There’s much to consider in the world of DevOps, including a DevOps career path. Hear firsthand from a leader in this field, Francis Pindar, Founder of AdminToArchictect and a 26X Salesforce certified guru.
Pindar, a developer by trade, has experienced the DevOps cycle in its entirety and brings a unique perspective. We recently sat down with Pindar as he discusses best approaches to the DevOps cycle, how to circumvent issues, and even how to ask the right questions to speed the process along.
Listen in as Pindar discusses all of this and more in our webinar DevOps Full Circle: Development to Architecture to App Management.
Here are some of the topics Pindar covers:
- The ‘Gordon Ramsay’ approach to DevOps
- The silent killer in the DevOps process: WIP
- Shifting left to streamline DevOps testing
The ‘Gordon Ramsay’ approach to DevOps
Giving thoughtful consideration to the efficiency, or lack thereof, of the DevOps model, Pindar uses the “Gordon Ramsay” approach and really questions the entire process. That’s because layers upon layers of approvals can be nonsensical, and create unnecessary bottlenecks.
What does Pindar recommend? He says to constantly ask ‘why’ to identify issues and ultimately, to find a better way of operating. In DevOps, just as in Ramsay’s widely popular cooking show, there can literally be too many cooks in the kitchen!
Is there really a silent killer among us?
In DevOps, Pindar says there is. It’s called work-in-progress, and during this phase of app development is where things can quickly go off-course. When apps get hung up in the work-in-progress phase, it can be tricky to move things along.
To keep things moving and avoid bottlenecks in the process; however, Pindar espouses taking an Agile approach to app development. Using agile methodology, development is viewed in shorter sprints. Doing so enables a faster determination of which ideas are viable.
Pindar takes an architect’s mindset when looking at the process, and asks the question: how can I break the process down into smaller bits? His rationale: a large batch approach requires that we get much further down the road before any testing is undertaken whatsoever. This doesn’t allow for pinpointing and addressing issues along the way.
Shift left to streamline DevOps testing
Another crucial topic Pindar addresses: shifting left and moving the testing phase up in the process. To achieve this, he applauds the use of single-piece flow.
In single-piece flow, smaller pieces of code are submitted at pre-determined stages rather than holding until everything is ready to go. One of the goals of a DevOps architect is to increase the flow of work through the system, and incorporating testing as early in the development cycle as possible is one way to achieve that. So to streamline testing – shift it left.
A DevOps career path’s key to success
DevOps requires a multifaceted approach: from taking an investigative stance like Pindar and questioning the entire process to unmasking silent killers and streamlining testing. A DevOps career requires all of this, and more.
But what mustn’t be overlooked is the mission-critical role of security in the process. Accelerating digital transformation is important, but organizations must do so all the while maintaining a cybersecurity posture. Flosum enables just that.
Flosum empowers teams to put real DevSecOps into practice, achieving alignment between DevOps and security teams. To learn more about how Flosum can hold the key to DevSecOps in your organization, request a free demo.
And don’t miss out on Salesforce guru Francis Pindar’s approach to DevOps. Watch the webinar.