
As businesses are become globalized, diversity is very much becoming celebrated and encouraged due to the advantage of different perspectives they provide. But with the benefits, there is also a disadvantage to the different backgrounds. There can be varying levels of education, experience, or personalities. Everyone has their own way of thinking that they have seen to prove successful and there may become disputes on coming to a solution to a problem. Because there are the conflicts of the perspectives, the focus to complete a task or solve problem becomes hazy. There are people that have traditional ways of thinking while others may think liberally. The clash between the two approaches will occur because of the values and methodologies that differ among people of doing work. Not to mention there is also the language barriers that may heighten the problem by miscommunication.
Q.2 What are some of the factors that would create successful cross-functional teams, i.e., what work processes reduce friction for the team, creating work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
There are many factors that would help to create cross-functional teams. For one, if the people can understand the mission and goals of the organization or project. In order to accomplish the first factor, this leads to the second factor of having strong communication between people. Being able to listen and consider the different perspectives can not only encourage people to work together towards a common goal. Not to mention because there is strong communication, people will also be more likely to point out any issues or problems they see and can eventually move towards efficiency.
Q.3 - Consider these aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
I believe it is very hard to implement organization culture. Because culture can determine the performance, trying to change the approach of where responsibilities lay, how risk is tackled, and the outcome of failures becomes harder as you try to convince everyone to follow the rules. Companies evaluate ways to bring their processes towards efficiency by introduction of new methodologies and people are not welcoming and will be reluctant to changes to how they do work. There will be confused emotions and a lot of struggle before the benefits are reaped and some employees may just see the change as being a waste of time.
Q.3.-2 Given the success of Toyota’s TPD systems and its success in U.S. markets, why do you think lean management practices and processes are followed by high performing companies in DevOps?
Lean management practices and processes are followed by high performing companies in DevOps because they are improving continuously by reducing/eliminating any waste and focus on activities that are critical. Because of this a company moves towards being efficient and realizes the savings of reducing/eliminating waste. This is a change within all business functions not just a specific area.
Q.1 Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be both your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team (e.g., clients).
ReplyDeleteI think when it comes to working with people who have different backgrounds some of the difficulties that may occur are miscommunication and then differing expectations. I know when I communicate with my peers or boss and we come from different backgrounds or different experiences, you may communicate an idea in a different way then they perceive it, which may lead to difficulties down the line. These differing backgrounds can also lead to differing expectations, and in turn can create issues within the team when you all have different ideas of where the project is going and what the final product should be.
Q.2 What are some of the factors that would create successful cross-functional teams, i.e., what work processes reduce friction for the team, creating work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
Good communication practices can increase the success of cross-functional teams. If the team is communicating often and efficiently, there will be a lot less confusion within the teams and therefore the team will be more on task towards the end goal. Especially since cross-functional teams usually have members with special talents or backgrounds, communication is key to driving success.
Q.3 - Consider these aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
I think when it comes to DevOps or any other operational strategy, I think the most difficult principle to implement would be organizational culture. Sometimes the biggest hoop to jump through are your own employees, and if they are used to doing business processes a certain way, they may be the most difficult to change. Culture is a huge part of why people choose jobs, and if you change the culture, this may change who is attracted to, or not attracted to, the business. Since the organizational culture is such a huge part of DevOps, this may also initially affect business practices, as the team members get used to the new system, which is obviously to be expected.
Q.1
ReplyDeleteThe lack of understanding of others’ jobs brings the dispersion of people within the organization. It can begin from lack of communication, misunderstanding or underestimating the others’ role among the team members in the same project. Especially, if the organization has fast paced development cycle, the conflict between the development side and the operation side can be deeper. The operational side of workers are who contact the customers directly, so they are the one who needs to deal with the complaints from the customers. When there is a problem or delay occurs, the operation side are the one who have to face with the customers and explain them what is going on in the process. In the development side, they are trying to finish the project on deadline, and make the products as close to as possible to the customer’s requirements. However, it is not always easy to develop the system as planned, so there can be the problem occurred which cause the delay or complains. The development side has to explain the situations and provide the solutions, and the operation side has to tell the development side what the customers' reactions are about the situation. During this process, if the both sides cannot understand each other’s situation, this is the starting point where the conflict occurs.
Q.2
The key to make the successful cross-functional teams is communication. Through continuous meeting and communicating to reduce the gap between the different divisions will reduce friction for the team. It is hard to understand how others’ job work because the development side and the operation side are divided clearly into the categories of the job functions. In order to reduce the gap between the technical side and non-technical side, the continuous communication is the essential requirement. The workshops and meetings not just within the team, but across with other divisions will help to understand each other and reduce the conflict. This process will reduce the gap between the teams and create the cooperative team environment within cross-functional teams.
Q.3
It is hard to implement the lean management principles in DevOps. The lean approaches start from testing the product and service design and business model through frequent user research and analysis. The development cycle of DevOps is fast paced process, so it is hard to follow the schedules with conducting user research and analysis. The whole process of the research and analysis cannot be performed by the automated system. Although the part of the process can be conducted by the system such as online surveys, most of the user research and the actual analysis phase need to be performed by the analyst. In addition, the reports need to be created, and the presentation should be performed, so it requires more time. Compared to apply continuous delivery with automated implementation, applying the lean management principles are harder to employ due to the needs of manual processes.
Q1: Any team environment that we are required to work in, whether this be at work or school, can lead to instances where it will be difficult dealing with people who have difference background than yourself. Everyone has a different background that influences the decisions that they make. In a project environment, this could cause people to approach the same problem in dramatically different ways. These dramatically different approaches are what could be the source of a lot of difficulties within teams if they are not able to take on an empathetic approach to the people they are working with.
ReplyDeleteQ2: Based off the success of DevOps, a successful cross-functional team would need to be able to encompass a “climate of learning.” The members of the team will be more successful if they are able to view their teamwork as an opportunity to learn from the other members. This environment of learning is well paired with a high-level trust organizational environment. These two things in tandem can create a team that functions more smoothly and efficiently. DevOps is 1) Tooling and Automation implemented as Continuous Delivery, 2) Practices and Processes seen in Lean Management principles, and 3) Organizational Culture. These three things will only be successful with the correct implementation of a cross-functional team.
Q3: What I think the hardest aspect of DevOps to implement will be the organizational culture. In order for DevOps to be successful, employees will need to have high trust in each other. To keep an organizational culture, members of a team will also need to be educated and knowledgeable on all the other components of the project. High communication will need to be executed between all levels of an organization so that the DevOps team are able to complete their work in the most effective manor.
Q.1 Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be both your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team (e.g., clients).
ReplyDelete- The problem with people having different backgrounds means that everyone has different ways of doing processes and steps in a process. Everyone wants to do it their own way because that is what they are used to and do not want to stray from there. But with that being said, the group must find a way to adapt as a whole and complete the task. I go through this everyday with my job at the Bookstore as a Systems Administrator.
Q.2 What are some of the factors that would create successful cross-functional teams, i.e., what work processes reduce friction for the team, creating work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
- Increase the communication between people to consider what group members have in common and work with those skills. Also focusing on dividing up the tasks to suit the members of the group depending on who has the better skills in a particular task versus someone who has a weaker skill in the are. This will result in better productivity and be able to complete the task at hand faster and efficiently.
Q.3 - Consider these aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
- The hardest part to implement will be the processes and practices because everywhere will all ready have their own way of completed tasks and already have good practice at it. The biggest issue is to forget those bad habits and learn new ones in order for the task to become finished faster. People will be able to adapt to all certain tasks with this lean operations objective in any situation.
Q.1 Under what circumstances is it especially difficult dealing with people who have different backgrounds? This can be both your boss, other teammates, or those external to the team
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to working with people that have different backgrounds from myself, I find that working in those groups become more difficult when the circumstances we are working under have less structure. What I mean by that is that if I am in a team at my job, and we are given a project to work on with very clear expectations and milestones and deadlines, it is not as negatively impactful if the team members have different backgrounds – if they are all motivated, and kept in check by the fear of losing their job if specific expectations are not met. In other, less structured circumstances, such as a class project with less defined direction, and more creativity, a diversity of backgrounds could lead to a disconnect in workstyles, and that can lead to the work being done disproportionately. With a boss, I think the difference in background would only have a negative impact if their background led to them not being communicative, and could also get in the way of their understanding certain religious or personal circumstances.
Q.2 What are some factors that would create successful cross-functional teams? What work systems that enable more productivity and get better team/organizational outcomes?
In my opinion, there are several key factors that are crucial to creating a successful cross-functional team. First, and most important, is the establishment of a team leader. Someone who is willing and able to take it upon themselves to gain a complete understanding of the scope of whatever project the team is tasked with completing (and all the deadlines associated). Having a leader also means having someone who understands the capabilities of all the team’s members, and can distribute the workload fairly and effectively. I also think that work systems that make use of shared documents, and some sort of task management technology are extremely important to successful cross-functional teams.
Q.3 Consider the aspects of DevOps and comment on which you think will be hardest to implement and why you think so.
I think continuous delivery is probably the most difficult aspect of the DevOps process to implement, given how messy situations have the potential to become with code being shared around in a constant manner, and I think that it would make shared understanding regarding progress across all fronts really difficult.
Q1. I have noticed that as a young professional with an IT background, it is difficult to work with individuals of older generations for a handful of reasons. First, many older professionals who haven’t had IT training often are not familiar with even simple technological processes, which can cause friction in the workplace. I have also noticed that these individuals aren’t familiar with the ways that millennials communicate with each other. We currently live in a world of instant messaging, which is not how individuals used to communicate. Technology has definitely lent to this, and while people in the workplace are constantly adapting to this new form of communication, information often slips through the crack. I see these issues a lot working for the University Bookstores—sometimes students in the store are more capable of completing certain tech-based tasks than their managers because the students are more comfortable with and less intimidated by the technology.
ReplyDeleteQ2. I think that small teams are often better about getting all pertinent information across and working more efficiently, so this is potentially a solution for the future. At the bookstore, sometimes the best buying and pricing decisions are made by a few individuals who are extremely familiar with the consumer trends at all of our locations. Another solution is for workplaces to start investing heavily in technology seminars and lectures for their employees. Even at the bookstore, where technology use is fairly limited to internet and inventory tracking, many individuals still have issues understanding how inventory tracking works with digital tools like RFID and UPC codes. I’m sure all bookstore employees, including me, would learn something during a seminar like this.
Q3. It’s becoming more and more obvious that technology will only continue to evolve. In tech environments where accommodating that new technology it is essential that the company as a whole invests not only in the technology, but understanding the functionality of that technology. Because this constant change in technology often disrupts the regular processes of the individuals using it, I think the organizational culture aspect of DevOps poses issues for the future. I truly believe that change is only truly effective when everyone in the organization is at least welcoming, if not enthusiastic , for that change.
A bit too late for credit. Due April 21.
ReplyDelete