How to Sell DevOps

As developers and ops staff, we all know the reasons for switching to an automated DevOps-y infrastructure. But how do you convince your boss to make the switch within your organization? I’ll explain my approach, based on the three Aristotlean modes of persuasion.

1. How to Sell DevOps Zack Voase Berlin DevOps 12Q3
2. You • Development • Operations • Interested/involved in DevOps
3. Your Boss • Manages several people • Product owner • Responsible for costs & risks • Trying to cover his/her ass
4. What prevents change?
5. Fear.
6. Your Boss’s Fears • Is DevOps more expensive? • Is DevOps slower? • Is the talent pool smaller? • What if it doesn’t deliver? • It sounds more complex! • It doesn’t sound Agile™!
7. Division of Labour
8. Division of Labour • Developers are good at Development • Ops staff are good at Operations • Now we need people who know both!?
9. How do you fight fear?
10. Pathos + Ethos + Logos
11. Pathos • “Never waste a good crisis” • When stuff breaks, be: 1. The guy/girl who fixes it 2. The guy/girl saying “I told you so”
12. Lean Transition
13. Lean Transition • Q: How do you implement DevOps?
14. Lean Transition • Q: How do you implement DevOps? • A: One fuck-up at a time.
15. Ethos • Trust • Good faith • Experience
16. Logos • Facts + numbers
17. Numbers
18. Numbers • Monitor, measure, profile: before and after • How much time do I/we spend SSH-ing? • How much time do I/we spend writing shell scripts? • How often do things fail? • How badly do they fail?
19. Hiring • How easy is hiring Chef/Puppet/DevOps specialists compared to normal sysadmins? • Do DevOps specialists earn more money than sysadmins? How much more?
21. Big Circle
22. Big Circle Big Circle
23. Big Circle Big Circle Big Circle
24. Big Circle Big Circle Big Circle Small Triangle
25. Summary • DevOps is a journey, not a destination • Understand your boss’s position • Fight fear with: • Pathos (pain) • Ethos (trust) • Logos (logic)
26. And one more thing… • You’re in the small triangle • If your boss really doesn’t listen, QUIT.
27. And one more thing… number of people like you < number of jobs for people like you
28. Thanks! @zacharyvoase zack@meat.io