Last week I was fortunate enough to be involved in an AWS GameDay event. There are countless blogs and videos on the internet that go into detail of how the day unfolds, so I will try not to repeat other content or give away any spoilers as others have done.
You know the old saying “You don’t know what you don’t know” — well, this came true on this day.
The way the event works is that you are randomly put into teams, with colleagues you may or may not know. It’s your first day on the job.
This team is essentially your DevSecOps team in a virtual Unicorn Rental startup. You are given a scenario by the virtual CEO, and off you go. The goal is to keep systems running, and improve them along the way so that unicorns can be rented, and handle the demand that comes your way. However it's not just about maintaining systems, it's also about figuring ways to predict the future demand and ensure stock and systems keep up.
It was four intense hours and together we divided up tasks. Initially there was a feeling of FOMO, i.e. wanting to be across everything. However, we soon broke down parts, and made the goal to “learn first”, and hope to win. What I really liked about the event is that you were forced to learn on the job, which is really the best way to learn for most people. And the beauty, no risk (unless you consider not winning a risk).
For me it was a reminder that when risk is removed, you are open to learn and try new things. It relaxes you, and opens you up to learning efficiently. For example, as requirements came our way, we needed to learn about AWS services some of us had never used. Initially we took it slow, and digested the instructions, and attempted to figure out what do to. For the first few hours we were last on ladder, and then slowly, slowly we started to climb. Eventually we got to the top.
So, my recommendation to anyone doing this exercise in the future, don’t worry about winning, use it as a day to learn, and you never know — you might actually win.
