Why are we all such hypocrites when it comes to DevOps?

Over and over again we see a huge disconnect between how senior execs and dept leaders represent their DevOps journey and how the people on the ground feel. There's clearly enough benefits there that people keep persisting with it, but what explains this disconnect? This isn't just an executive problem, we see this with how all sorts of transformations of how we work in technology get represented outside the actual workplace, and most of us are hypocrites most of the time. Why?

Transcript

1. Why are we all such hypocrites when it comes to DevOps? Nigel Kersten @nigelkersten Chief Technical Strategist, Puppet
2. Why listen to me?
3. DevOps is supposed to include empathy
4. DevOps is supposed to include empathy • We accept empathy between developers and operations
5. DevOps is supposed to include empathy • We accept empathy between developers and operations • And even security, audit and compliance sometimes
6. DevOps is supposed to include empathy • We accept empathy between developers and operations • And even security, audit and compliance sometimes • Maybe even our network admins
7. DevOps is supposed to include empathy • We accept empathy between developers and operations • And even security, audit and compliance sometimes • Maybe even our network admins • What about senior management and executives?
8. Let’s ignore all this for the moment
9. Impoverished Communication The curse of PowerPoint
10. Tufte on PowerPoint • Impoverished space leads to:
11. Tufte on PowerPoint • Impoverished space leads to: • over-generalizations
12. Tufte on PowerPoint • Impoverished space leads to: • over-generalizations • imprecise statements
13. Tufte on PowerPoint • Impoverished space leads to: • over-generalizations • imprecise statements • slogans
14. Tufte on PowerPoint • Impoverished space leads to: • over-generalizations • imprecise statements • slogans • lightweight evidence
15. Tufte on PowerPoint • Impoverished space leads to: • over-generalizations • imprecise statements • slogans • lightweight evidence • abrupt and thinly argued claims
16. — Edward Tufte, The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint “Impoverished space leads to over-generalizations, imprecise statements, slogans, lightweight evidence, abrupt and thinly argued claims”
17. Up and Down the Communications Ladder Harvard Business Review, Sept 1974 https://hbr.org/1974/09/up-and-down-the-communications-ladder • Hierarchical communication is like gravity • Down is easier than up • Workers read their bosses better than usually realized • Bosses read their workers worse than usually realized https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_first_logo.png
18. Upwards communication biases towards optimism • Optimism bias more likely when you: • Lack immediate experience with a situation • Believe you have direct control and influence • Believe that the negative event is unlikely The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain – Tali Sharot
19. Fundamental Attribution Bias • We tend to attribute the behavior of others to intrinsic factors • Personality, attitude, skills • We tend to attribute our own behavior to external factors • External, situational influences Image by beelgin - https://www.flickr.com/photos/whereisat/370436981
20. Practitioners are more likely to conclude their management is stupid than merely lacking information.
21. Managers are more likely to conclude their practitioners are unskilled than that they’re dealing with complexity.
22. Hyperbolic discounting bias Temporary preference for small rewards that occur sooner over larger rewards that occur later.
23. What does this have to do with DevOps in large organizations?
24. DevOps… • Practitioner-initiated • Loosely defined • Poorly understood by most executives • Tribal signifier • For execs and practitioners
25. 0 25 50 75 100 April May June July Dev Ops The practitioner view
26. April May June July # Dev # Ops The executive view
27. 0 25 50 75 100 April June Dev Ops April May June July # Dev # Ops Same data - two views
28. In Summary • Most people are decent • We’ve all got cognitive biases that cause us to do apparently dumb things • Have empathy for those above and below you • Appropriate and accurate communication up is difficult but it will make your job better and help your career