The document discusses the concept of groupthink, which undermines critical analysis and effective decision-making in cohesive groups, particularly within DevOps teams. It outlines characteristics of groupthink, such as the illusion of invulnerability and collective rationalization, and suggests strategies for managing these mental biases. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of fostering a growth mindset among team members and employing external mechanisms to promote diverse perspectives and enhance team effectiveness.

1. DevOps and Groupthink
October 23,
An Oxymoron?
by
Gerie Owen

2. Gerie
Owen
• Test Manager, Test Lead, Tester
• Subject expert on testing for
TechTarget’s
SearchSoftwareQuality.com
• International and Domestic
Conference Presenter
• Marathon Runner & Running
Coach
• Cat Mom
www.qualitestgroup.com
gowen@qualitestgroup.com
2

3. Once Upon A Time...

6. What is Groupthink?
|Groupthink - A mode of thinking that people engage
in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-
group, when the members' strivings for unanimity
override their motivation to realistically appraise
alternative courses of action.
- Irving Janis. Victims of Groupthink. 1972, p. 9

7. What is Groupthink?

8. Characteristics of Groupthink

9. Illusion of Invulnerability
| Excessive Optimism that encourages taking excessive risk

10. Collective Rationalization
| Groups fail to reconsider assumptions and minimize warnings

11. Belief in Inherent Morality
| Groups believe in the rightness of their cause to the exclusion of ethical consequences

12. Stereotyped Outgroups
| Groups fail to consider the views of those members who are different from the norm.

13. Direct Pressure on Dissenters
| Dissenting team members are expected to conform or face consequences including
status degradation, expulsion from group or isolation

14. Self-Censorship
| Group members fail to express their own doubts and dissenting opinions, sabotaging
critical analysis

15. Illusion of Unanimity
| Teams assume the majority view is unanimous

16. An Oxymoron?
| DevOps is based on a culture of collaboration
| DevOps team members come from different and opposite disciplines
| However:
| Team members may have biases and fixed mindsets based on their respective areas of
expertise
| Team members from opposite disciplines may become polarized
| Informal leaders emerge

17. Groupthink in DevOps Teams
|The illusion of invulnerability
|The team is consistently in agreement with little discussion.
|Collective rationalization and self-censorship during meetings and
team discussions

18. How does Groupthink Happen?
| Informational Signals
| Group members withhold differing information
out of respect for information that has already
been provided
| Social Pressures
| Group members withhold contradictory
information because they fear disapproval or
sanctions
| Influence of Strong Leaders

19. Why does Groupthink Happen?
| Group members’ mindsets impede critical thinking
| Group interaction amplifies individual biases
| Group Discussions dissolve into Deliberation Failures

20. What is a mindset?
|Developed by psychologist Carol Dweck
|How we mentally approach life and its challenges
|Why brains and talent don’t bring success
|How they can stand in the way of it
|Why praising brains and talent doesn’t foster self-esteem and
accomplishment, but jeopardizes them

21. What is a mindset
|Broadly categorized in one of two ways
|Fixed
|Growth

22. Characteristics of a fixed mindset
| We are either smart or dumb
| We have to continually prove ourselves
| Failure is a personal reflection on our intelligence

23. Implications of a fixed mindset
|“I did my job right; someone else screwed up”
|“These builds negatively impact network resources”
|“The network needs to be able to handle these builds”

24. Characteristics of a growth mindset
| We can work to improve our intelligence and abilities
| What we have now is only a starting point
| We accept failure as a learning process

25. Implications of a growth mindset
|“I always have more to learn”
|“We can work together to make code changes without
impacting stability and reliability”

26. Fixed mindsets can lead to
groupthink

27. Group Interactions Amplify Biases
| Representativeness
| People make judgements about situations based
upon on similar the situation under consideration
is to others that they have experienced.
| Confirmation Bias
| People weigh more heavily information which
supports what they already believe to be true.

28. Failures in Deliberation
|Cascade Effect
|Polarization

29. Cascade Effect
| Because of the human desire to conform, group members will agree with the views of
the initial speakers without critically assessing their own and later speakers ideas.

30. Polarization
| Group members may start out with moderate views on an issue but as opposite points
of view emerge, moderate views tend to move to extremes as members focus on
only the information supporting their initial view.

31. Managing Groupthink
| Individually
| Manage our own biases and mindsets
| Internally
| From within the team
| Externally
| From outside the team

32. Managing Groupthink Individually
| Listen to team members
| Listen 80% of the time, talk 20%
| Listen to yourself
| Be the Anxious Leader
| What bothers you about this decision?
| Voice it!
| Manage Your Own Mindset

33. Manage Groupthink Internally
| Build a Diverse Team
| Establish a Group “Growth” Mindset
| Withhold discussion until each team member has given their opinion
| Appoint a “devil’s advocate” to help the group critically examine all decisions.

34. Managing Groupthink Externally
|Container
|Difference
|Exchange

35. Container Difference Exchange Theory
|Managers can influence the team’s self organization
|Glenda Eoyang based CDE theory on organizational behavior
|Container Difference and Exchange are factors that influence teams
| How a team self-organizes
| Thinks, and
| Acts as a group

36. The Container
|The container creates the bounds within which the
system forms
|DevOps Team Containers:
| Physical space
| Scope of Responsibility of the team
| Size of the team

37. The Difference
|Difference refers to the individual characteristics of the team
members and this affects the team’s interactions.
|DevOps Team Differences:
| Technical backgrounds and specializations of the developers and operations staff
| Domain knowledge, length of service
• gender, education
| Individuals mindsets and biases

38. The Exchange
|The exchange is how the group members interact among
themselves and with their stakeholders
|DevOps Team Exchanges:
• Who provides and receives information
• How information is provided and received

39. Using CDE…Evaluate the Factors
| What containers, differences and exchanges affect the team?
| Are these containers, differences and exchanges appropriate in terms of size, scope,
level of influence?
| What impact does each container, difference and exchanges have on the team?
| Is the impact positive, negative, neutral?
| What container, difference or exchange is causing the biggest negative impact?
| What change or changes can be made to that container/difference/exchange?

40. Examples of CDE
| Changing the Container
| Professional Community: Groupthink may be occurring because the team is not exposed to cutting edge
ideas on testing
| Send team members to conferences, user groups etc. to instill the importance of quality
| Changing the Difference
| Groupthink may be happening because one team members has a strong personality and is not committed
to quality and others won’t express opposing opinions.
| Add an equally strong-willed team member or remove the team member from the team.
| Changing the Exchange:
| Groupthink may be happening because the team is not getting enough feedback on quality in the sprint
reviews.
| Make sure the stakeholders to whom quality is most important are invited to the sprint review meetings

41. Why Mitigate Groupthink in DevOps?
| Inhibits the DevOps Principles of
Communication and Transparency
| Impedes DevOps Transformations
| Limits innovative solutions that can come
from the cross-functional nature of DevOps
Teams
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42. Summary
| Groupthink is a danger for any specialized and close-knit group
| When DevOps teams engage in groupthink, continuous integration may be
compromised.
| Managers and leaders can counteract groupthink by using CDE to influence the team’s
self-organization
| Collaborate as a group, but think as an individual

43. References:
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Dweck, 2006.
Facilitating Organizational Change, Olson and Eoyang, 2001.
Thinking Fast and Slow, Kahneman, 2011
Victims of Groupthink, Janis, 1972
Wiser: Getting Beyond Groupthink to Make Groups Smarter, Sunstein and Hastie, 2015