This document summarizes the key findings from a presentation on high performing DevOps teams. It discusses that while technology itself may not matter, factors like frequent deployment, cooperation between dev and ops, culture and processes are important. Data shows high performing teams deploy code 46x more frequently and have much faster lead times. These teams also have much higher reliability and lower failure rates. Adopting DevOps practices correlates with better meeting organizational goals, higher customer satisfaction, and improved employee satisfaction. The document cautions against relying on maturity models and argues that architecture is more important than the specific technology stack. It advocates for using data and science to continuously improve practices to better the work experience.
13. @nicolefv
High Performing DevOps teams
More agile
More frequent
Code deployments
46x
That’s the difference between multiple
times per day and once a week or less.
Faster lead time from
commit to deploy
440x
That’s the difference between less than
an hour and more than a week.
@nicolefv https://www.flickr.com/photos/151876933@N04/38992268995/
14. @nicolefv
High Performing DevOps teams
More reliable
Faster mean time to
recover from downtime
96x
That means high performers recover in
less than an hour instead of several days
As likely that changes
will fail
1/5x
That means high performer’s changes fail 0-15%
of the time, compared to 31-45% of the time.
@nicolefv https://www.flickr.com/photos/151876933@N04/38992268995/
16. @nicolefv
High Performing tech organizations are
twice as likely to meet or exceed
Commercial Goals
• Productivity
• Profitability
• Market Share
• # of customers
2x
@nicolefv https://www.flickr.com/photos/151876933@N04/38992268995/
17. @nicolefv
High Performing tech organizations are
twice as likely to meet or exceed
Commercial Goals
• Productivity
• Profitability
• Market Share
• # of customers
Non-commercial Goals
• Quantity of products or
services
• Operating efficiency
• Customer satisfaction
• Quality of products or
services
• Achieving organizational
or mission goals
2x
@nicolefv https://www.flickr.com/photos/151876933@N04/38992268995/
18. @nicolefv
High Performing tech organizations are
twice as likely to meet or exceed
Commercial Goals
• Productivity
• Profitability
• Market Share
• # of customers
Non-commercial Goals
• Quantity of products or
services
• Operating efficiency
• Customer satisfaction
• Quality of products or
services
• Achieving organizational
or mission goals
50% Higher market cap
growth over 3 years
2x
@nicolefv https://www.flickr.com/photos/151876933@N04/38992268995/
19. @nicolefv
Software Delivery Performance is
comprised of throughput and stability,
and both are possible without tradeoffs
@nicolefv@nicolefv https://www.flickr.com/photos/151876933@N04/38992268995/
20. @nicolefv
How do we get there?
@nicolefv https://www.flickr.com/photos/fantascapes/4530372648
26. @nicolefv
Maturity models tell us
(and leaders) to stop
dedicating resources
once we have arrived.
@nicolefv https://www.flickr.com/photos/volvob12b/9988822123/
27. @nicolefv
Maturity models tell us
we all follow the same
path to success
@nicolefv https://www.flickr.com/photos/mortaupat/6410006785
28. @nicolefv
Maturity models tell us
technology is a checklist to be
completed and not an exciting
journey to continually explore
and improve.
@nicolefv https://www.flickr.com/photos/pebb/42467336382
30. @nicolefv
Technology stack doesn’t matter
•Low performers are more likely to:
• be working with outsourced software
• be working on a mainframe system
BUT
• Working on a mainframe system was not correlated
with performance.
• Working on greenfield or brownfield (or any other
system) was not correlated with performance, either.
@nicolefv https://www.flickr.com/photos/serenasoftware/3288275568
31. @nicolefv
Architectural outcomes matter
Can my team
•Change the design of its system
•Test the system
•Deploy the system
... without communication and coordination with
people outside the team?
@nicolefv https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BalticServers_data_center.jpg
37. @nicolefv
Employees in high performing
organizations are 2.2 times
more likely to recommend
their organization as a
great place to work
@nicolefv https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/17383831292
38. @nicolefv
Some of my other favorite
misconceptions
Some of my other
favorite data findings!
39. @nicolefv
Some of my other favorite
misconceptions
Some of my other
favorite data findings!
• Change advisory boards are useless*
• Integration times and branch lifetimes
lasting hours are better than days
I just wrote a book called Accelerate. It summarizes 4 years of research.
But WHYYYYYY? I don’t like writing.
I’d much rather sit around drinking Diet Coke.
Our story begins with Harvard Business Review.
BUT WHAT IS HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW?
HBR is a magazine that managers and executives read that presents research in an short, easy-to-read format.
This is where management gets all of their ideas from.
In the year of our lord 2003, Nicholar Carr wrote an article TITLED
Who is Nicholas Carr? He is a Pulitzer Prize nominated writer. So his ideas count even more!
Well, this idea can die in a fire.
IT, and technology, DOES matter.
But we need more than stories and intuition to tell us that. We need data. We need proof to tell management so that we can get our work and our initiatives funded.
So let’s get started. After working in tech and building systems, I pivoted to research.
I’ve been digging into data on tech impacts for a decade, and studying DevOps for four years.
That whole “IT doesn’t matter” thing? Nicholas Carr had a point.
He was making his case based on the way companies were doing tech in the 80s and 90s.
…
… but I don’t believe you
OR
… but I’m not going to invest in it. What good does it do for me?
OR
… why should I care?
b/c if we don’t invest the right way, it’s a missed opportunity
Data backs our intuition… it’s factual
Okay… but “SO WHAT?”??”
This is important, and something that we could only verify with data.
Our intuition told us this was possible.
But others have told us it wasn’t so. Who here works in highly regulated fields, or government?
ITIL and groups in Europe have said for over a decade that we have to slow down to be safe and stable.
Four years of data show that this isn’t the case at all. High performers…
IN FACT.. It might be the opposite.
But… how are we going to get there?
Let me explain to you: Maturity Models.
These are a rubric, invented by someone, that explain how to go from sucking at technology, to being amazing at technology.
At one point, World of Warcraft came out and Level 60 was amazing and as high as you could go. A Level 60 mage or warlock was awesome and it was freaking HARD to get there. So this was a serious GOAL. So if you use a maturity model…. 40 is moderate, 50 is super high, 60 is epic. And once you achieve this, you are amazing and you are set.
(go)
OH WAIT. Except the world changed. The competition changed…. And now you can get to level 110. Suddenly being a Level 60 just isn't’ very cool anymore, and frankly, it isn’t good enough. Technology is the same way. And so is business. The best, most innovative companies know this. Their competition is getting better, the world is changing, and customers demand more. So instead of picking a destination, like in a maturity model, they point in a a direction,
As engineers, we know that abstractions never fully map to the world.
MORE fun things we found in the data that debunked myths!
Change approvals
OTHER – days of time to have branch active
We can only do this with data.
With math, we need a proof
Intuition is great, but we need to know for sure.
You’re a part of this thing
We can only do this with data.
With math, we need a proof
Intuition is great, but we need to know for sure.
You’re a part of this thing
Change approvals
OTHER – days of time to have branch active
We can only do this with data.
With math, we need a proof
Intuition is great, but we need to know for sure.
You’re a part of this thing