Confidential, Dynatrace LLC

Talking to People

The Forgotten DevOps Tool

Peter Varhol, Dynatrace LLC

About me

• International speaker and writer• Degrees in Math, CS, Psychology• Evangelist at Dynatrace• Former university professor, tech

journalist

“Conversation? It died in 2009.”

Confidential, Dynatrace LLC

Agenda

• Why DevOps?• What is killing conversation• Giving up control• Next steps

Why Devops?

• It’s all about these things

• We don’t talk enough

What Do We Do Instead?

The economy's biggest problem now: the smartphone?

The economy has a problem: Workers just aren't producing as much as they once did.

Some blame social media. Employees might feel like they're toiling away at the office, but if they are tweeting and Facebook messaging their friends, that's not doing much to boost the economy.

Have you Ever . . .

• Checked email in a meeting?• Updated Facebook for a quick break?• Pulled out your phone because you

were bored?• Stopped texting because you didn’t like

where the conversation was going?

We Talk More Than Ever

• E-mail• Text• IM• Skype• Conference calls

Even

• Yes, Emoji

But We Say Less Than Ever

• “Let’s touch base”• We comment on the inane• We script our conversations

• No spontaneity

Why Do We Do This?

It’s All About Control

• We are juggling more tasks than ever• Our lives feel out of control• Talking to people is unpredictable

• We try to make it predictable• We don’t want the stress

We are in control when we’re not face to face

• We can choose to initiate a conversation

• We can edit what we say• We can choose when it’s over

No,We Are Not Invincible

But We Have a Need to Be in Control

• We are afraid to be spontaneous• We want to be the person we

would like to be• That means not showing our

true selves

Our Excuses

• I don’t have the time• I’m not good face to face• I stress at encounters

• I need “white space”

• I’m more productive online• I need a record

Why Talk At All?

• The 7 percent rule• 7 percent of information exchanged is verbal• The non-verbal component was body

language (55 percent) and tone of voice (38 percent)

• This is a measure of information conveyed

What We Lose Through Our Devices

• Spontaneity

• Flow of random ideas

• Unexpected solutions

• Unexpected problems

• Most important

• Practice

Enter DevOps

• Breaks down silos• Combines elements of development and operations• Enables fast deployments• Identifies and fixes problems quickly

The Role of Communications

• Streamline processes• Share insights• Get work done• Solve problems

Designing for Conversation

• Put people together in non-meeting settings• Lunchroom• Offsites• Work spaces• Standups

And Leadership

• Lead by example

• Put the phone away during meetings

• Provide time for conversation

• Don’t send mixed messages

Geographically Dispersed Teams

• Dispersed teams aren’t going away• But they present barriers to conversation

• Overcoming requires creativity• Introduce personalities into calls• Get the team together occasionally• Use multiple communications channels

The Role of ChatOps

• Intriguing technology for combining communications and action• Talk to team members• Exchange data and files• Execute scripts and perform other

actions

Why Talk?

• You solve problems more quickly

• You address issues you never knew you had

• You establish trust

• You get practice

References

• Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in the Digital Age, by Sherry Turkle

• U.S. economy's biggest problem now: the smartphone• http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/23/news/economy/us-

economy-low-productivity/index.html

Thank You

Peter VarholDynatrace LLCpeter.varhol@Dynatrace.com