From the GitLab Data Team member, a first-face story about how the asynchronous way of working helps us manage the “chaos” (as folks usually think about remote work) in the 24/7 work environment. In this session, I like to demystify transparency and how it can leverage your success. The narrative is related to the Data team in GitLab and can be used for any matter. Will wrap the topics and guide you through: - Why transparency is an organic way to communicate and cooperate, - How to stay secure when you share everything or almost everything with the outer world, - How to leverage your data usage and still stay a good boy of the IT world, - What you should promise to your community

1. Steal our
knowledge, please!
Transparency as a mode to persist in a data
world
Radovan Bacovic
Staff Data Engineer @ GitLab

2. Let me scare you

3. Let me scare you

4. Let me scare you
Reputation damage

5. Let me scare you
Reputation damage

6. Let me scare you
Knowledge
stealing
Reputation damage

7. Let me scare you
Knowledge
stealing
Reputation damage

8. Let me scare you
Knowledge
stealing
Reputation damage

9. Let me scare you
Knowledge
stealing
Reputation damage
Compliance

10. Let me scare you
Knowledge
stealing
Reputation damage
5m $ fines
Compliance

11. Sounds creepy? Yes, it is!

12. Sounds creepy? Yes, it is!
This can happen to you, and you… and
you.
And to you young boy, do not laugh.

13. About GitLab (company)

14. What makes GitLab unique?

15. What makes GitLab unique?
(Probably) the most transparent company in the world

16. What makes GitLab unique?
Total transparent operational model - so transparent that
it is intimidating

17. What makes GitLab unique?
All remote from the beginning

18. What makes GitLab unique?
The biggest all-remote company in the world

19. What makes GitLab unique?
All-remote and async work advocate

20. What makes GitLab unique?
A global leader in distributed work

21. What GitLab is doing?

22. What GitLab is doing?
The DevSecOps Platform delivered as a single
application to help you iterate faster and innovate
together

26. GitLab by num83r5

27. 0
We have 0 offices

28. 1600
1600+ team members in more than 65 countries and
regions

29. 30+ millions
30+ million registered users

30. 22
Releases a new version of the product on the 22nd of
every month.

31. 2000
GitLab handbook has over 2000 web pages of text.

32. Typical way of hiding
data
A “normal” company

33. Typical way of exposing
data
The GitLab way

34. Defining values and sub values

35. Collaboration
Result
Efficiency
Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging
Iterate
Transparency

37. Transparency by Default - Security aspect

38. Transparency by Default - Security aspect
In alignment with our company value of Transparency,
focus of the security organization is:
to lead the most transparent security organization in
business today

39. Transparency by Default - Security aspect
Open to GitLab, Partners, Customers, Community

40. Transparency by Default - what not to expose
● Vendor Audit Reports
● Procedures/Runbooks/work instructions containing sensitive or personal data
● Customer questionnaires
● Detailed control test results to include observations and remediation plans
● Gap analysis reports
● Project management documentation containing sensitive or personal data
● Security metrics
● Security KPIs
● Security OKRs
● Unmitigated vulnerabilities
● HackerOne vulnerability submissions post internal triage
● 3rd party penetration test full detail reports

41. Transparency by Default - Community aspect
Even as a public company, we know that our value of
transparency will be key to our success

42. Transparency by Default - Community aspect
By making information public, we can reduce the
threshold to contribution and make collaboration
easier

43. Transparency by Default - Community aspect
● Transparency creates awareness for GitLab
● Allows us to recruit people that care about our values
● Gets us more and faster feedback from people
outside the company
● Makes it easier to collaborate with them

44. Transparency by Default - Community aspect
We believe this cycle creates more value than it captures.
Software
Processes
Documentation
Lessons
Examples
Open
Source

45. Transparency by Default
Community aspect
1. Directness

46. Transparency by Default
Community aspect
1. Directness
2. Articulate when you change
your mind

47. Transparency by Default
Community aspect
1. Directness
2. Articulate when you change
your mind
3. Surface issues constructively

48. Transparency by Default
Community aspect
1. Directness
2. Articulate when you change
your mind
3. Surface issues constructively
4. Transparency is most
valuable if you continue to do
it when there are costs

49. Transparency by Default
Community aspect
1. Directness
2. Articulate when you change
your mind
3. Surface issues constructively
4. Transparency is most
valuable if you continue to do
it when there are costs
5. Single Source of Truth

50. Transparency by Default
Community aspect
1. Directness
2. Articulate when you change
your mind
3. Surface issues constructively
4. Transparency is most
valuable if you continue to do
it when there are costs
5. Single Source of Truth
6. Findability

51. Transparency by Default
Community aspect
1. Directness
2. Articulate when you change
your mind
3. Surface issues constructively
4. Transparency is most
valuable if you continue to do
it when there are costs
5. Single Source of Truth
6. Findability
7. Say why, not just what

52. Transparency by Default
Community aspect
1. Directness
2. Articulate when you change
your mind
3. Surface issues constructively
4. Transparency is most
valuable if you continue to do
it when there are costs
5. Single Source of Truth
6. Findability
7. Say why, not just what
8. Reproducibility

53. Transparency by Default
Community aspect
1. Directness
2. Articulate when you change
your mind
3. Surface issues constructively
4. Transparency is most
valuable if you continue to do
it when there are costs
5. Single Source of Truth
6. Findability
7. Say why, not just what
8. Reproducibility
9. Transparency Competency

54. Stay on the bright side - SAFE framework

55. Stay on the bright side - SAFE framework
● Sensitive
● Accurate
● Finance
● Effect

56. Stay on the bright side
SAFE framework

57. Single Source of truth - GitLab Handbook

58. Single Source of truth - GitLab Handbook
The GitLab team handbook is the central
repository for how we run the company.

59. Single Source of truth
GitLab Handbook
Why it is important
1. As a team scales, the need for
documentation increases in parallel with the
cost of not doing it

60. Single Source of truth
GitLab Handbook
Why it is important
1. As a team scales, the need for
documentation increases in parallel with the
cost of not doing it
2. Ideal time to begin a company handbook is at
inception, the next best time is today.

61. Single Source of truth
GitLab Handbook
Why it is important
1. As a team scales, the need for
documentation increases in parallel with the
cost of not doing it
2. Ideal time to begin a company handbook is at
inception, the next best time is today.
3. At GitLab, only 90 days of Slack activity is
retained. After that, it's gone!

62. Single Source of truth
GitLab Handbook
Why it is important
1. As a team scales, the need for
documentation increases in parallel with the
cost of not doing it
2. Ideal time to begin a company handbook is at
inception, the next best time is today.
3. At GitLab, only 90 days of Slack activity is
retained. After that, it's gone!
4. Handbooks, and the documentation that
creates them, are never finished.

63. Single Source of truth
GitLab Handbook
Why it is important
1. As a team scales, the need for
documentation increases in parallel with the
cost of not doing it
2. Ideal time to begin a company handbook is at
inception, the next best time is today.
3. At GitLab, only 90 days of Slack activity is
retained. After that, it's gone!
4. Handbooks, and the documentation that
creates them, are never finished.
5. A common belief is that a company wiki can
serve as a handbook, but the reality is that
wikis do not scale.

64. Single Source of truth
GitLab Handbook
Why it is important
1. As a team scales, the need for
documentation increases in parallel with the
cost of not doing it
2. Ideal time to begin a company handbook is at
inception, the next best time is today.
3. At GitLab, only 90 days of Slack activity is
retained. After that, it's gone!
4. Handbooks, and the documentation that
creates them, are never finished.
5. A common belief is that a company wiki can
serve as a handbook, but the reality is that
wikis do not scale.
6. Empower the entire team to evolve the
handbook

65. Single Source of truth
GitLab Handbook
Why it is important
1. As a team scales, the need for
documentation increases in parallel with the
cost of not doing it
2. Ideal time to begin a company handbook is at
inception, the next best time is today.
3. At GitLab, only 90 days of Slack activity is
retained. After that, it's gone!
4. Handbooks, and the documentation that
creates them, are never finished.
5. A common belief is that a company wiki can
serve as a handbook, but the reality is that
wikis do not scale.
6. Empower the entire team to evolve the
handbook
7. What goes in a company handbook?
Company / Building Blocks |
Groups/departments | The day-to-day

66. Single Source of truth
GitLab Handbook
Why it is important
1. As a team scales, the need for
documentation increases in parallel with the
cost of not doing it
2. Ideal time to begin a company handbook is at
inception, the next best time is today.
3. At GitLab, only 90 days of Slack activity is
retained. After that, it's gone!
4. Handbooks, and the documentation that
creates them, are never finished.
5. A common belief is that a company wiki can
serve as a handbook, but the reality is that
wikis do not scale.
6. Empower the entire team to evolve the
handbook
7. What goes in a company handbook?
Company / Building Blocks |
Groups/departments | The day-to-day
8. Make it public

67. What you should promise to your community

68. What you should promise to your community
We will not share any of your details with us or
any 3rd party*
* you can think of some other companies, right?

69. How to steal our knowledge in 3 steps

70. 1.
Check our handbook Fork it
2.
Adjust it for your needs
3.
… and enjoy!
How to steal our knowledge in 3 steps

71. What quest?ons
do you have for me?

72. Let's wrap up
and
gather takeaways

73. Embrace open-core and open-source
operational model to create a transparent
working environment

74. Speaking about transparency through our
cultural lens, we are:
“Short Term Critical And Long Term
Optimistic”

75. Transparency is an organic way to
communicate and cooperate

76. Stay secure: the more you share and reveal
to the public, the less can be pocketed

77. Create your own SSOT (Single Source of
Truth) for a better transparency

78. Be more transparent and keep promises
you gave to the community

79. It is fairly easy to re-use the knowledge
and experience, think of the GitLab way

80. About me
Find me, ping me, ask me

81. Thank you!