Gone are the days in which the added value of DevOps had to be thoroughly explained and persuasively argued for. Its value has become virtually undisputed – from more frequent code deployments to lower change failure rates and faster time to recover from incidents, its benefits are diverse and tangible. Everyone is aware of its promise.
Adapting to Change to Reach DevOps Full Potential
Since the dawn of mankind that change is the only constant in life. New technologies and ways of working will keep evolving and manifest itself to experts and organizations in unexpected ways. The one thing that should be done is to have a mindset that embraces change so we can be as prepared as possible and use these changes as a competitive advantage.
It is no hidden secret that software delivery and operations performance is directly linked to business performance. Failing to appropriately apply DevOps ways of working and adapt to change will lead many businesses to demise. As the late and respected Robert Stroud, former Analyst at Forrester, once said, CIOs must recognize DevOps as imperative for their survival. But recognizing the importance of DevOps alone is not enough.
There are many reasons why DevOps hasn’t always reaped great benefits:
- Organizational Silos
- Different
- implementations
- tools
- environments
- incentives
- Etc.
- Blame Game
- Build Rollback
- Disintegrated Process
- No Feedback Loop
- Skills Knowledge Gaps
Indeed, Gartner predicts that through 2022, 75% of DevOps initiatives will fail to meet expectations due to issues around organizational learning and change. This is, to put it mildly, an issue.
Culture and Behavior as an Obstacle in Organizational Development
If organizations do not address and acknowledge cultural and behavioral challenges it will prevent them from delivering key business results.
The reason for this is often simple: change is neither easy to understand nor easily guided. Throwing out decades of embedded explicit and implicit practices can be a daunting prospect. Could culture (and lack thereof) be the largest obstacle to effectiveness?
Several industry leaders seem to think so. While DevOps typically focuses on automation, its end goal is to get people with different skills and backgrounds to work together effectively. For that to occur, new ways of working have to be encouraged, presented, and embraced.
It is in response to this need that the DevOps Agile Skills Association (DASA) launched its latest leadership certification, DASA DevOps Coach. Developed with experts from leading organizations such as Adidas, ABN AMRO, Philips, Diageo, and Société Générale, it aims to train Coaches who are capable of engendering a culture of DevOps collaboration and learning in their organizations. Coaches are responsible for ensuring individuals and teams are applying DevOps principles and behavior.
Anchoring the DASA DevOps Initiative
DASA DevOps Coach is an integral component for building and sustaining enterprise DevOps capabilities:
How Can DASA DevOps Coaches Make an Impact?
The DASA DevOps Coach serves as an objective party to help navigate common roadblocks and pain points when adopting DevOps practices. In the pursuit of driving DevOps success and better organizational performance, he develops new mindsets, behaviors, and ways of working. He seeks to inspire teams and individuals with thought-provoking and creative processes that put into place a cultural shift in their organizations. As Oliver Jacques, of DXC Technology, says, a “collaborative, transparent, positive and blameless culture” must be enabled.
The value of value-adding High-Touch services such as the ones provided by coaches is becoming increasingly important for Consultants, Staffing, and Training Organizations. Training organizations, for one, are offering DevOps Coaches to stand out from the crowd in an effort towards thought-leadership and building strategic relationships. The new DASA DevOps Coach demonstrates that you can embrace new technological solutions while at the same time keeping the human element at the forefront. In any case, understanding and developing the right organizational culture is key.
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