GitOps Fish Series — (Rib 2) Culture and Team Collaboration — Introduction

Culture and team collaboration are the cornerstones of any successful DevOps/GitOps adoption. As IT landscapes transform, organisations face the challenge of ensuring that collaboration isn’t merely superficial but deep-rooted in their processes. Addressing this challenge demands a holistic approach that leverages heavily on Agile principles and practices adopted in the context of DevOps/GitOps.

Silos form when departments within an organisation operate independently with distinct visions, goals, and responsibilities. Using development and operations as an example, while operations prioritise stability (often at the cost of slowing software updates), development focuses on speed, innovation, and frequent output. When such departments don’t communicate effectively, workflows become bottlenecked, impacting productivity:

• Silos hinder cross-team communication, which can strain employee morale and transparency.
• This lack of open communication prevents the formation of trust and respect between teams. For instance, fearing reprimand, developers might withhold reporting software bugs to the operations team (and vice versa).
• Focusing only on departmental goals can lead to adversarial inter-departmental relationships, reducing efficiency and profitability.

DevOps, which emphasises collaboration and integration between software development and IT operations, provides a structured approach to breaking down these silos. Rather than tackling all silos simultaneously, integrating DevOps allows a gradual shift from department-centric to organization-centric perspectives, preventing resistance and managing costs. GitOps relies on this and adds the concept of a single shared workflow to deploy and maintain both Application Code (from Development) and Infrastructure and Middleware (from Operations).

As mentioned in the DORA State of DevOps Report 2022, the team’s broader context is fundamental, and it’s essential to understand a team’s characteristics (processes, strengths, constraints and goals) and the work environment.

Unless you have a scenario where your IT is just a small number of persons, this is easy to say but hard to achieve, and there are no silver bullets. Personally, this is the hardest part of DevOps/GitOps, like in any Agile mindset transformation/transition!

In the previous article of this series (Top Management Alignment: Bridging Vision, Value, and Validation), I have already addressed the importance of alignment in leadership, in this “GitOps Fish Rib,” we will dive into Culture and Team Collaboration.

This Rib is split through several articles:

Part 1: The Human Element in the DevOps/GitOps Transformation

This article dives into the often-overlooked heart of the matter: the human element. Discover why a technologically advanced toolchain is only as powerful as the team behind it, the essence of cultivating the right mindset for growth, and the irreplaceable value of soft skills. Alongside this, gain insights from the DevOps Institute’s 2023 report on the indispensable facets of continuous learning. By diving into this piece, you’ll uncover the holistic approach to DevOps/GitOps, moving beyond mere tools to understanding the human catalysts of transformation.

Part 2: An optimal blend of key profiles for the ultimate team

This article focuses on the intricacies of curating a team that can navigate the technical challenges and foster a transformative culture. Based on real-life experiences, both successes and setbacks. If you want to understand the distinct profiles required for a thriving DevOps/GitOps cultural change in a team.

Part 3: Harnessing the Potential of DevOps Collaboration Patterns

In this article, I describe various collaboration patterns and anti-patterns. Highlighting Conway’s Law, it stresses that organisations inherently produce systems mirroring their communication structures. It makes a compelling case for strategically implementing DevOps practices, ensuring they fit an organisation’s unique dynamics. Read on to discover why understanding these patterns is fundamental to unleashing the full potential of DevOps and ensuring a smoother journey of transformation and collaboration.

Please note that the opinions and views expressed in this article are solely my own and do not represent my employer’s official position or policies. This is a personal commentary based on my experiences and thoughts, and although I aim for accuracy, there may be errors or omissions in the content.