Human Scale Systems: Operability.io 2016

Transcript

1. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Mark Imbriaco CEO & Co-Founder Operable, Inc. Human Scale Systems
2. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco • Development and operations of services for over 20 years. • Led technical operations at companies like 37signals, Heroku, LivingSocial, GitHub, and DigitalOcean. • Ops nerd at heart. Who am I?
3. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco In the startup world, we hear a lot about the idea of unfair advantages. In systems, adaptability is the ultimate unfair advantage. Adaptability is the unfair advantage.
4. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco It has never been faster or cheaper to build and deploy software. Organizations that embrace adaptability are able to quickly deliver new products or respond to moves by competitors. Rate of change is accelerating.
5. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco DevOps has become a coping mechanism for handling rate of change rather than a cultural movement focused on collaboration. More often than not, DevOps is used as a synonym for continuous delivery. DevOps all the things.
6. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Automation is critical to reducing burden and bringing consistency to predictable, repetitive tasks. At even very small scale it is a necessity rather than a luxury. So, we automate.
7. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco If automation is necessary and increasingly ubiquitous, and given the rise of platforms, what is the role of humans? Is automation eating the world?
8. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Have you noticed that NoOps has Oops included right in the name? Automation: Necessary but not sufficient.
9. “ ” Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Practitioners and first line management actively adapt the system to maximize production and minimize accidents. These adaptations often occur on a moment by moment basis… Humans bring adaptability. How Complex Systems Fail Dr. Richard L. Cook
10. #PDSummit16 Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Human Scale Processes
11. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Be prescriptive where possible to allow people to focus on the areas where they provide the most leverage. Don't make me think.
12. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Whenever possible, design collaboration into all of your processes. Collaborate by default.
13. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Model incident response after your day to day tasks. Practice makes perfect so wherever possible use the same workflow and communication mechanisms during an emergency that you use all the time. Value consistency.
14. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Big design up front does not work well in software. Processes are no different. Be flexible, adaptable, and constantly apply what you learn. Do the simplest thing that could work.
15. #PDSummit16 Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Human Scale Tools
16. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco If you're building a web tool, enlist help from a friendly designer. If all else fails, pick a UI framework like Bootstrap and fake it. A little bit of visual design goes a long way. Ops tools don't have to be ugly.
17. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Build small, sharp tools that perform one task. Design them with composition in mind so that you can combine them to perform more complex tasks. Embrace the Unix philosophy.
18. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco The best command line option is the one you don't have to remember at 0300. Where possible build tools with sensible defaults to make the common case trivial. Do the right thing by default.
19. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Be consistent in naming conventions, options, and behavior. Avoid gimmicky interaction mechanisms in favor of predictable ones. Consistency still matters.
20. #PDSummit16 Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Human Scale Operations
21. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco It can be hard for engineers to leave problems unsolved, and there are always more problems. Push back and enforce healthy balance. Fight hero culture.
22. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Learn from both successes and failures. Retrospectives should be a habit, not an opportunity for assigning blame. Make it safe to learn.
23. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Big design up front does not work well in software. Processes are no different. Be flexible, adaptable, and constantly apply what you learn. Embrace iteration.
24. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Technical remediation items aren’t enough. Make sure that your hard won knowledge is shared across your entire organization in process improvement and deliberately considered in new projects. Close the feedback loop.
25. Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Surprise! Consistency still matters. Value consistency.
26. #PDSummit16 Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Adaptable organizations win.
27. #PDSummit16 Mark Imbriaco @markimbriaco Cog ChatOps Platform Source Code: github.com/operable/cog Docs: docs.operable.io Public Slack Team: slack.operable.io