Why Even DevOp
Nicole Forsgren, PhD
Partner, Microsoft Research
@nicolefv

@nicolefv
Hi!
Nicole Forsgren
I like Diet Coke and ice cream
Dev - Sysadmin - Researcher

DevOps is the original
hipster for well-being
and sustainable work

@nicolefv
Here’s what we’ll talk about today
● How DevOps helps us
● Productivity is personal
● Tiny wins
● The future of productivity and well-being

@nicolefv
When we stir up tech, process, and culture
improvements, we can develop and deliver
our tech in better ways.

@nicolefv
2021 Accelerate State of DevOps (DORA)

@nicolefv
Elite performers do better -- LOTS better
more frequent code
deployments
973x 6570x
Comparing to low performers, DORA’s latest research finds that elite performers have…
faster lead time from
commit to deploy
2021 Accelerate State of DevOps Report (DORA)
lower change fail rate
(changes are ⅓ less likely to fail)
3x 6570x
faster time to recover
from incidents

@nicolefv
These improvements help us reduce friction,
stop repeating mindless tasks, decrease our
cognitive load, improve security, [all the things]…
… so we can get back to doing the fun cool stuff

@nicolefv
DevOps improves developer well-being
as likely to experience
burnout during the pandemic
1/2
A positive team culture mitigates burnout
during challenging circumstances. Teams
with an inclusive, generative culture
2021 Accelerate State of DevOps Report (DORA)
Improvements in automation
and continuous delivery
reduce deployment pain and
burnout
2018 Accelerate State of DevOps Report (DORA)
Improving culture,
process,and
automation is key

@nicolefv
Automation makes things better
faster time to merge
pull requests
18% 34%
Once an open source repository starts using
Actions with their pull requests, we see…
more pull requests
merged
2020 State of the Octoverse Report (GitHub)

@nicolefv
Tiny wins
Improving productivity doesn’t have
to come from large projects.
Sometimes the most rewarding
things we do are small things with big
impact.
Joel talks about “tiny” projects with
big impact
https://joelcalifa.com/blog/tiny-wins/

@nicolefv
Remember!
“Automating ourselves
out of [repeatable]
work” is the point!
The key is what we do
with the time we’ve
reclaimed.
https://xkcd.com/1205/

@nicolefv
What does productivity look like?

Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”
begins, “It was the best of times, it was
the worst of times.” Adapting Dickens’
line to leading an engineering team
during the global pandemic, I’d say “We’re
doing very well, we’re barely hanging in
there.”
— Shane O’Flynn

@nicolefv
The TL;DR: on developer patterns globally during 2020
● Overall, developer patterns matched prior years (plus growth) year over year
● Working days (measured as push window) increased by 25-50 minutes
● Work volume (measured as push volume) didn’t drop -- or increased
● Pull request merge times got faster -- up to seven hours faster in open source
and up to 4.5 hours faster in work contexts -- a sign of increased collaboration
But these patterns don’t reveal the whole story (the what or the why), and likely
aren’t sustainable.
2020 State of the Octoverse Report (GitHub)

@nicolefv
What developers say: Productivity
● For most, productivity had not changed or had improved (62% - 68%)
● However, many less productive (32% - 38%)
○ For those that were less productive, that lack of productivity decreased
over time (38% to 30%), suggesting they found ways to accommodate
Productivity is personal.
People are affected differently, based on work styles, and the challenges and
benefits they face
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2008.11147.pdf

@nicolefv
What developers say: The good about WFH
● Less time on commute
● Spending less money
● Flexible work hours
● Closer to family
● More comfortable clothing
● Reduced health risks
● Better focus time
● Less distractions or interruptions
● More time to complete work
● More breaks
● Better work life balance
● Better work environment
● More efficient meetings
● More control over work
● More physical activity
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2008.11147.pdf

@nicolefv
What developers say: The good about WFH
● Less time on commute
● Spending less money
● Flexible work hours
● Closer to family
● More comfortable clothing
● Reduced health risks
● Better focus time
● Less distractions or interruptions
● More time to complete work
● More breaks
● Better work life balance
● Better work environment
● More efficient meetings
● More control over work
● More physical activity
● Less time on commute and More
time to complete work
Significant impact on productivity
Strongest impact on productivity
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2008.11147.pdf

@nicolefv
What developers say: The bad about WFH
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2008.11147.pdf
● Missing social interactions
● Lack of work-life boundary
● Poor ergonomics
● Less awareness of colleagues work
● Less physical activity
● Difficult to communicate with
colleagues
● Insufficient hardware
● Connectivity problems
● Poor work life balance
● Too many meetings
● More distractions or interruptions
● Lack of a routine
● Fewer breaks
● Friction with collaboration tools
● Lack of motivation
● Blocked waiting on others
● Poor home work environment
● Lack of dining options
● Lack of childcare
● Less time to complete work

@nicolefv
What developers say: The bad about WFH
Significant impact on productivity
Strongest impact on productivity
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2008.11147.pdf
● Missing social interactions
● Lack of work-life boundary
● Poor ergonomics
● Less awareness of colleagues work
● Less physical activity
● Difficult to communicate with
colleagues
● Insufficient hardware
● Connectivity problems
● Poor work life balance
● Too many meetings
● More distractions or interruptions
● Lack of a routine
● Fewer breaks
● Friction with collaboration tools
● Lack of motivation
● Blocked waiting on others
● Poor home work environment
● Lack of dining options
● Lack of childcare
● Less time to complete work
● Lack of childcare and Less time to
complete work

@nicolefv
WFH before COVID-19
The Good The Bad The Worrisome
● Improved
productivity
● Better punctuality
● Less attrition
● Fewer promotions
● Workplace stress
can compound for
those with young
children
● Fewer breaks
● Longer workdays
See Appendix
Key success factors:
● suitable working conditions at home
● efficient communication with coworkers
● supervisor trust and support

@nicolefv
Daily gratitudes
Butler & Jaffe
47%
daily gratitude reflection
positively impacted
well-being
Flexibility &
time with family
are bright spots
Resources for
mental health
are important

@nicolefv
Daily challenges
Butler & Jaffe
Coping with
WFH is elusive
for some
41% report no
improvement, 61% report
improvements
Feeling
overworked, and
lacking
motivation &
focus
are continued themes
Physical &
mental health
are a struggle,
and getting worse

@nicolefv
Each of us can do small things to make our
days better in measurable ways

Tiny wins for
ourselves

@nicolefv
Good Day Project
We did a study to help developers get quick and easy signals and patterns to
help them have better days, more consistently. (“What makes a good day, and
how can I have one more often?”)
The deets:
● Based on holistic concept of productivity using the SPACE framework
● Focus on individual: measures for us, not for managers
○ To help us measure our energy, not our time
● Goal is quick and easy measures with actionable signal
https://github.blog/2021-05-25-octoverse-spotlight-good-day-project
/

@nicolefv
What is the SPACE framework?
https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3454124
Dimension Definition
S: Satisfaction and Well-being How fulfilled, happy, and healthy one is
P: Performance An outcome of a process
A: Activity The count of actions or outputs
C: Communication and Collaboration How people talk and work together
E: Efficiency and Flow Doing work with minimal delays or interruptions
A holistic way to measure productivity

@nicolefv
Good Day Project
To capture SPACE quickly, we asked questions like:
● How was your work day?
● I worked with other people
● My work was interrupted
● How many meetings did you have today?
● Today, I felt most productive… (and least productive)
[the full instrument is available online!]
https://github.blog/2021-05-25-octoverse-spotlight-good-day-project
/

@nicolefv
Good Day Project
We did a study to help developers get quick and easy signals and patterns to
help them have better days, more consistently. (“What makes a good day, and
how can I have one more often?”)
The deets:
● Based on holistic concept of productivity using the SPACE framework
● Focus on individual: measures for us, not for managers
○ To help us measure our energy, not our time
● Goal is quick and easy measures with actionable signal
https://github.blog/2021-05-25-octoverse-spotlight-good-day-project
/

@nicolefv
Finding flow is key, and interruptions are a drag
chance of having a
good day
82% 7%
Minimal or no interruptions
give developers:
chance of having a
good day
2020 State of the Octoverse Report (GitHub)
Interruptions
throughout the day:

@nicolefv
Meetings are both awesome and terrible
-60%
Collaboration is a key
enabler of doing work,
connecting with people, and
can even help us do more
development.
chance of making
progress on goals
2020 State of the Octoverse Report (GitHub)
Too many meetings can be a
blocker. Going from 2 to 3
meetings per day

@nicolefv
Two minute daily reflection can help improve our days
● Developers liked the quick check-in as a way to reflect
● As a nice bonus: a wrap-up at the end of the day
● This echoes the Daily Gratitude study
For more info, including the survey questions we used and example reports, check
out https://github.blog/2021-05-25-octoverse-spotlight-good-day-project/

What’s next?

@nicolefv
Future of development and well-being
There are some important questions to ask
● How do new tools help us be more productive?
○ Let’s further reduce the repeatable things and focus on new work
● What is “productivity” when traditional (easy) measures no longer apply?
● How can we think about reducing harm?
● How can we expand our conceptualization of “developer”
○ Low-code and no-code tools create new opportunities and challenges
● How can we rethink well-being -- for work and boundaries?

@nicolefv
TL;DR
● How DevOps helps us
● Productivity is personal
● Tiny wins
● The future of productivity and well-being
Stay tuned!
Octoverse Report is coming
soon, with even more data
(omg!)

Thank you!

Appendix

@nicolefv
Citations and papers
● On workplace productivity: https://future.a16z.com/on-workplace-productivity/
● Good Day Project: https://github.blog/2021-05-25-octoverse-spotlight-good-day-project/
● Tiny Wins: https://joelcalifa.com/blog/tiny-wins/
● Ford et al: A Tale of Two Cities: Software Developers Working from Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic:
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2008.11147.pdf
● Butler and Jaffe: Challenges and Gratitude: A Diary Study of Software Engineers Working From Home During Covid-19
Pandemic
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/challenges-and-gratitude-a-diary-study-of-software-engineers-worki
ng-from-home-during-covid-19-pandemic/
● 2020 GitHub Octoverse https://future.a16z.com/on-workplace-productivity/
● 2021 Accelerate State of DevOps Report (DORA): https://cloud.google.com/devops/state-of-devops
● 2018 Accelerate State of DevOps Report (DORA): https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/state-of-devops-2018.pdf
● SPACE of developer productivity: https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3454124

@nicolefv
Let’s start by looking at a global view

UK Time Zone: push window and work volume

UK time zone: by day of week
The increased push volume on weekends is
likely due to a drop in the number of developers
on the weekends.
It may also represent an increase in the amount
of personal work, such as open source, hobbies,
and education

US Pacific Time Zone

US Pacific Time Zone
The increased push volume on weekends is
likely due to a drop in the number of developers
on the weekends.
It may also represent an increase in the amount
of personal work, such as open source, hobbies,
and education

how we work by day of week

work and OSS

a non-finding finding

collaboration: open source

collaboration: Team and Enterprise Cloud*

Making tech
sustainable

@nicolefv
Embrace DevOps principles
● Leverage automation
● Scale with the cloud
● Secure our work
● Innovate to meet our customers’ changing needs
● Build and foster our culture

@nicolefv
What’s not possible becomes possible
● Organizations around the world pushed to remote services and embraced
alternate models to deliver work
● What was once “not possible” or “too highly regulated” became possible
overnight