Full Spectrum Engineering – The new Full-Stack

There is a fundamental shift in the requirements on developers. As team sizes shrink and responsibilities grow with the move to DevOps. Now a developer must become fluent in software testing, deployment, telemetry and even security. It is less about multi-layer and more about multi-discipline.

Software development is changing and so are the roles that developers need to play. Over the last decade or so, companies have been trying to fill their ranks with what was called full-stack engineers. These developers were versed in software development from database to GUI and everything in between. This was necessary in the age of monolithic application architectures.

The move to DevOps and microservices demands new skills. Now a developer must become fluent in software testing, deployment, telemetry and even security. It is less about multi-layer and more about multi-discipline.

In this talk, Pete Chestna, Director of Developer Engagement will share his insights into this transformation, the opportunity that it presents to developers as lifelong learners as well as practical advice to get started. Don’t miss the shift. Get ahead of it!

What you will learn:
1. How software development leaders used to think about the developers they hire.
2. How that is being transformed into a new breed of developer called the Full Spectrum Developer.
3. How you can get their ahead of demand and be more valuable to both your current and future employers.

As premiered this year at DevOps Days Stockholm, I want to show the path to relevance in the job market of tomorrow. If anyone is interested to help amplify and coin the term Full Spectrum Engineer which I believe will be the new standard, I’d be happy to talk to you about it more during Open Spaces. As a development leader and consultant to the largest companies in the world, I have seen the shift begin. The coming of this new reality is still ahead of us and the sooner developers are aware, the sooner they can act.

Transcript

1. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 1 © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES Full Spectrum Engineering Peter Chestna Director of Developer Engagement
2. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 2 Who am I? • 25+ Years Software Development Experience • 11+ Years Application Security Experience • Certified Agile Product Owner and Scrum Master • At Veracode since 2006 • From Waterfall to Agile to DevOps • From Monolith to MicroService • Consultant on DevSecOps best practices • Fun Fact: I love whiskey! • Tell me where to drink local whiskey @PeteChestna
3. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 3 Why should you listen to me? • My first web application development was in 1996 • Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer were shrink-wrapped products that were purchased, not free • IIS before ASP, using HTX/IDC • Shrink-wrapped intranet application for the enterprise @PeteChestna
4. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 4 What’s a DevOps Team? DevOps Team
5. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 5 Premise Cause: • Microservice architecture • Small X-Functional teams (from Agile) • DevOps Methodology • Need for speed – Value to customer Effect: • Changing the hiring profile for DevOps team members. • Developers need to know more and do more than ever before • X-Functional team needs to have accountability @PeteChestna
6. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 6 Driven by Architecture @PeteChestna
7. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 7 Driven by Technology Evolution • Web 1.0 – Mostly Static HTML – Lots of full page reloads • Web 2.0 – DHTML/AJAX – Load behind pages for perceived performance • Web 3.0 – HTML5/CSS3/Angular – API First/Headless App – Single page apps • Server 1.0 – Simple architecture (2-tier) – Beginning ASP/JSP technology • Server 2.0 – Monolithic applications & Monolithic data stores – N-tier (web/app/data) • Server 3.0 – REST/Node – Backed by microservices – Bounded context @PeteChestna
8. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 8 Waterfall Agile DevOps At Scale Driven by Methodology Requirements Analysis Design Coding Testing Acceptance Team Size: 50+ Release Frequency: 1-4 times per year Team Size: 6-12 Release Frequency: 12-24 times per year Team Size: 6-12 Release Frequency: 100+ times per year @PeteChestna Time
9. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 9 Software creation today • Developer builds the software • Quality engineer functionally tests the software • Security validates the security of the software • Management approves release of software • Systems Engineering rack, stack and cable hardware • IT installs and configures OS supporting software • OPS installs and monitors software in production @PeteChestna
10. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 10 Software deployment to customers tomorrow • Individual builds the feature • Individual functionally tests the feature • Individual validates the security of the feature • CI/CD Pipeline approves release of feature • Software terraforms the operating environment • Software installs and configures OS supporting software • CI/CD Pipeline installs software in production • Team monitores software in production @PeteChestna
11. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 11 Full Stack Web Developer Angular ECMAScript CSS HTML Node.JS Java NoSQL @PeteChestna
12. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 12 Full Spectrum Engineer Full Spectrum Engineer @PeteChestna
13. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 13 Be a great engineer • Keep up with trends – Design & Implementation – Architecture • Stay on top of standards – W3C, etc. • Understand the open source ecosystem – Frameworks & Libraries @PeteChestna
14. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 14 Keep an eye on quality • TDD – Build quality in from the beginning • Well written unit tests • Regression testing – Make sure you don’t break anyone else • Scale – Can your code handle the real world? @PeteChestna
15. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 15 Understand deployment • Containerization • Infrastructure as code • Version controlled • Automated and repeatable • On demand @PeteChestna
16. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 16 How will you operate it? • Telemetry to detect problems – Alert – Debug & Fix • Make your code anti- fragile – Resilient to failures @PeteChestna
17. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 17 Keep it secure • Part of the definition of done • Educational, preventative and assurance scanning – Fail fast – Automated • Find & fix early @PeteChestna
18. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 18 What about my specialists? Think Guilds. • Identify your leaders and practice experts • Communicate the goal of guilds broadly • Hold regular ‘birds of a feather’ meetings • Share learnings, trends and best practices constantly • Encourage & reward participation @PeteChestna
19. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 19 Conclusions • The way software is being built, deployed and operated is changing • Team sizes are shrinking • Velocity expectations are rising • Accountability is mandatory • We need to build Full Spectrum Engineers – Cross train your full stack developers – Give them the tools to measure and improve themselves – Change your hiring profile – Build guilds to socialize best practices @PeteChestna
20. © 2017 VERACODE INC. ACQUIRED BY CA TECHNOLOGIES 20 Thank you Full Spectrum Engineer @PeteChestna Let’s continue the discussion: