Answers from IDGtechtalk #mainframe chat on DevOps!
Yesterday (Tuesday August 8th, 2017) I was invited by IDG to take part as a panelist in a twitter chat session focused on DevOps. The questions were super intriguing so how could I say no! I was honored to participate but thought these were questions that really required more than 140 characters to answer.

I decided to write out a couple of paragraphs each, link to them, summarize, and answer questions come chat time. There were a lot of great viewpoints provided! The wisdom came fast and furious, almost too quickly to follow. I didn’t feel like I was able to pay close attention to the other panelists trying to get my own answers out and there was a lot to learn. I’m planning to go back and read through the chat again today (https://twitter.com/hashtag/mainframechat?f=tweets&vertical=default)and pick up on some of what I missed.
For my part, to archive at least my portion of the chat, I’ve compiled a list of the questions and my answers here.
How do you see DevOps fitting into a Digital Transformation initiative?
https://medium.com/@geek_king/mainframe-chat-question-1-7ede16d4f178
Short answer: Front and center. DevOps is a sophisticated methodology for organizational craftsmanship. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of it?
Where is the industry, as far as the evolution of DevOps?
https://medium.com/@geek_king/mainframe-chat-question-2-c04ecf7b78dc
Short answer: We’re in the infancy of application, but while DevOps itself has already significantly matured the most remarkable thing about it is the pace of change. Being able to learn from the experience of the entire rest of the world creates very rapid feedback loops that allow us to apply continuous learning and continuous improvement (kaizen) to DevOps itself!
What are some of the common misconceptions about DevOps, especially considering legacy infrastructure?
https://medium.com/@geek_king/mainframe-chat-question-3-bd4dcd33d124
Short answer: DevOps=Tools; or DevOps only applies to greenfield projects. We have several fronts of attack on the legacy infrastructure that I talk about herein.
What’s driving the interest and adoption of DevOps?
https://medium.com/@geek_king/mainframe-chat-question-4-f480051c2fb2
Short answer: Competitive advantage. Either you have it or they have it. Learning more quickly what your consumers/customers actually want and the ability to efficiently supply and improve that is the name of the game going forward now that all business is digital business.
What are the challenges of DevOps, and how are leaders addressing them?
https://medium.com/@geek_king/mainframe-chat-question-5-c37f1644861e
Short answer: The dominant challenges are human and not technical: Resistance to change, hubris, conventional thinking: We’re trapped in the box of Taylorism and “Scientific Management” so-called, without even knowing we’re constrained. Most leaders are as yet unaware of this or the degree to which this dooms transformation efforts, so we have a long way to go in order to overcome it. The good news is that the first to put in effective effort here gain a huge first mover advantage.
Thanks to @idgtechtalk for the invitation, and to @JeffCutler, a moderator so fearless twitter banned him in the middle of the chat!
And another shout out to participants from whom I learned a lot, a totally not exhaustive list follows:
Let me know who else I missed!
Come check out @Accenture and @AccentureTech, we’re doing some amazing things in supporting DevOps Transformations!
