3 Major DevOps Roadblocks You Need to Consider
Just because DevOps has proven to be successful in establishing better communication and collaboration between the development and operations teams, it doesn’t mean it’s easy. In fact, there are quite a few obstacles that teams of varying sizes will face when undergoing a DevOps transformation that are impossible to ignore.
Larger, more complex organizations might be at an even greater risk of stumbling in this scenario, since there are various moving parts that need to come together in order to become more agile and run a steady ship. But no matter the size, teams can’t just jump into DevOps and expect quick results.
Speaking to StickyMinds, Chief Technology Officer of Electric Cloud, Anders Wallgren, highlighted three roadblocks on the way to a DevOps transformation that need to be overcome if you want to improve as a business.
- The first might seem obvious, but that doesn’t make it any less important to note: In large companies, virtually no one fully knows the details of everything that’s going on, and so gauging exactly what you could do wrong along the way can be tricky. By accepting what you don’t know and embracing the mistakes you might make, you can avoid becoming overwhelmed before ever getting started.
- Anders then points out the need for cultural change, which can be extremely difficult in an established team. “People are going to have to change, in some cases the way they do their day-to-day jobs, and that can be frightening to people,” he said. “Whether that's a ten-person company or a 100,000-person company, it's unsettling to people when that happens, but I think in the end there's enough evidence and good stories out there to demonstrate that this works.
- Lastly, beyond the culture, the political implications of instituting DevOps need to be taken into consideration. If people bet their careers on DevOps transformations, the stakes become extremely high for those who are considered decision-makers. So if you don’t have someone who’s seen the process through already, a single bump in the road might be too frightening to ignore. If jobs are on the line, slipping back into old habits can be tempting, but a leader needs to push through the hard times in order to realize the final goal.
Understanding what you don’t know, adjusting to cultural change, and managing the political state of your organization are all key if you wish to bring DevOps in. Again, it can be hard to ignore all the struggles along the way, but if you truly want to grow as a business, you’ll have to crack a few eggs to make that omelette.
