Computers are easy; people are hard (Minnebar 2018)

@bridgetkromhout #minnebar
Computers are easy;
people are hard

lives:
Minneapolis,
Minnesota
works:
Microsoft
podcasts:
Arrested
DevOps
organizes:
devopsdays
Bridget Kromhout

@bridgetkromhout #minnebarImage credit: 00abstrahiert99 on Flickr
…but #opslife

Massively scalable fault-tolerant
distributed systems require a
significant engineering effort to build
and operate; complex socio-technical
systems are even more challenging.
Computers are easy;
people are hard

complex
ecosystems

Image credit: visual_dichotomy on Flickr
“In the last week there were
67 deploys
of 496 changes
by 18 people”

quoted in “10+ Deploys Per Day:
Dev and Ops Cooperation at Flickr” at Velocity 2009
John Allspaw & Paul Hammond
Flickr Dev Blog, December 17th 2008
Image credit: visual_dichotomy on Flickr
“In the last week there were
67 deploys
of 496 changes
by 18 people”

Not the goal: resumé-driven development

The goal: shorter time from
idea to value
Image credit: leadliasionImage credit: thebigword

How do we
get to
the goal?

Legacy:
your
customers
& money
live
here

“It’s not necessary
to change.
Survival is
not mandatory.”
W. Edwards
Deming

just say no to “awesome mode” vs “sad mode”
Image credit: stock
bimodal IT?!?

tools: necessary but not sufficient

91F: yolo into
production!
samizdat.cc/cyoa
yolo!

containers : a means, not an end

architectural considerations

complexity isn’t the goal
Image credit: wikimedia

Attack
Kitten
growls
about
Day 2

Attack Kitten Cat Reality Check

empathy

two-pizza silo

The Wall of Confusion

The Wall of Confusion
yolo nope

“Understanding
is a
three-edged
sword”
Babylon 5
Ambassador Kosh

lower-bandwidth communication: more handshaking

for ops, don’t tell devs: gl;hf!
do: automate
document
share

for devs, build for operability:
observability, debuggability, reality

Image credit: James Ernest

hard problems & human factors

communication &
disconnects

Image credit: Vasa Museet
probably fine

observability: answering questions we didn’t know to ask

understand your environment

alerting the right people

@bridgetkromhout #minnebarImage credit: Wikipedia
“Any organization that designs a system…
will produce a design
whose structure is a copy of
the organization's
communication
structure.”
Mel Conway

inaction is still a choice

eight fallacies of distributed computing
1.The network is reliable.
2.Latency is zero.
3.Bandwidth is inﬁnite.
4.The network is secure.
5.Topology doesn’t change.
6.There is one administrator.
7.Transport cost is zero.
8.The network is homogenous.

eight fallacies of distributed humans
1.Your personal network is a reliable hiring source.
2.Communication is easy.
3.You can have it all!
4.Safety looks the same for everyone.
5.Your challenges are universal.
6.You’re good at computers; manage people!
7.If you can do it, why can’t they?
8.Tech is a meritocracy.

plot twist: ice

snow is a feature, not a bug

silos are for grain
not actually devops
still computers

devopsdays MSP July 12-13
(devopsdays.org)

Kubernetes 101
container.training
at NDC Minnesota, May 10

thanks!

Computers are easy; people are hard (Minnebar 2018)

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