8 lessons from the Phoenix Project or 8 steps how to survive if you work in DevOps
In these lonely lock-down times many of us find companionship in books. So have I.
In my last post I have written 8 steps on how to enter the IT world. Now, that I am standing here, dipping my foot into the vast and murky cyber ocean my Glasswall gurus have handed me a book. It is called the Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr and George Spafford. A novel? I asked for a study, literature book and I get handed in a novel first. I am highly intrigued. This post is not a lesson in economy or how to run you business. It is my take on the book. Disclaimer — I am not a literature analyst. I am trying to steer away from any spoilers however, be aware there might be some.
Lesson 1 — What is work? Work can be categorised in business projects, internal projects, changes and unplanned work. It is utterly important not to allow the latter take over you resources
Lesson 2 — Risks due to IT are actually real business risks
Lesson 3— Information Security will protect your company and reduce the company’s risks but only if InfoSec objectives are aligned with the company’s objectives
Lesson 4 — Feedback Loops. In medical school physiology was my favourite module. A live body is a highly complex and functional system. Feedback loops are critical to maintain the homeostasis (a self-regulating process with enables functionality, equilibrium and survival) of that system. Why not use the same in DevOps? See problems and solve them as they occur. Simple as that. Apply that to life too.
Lesson 5 — Ensure knowledge and skill is not monopolised. In the book the company had a genius tech guy called Brent. He used to be the only one who could fix problems and he kept being distracted from doing his main task: The Phoenix Project. Bill, the VIP of the IT Department actually made him document his work and teach his skills to other people.
Lesson 6 — To visualise work flow and be able to adjust and implement changes kanban boards can be a very useful tool
Lesson 7 — effectively managed IT can be a predictor of company performance
Lesson 8 — as an intern in an IT company, you will not be able to take full advantage of the learning opportunity and to potentially progress if you don’t know how your company works and how things can potentially be improved. Get out there, talk to people, talk to the managers and see what are their daily struggles and if you can do anything to improve it.
Overall The Phoenix Project is an intriguing highly educating book. By reading an interesting, light to read filled with suspense story, the reader almost unintentionally learns about business and DevOps.
I can also say it is a great introduction to my work setting in Glasswall. I can see that Glasswall pages has taken many pages from that book — from kanbas boards, the presence of a learning culture (book library available), workflow visualisation (Wardley maps are a tweak to the book’s methods), agile infrastructure and many more. I am excited to continue my journey with a solid base on DevOps.
