Protecting The Devops Whale in Large EnterprisesJustin ArbuckleChief Architect - GE Capital

with artwork by Matt Kish

the narrative arc

Looming

Alliances and Prophets

Appearance

Challenge

Captains

Squall

Spearing

Sparing

Hunters

Sea and Land

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Horses can’t be unicorns. But they can have a whale of a time. (ba-da-boom)

(apologies to Chris Little)

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“It is not down on any map; true places never are.”

!• Planning a credible journey• Building a diverse alliance• Keeping your Compass by losing your centre• Remembering your route

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Looming

Decide to “go to sea”. Stop being an observer. Have a point of view. Don’t outsource it. !A problem looms. Always.!Consistency is the root of…securitystabilitysimplicity

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Land & Sea

this is the land: Waterfall, big designs and slowly failing projects.!this is the sea:Open Source, Continuous Delivery, Agile, MVP, DevOps and fast failing projects.!The sea is a location unlike ‘cloud,’ which is a method.

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Alliance & Prophets

Beware of prophets of doom, find your “Spouter Inn”!Find those who share the problem and need to get to sea…!

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Appearance

The looming idea becomes real.!Show them.Early demonstrations to everybody.You will know if others lack faith.

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Planning a Credible Journey When you havent shown the way

Looming

Alliances

Appearance

Sea and Land

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Challenge

Set a challenge to SHOW the payoff - full stack, short timeframe, visible.!faster = better design (!)faster to MVP proves your process!BUT speed is not enough…it’s not even the most important thing.

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Hunters

A dedicated team from across the businesses…who will return to shore one day.!You CANNOT be the centre. (That’s Ahab’s way)!

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Building a Diverse Alliance

When you have mis-framed the challenge

Challenge

Hunters

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the autonomy arc

Captains

You will meet many along the way.And you will meet them on the way back…!Demonstrate everything as you go, transparency is your friend.!make them merchants of what you are seeking.

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Squall

Five Kinds, usually 2 at a time:1. Technical2. Organisational3. Cultural4. Commercial5. Procedural!Every one is weathered by relying on the spread of your alliance in the challenge!DECENTRE YOUR EXCELLENCE

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A digression on the myth of control & the law of requisite variety

the more complex and evolving the change required in behaviours, the deeper within the system the control for it needs to be devolved.

Keeping your Compass by Losing your Centre When your compass fails

Squall

Spearing

Sparing

Captains

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the peer arc

execution debt

Spearing

Long hours, many failed attempts..and finally success.!Reward visibly.!Some will not have made it. Dont be afraid to differentiate but draw them back in for the next round.

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Sparing

Your first challenge should result in a platform for the next.!

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Remembering your route blameless post-mortems

Spearing

Sparing

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Hunters

The Archetypes All of them at some time…

Ahab

Starbuck Ishmael

the Whale

Queequeg

be the whale

all art used by permission - Matt Kish

check out “Moby Dick in Pictures” on Amazon (re)reading the original book wouldn't be a bad idea either…

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justin.arbuckle@ge.com

linkedIn : /justinarbuckle

twitter : @dromologue

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