DevOps is Not a Silo — Agile Heretic Episode 8

The video below tells a story of a company that strove to make DevOps just another silo. Years ago I was sitting in a Nashville suburb eating dinner with Gene Kim. I told him the story in this video. I lamented … “DevOps is function, not a team!”

I’ve never seen fingers fly to twitter quite that fast.

Today, nearly five years later, I see more and more DevOps groups. I see DevOps managers. I see … the most confusing things.

DevOps, simply put, is Dev making sure their stuff deploys by working with Ops during deployment. It isn’t leaving a few story points open if they find an emergency bug. It isn’t throwing over the wall to another group. It’s responsible collaboration.

Come on … you made DevOps a silo … seriously?

Jim Benson is the creator and co-author of Personal Kanban. His other books include Why Limit WIP, Why Plans Fail, and Beyond Agile. He is a winner of the Shingo Award for Excellence in Lean Thinking and the Brickell Key Award. He teaches online at Modus Institute and consults regularly, helping clients in all verticals create working system. He regularly keynotes Agile and Lean conferences, focusing on the future of work.