The Real Measure of Success in Platform Engineering | MassDriver CEO Cory O'Daniel
Oct 22, 2024
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Cory O'Daniel, CEO and co-founder of MassDriver, brings over 20 years of experience in DevTools and platform engineering. In a lively discussion, he debunks the myth of the ‘Golden Path’ in DevOps, revealing the pitfalls many organizations face. He shares insights on the evolution of cloud operations and the transformative role of internal developer platforms. Cory raises thought-provoking questions about measuring success in platform engineering and the challenges of balancing new hires with operational demands, making this conversation a must-listen for tech enthusiasts.
The term 'platform engineering' often leads to confusion, as many organizations merely maintain infrastructure instead of evolving towards a development-focused approach.
There exists a significant gap between theoretical engineering metrics and practical application, highlighting the need for actionable insights based on real-world experiences.
Concerns about the preparedness of new developers emphasize the necessity for organizations to integrate operational skills into their training programs.
Deep dives
The Evolution of Platform Engineering
The discussion highlights that the term 'platform engineering' has emerged as a rebranding of previous concepts like DevOps and SRE, leading to confusion about its true significance. In many organizations, teams claiming to be involved in platform engineering often find themselves merely maintaining existing infrastructure through manual tasks in cloud consoles, failing to adopt a more development-focused approach. This stagnation reveals a disconnect between the industry’s evolving capabilities in cloud technology and the practices being implemented at the team level. Ultimately, the superficial adoption of the term obscures the pressing need for genuine improvements in engineering practices and culture within organizations.
The Importance of Engineering Metrics
The gap between theory and practice in engineering metrics is underscored by the challenges teams face when trying to apply these metrics to real-world scenarios. Despite the existence of established frameworks, teams often lack the context necessary to make informed decisions regarding which metrics to prioritize. A joint initiative between Linear B and Refactoring aims to address this knowledge gap through a community survey designed to collect authentic experiences and create a practical playbook for tech leaders. By gathering these real-world stories, the efforts will help bridge the divide between abstract metrics and actionable insights in engineering.
The Challenge of Developer Preparation
The discussion reveals concerns about the preparedness of developers entering the workforce today, particularly in relation to operations and cloud technologies. Many developers from bootcamp programs or universities may excel in writing code but lack essential knowledge about managing cloud infrastructure, leading to difficulties in actual practice. This deficiency contributes to a trends towards lower operational expertise as older generations of operations specialists retire without sufficient replacements. To address this issue, there is an urgent need for organizations to cultivate operational skills and integrate them into the training of new developers.
Contextual Issues in DevOps Practices
Significant discrepancies exist in how organizations interpret and implement DevOps practices, leading to a range of experiences among teams. Some teams still handle operations and development in siloed environments, continuing outdated practices that fail to capitalize on DevOps principles, which aim for harmony and collaboration. This lack of understanding among different teams complicates the pursuit of effective and meaningful DevOps integration, often resulting in superficial compliance rather than genuine progress. As such, organizations must prioritize education and clear communication regarding the goals and practices essential for true DevOps transformation.
Platform Engineering as an Internal Tool
Platform engineering can be viewed as a necessary evolution for organizations seeking to optimize their development processes, ideally functioning as an internal platform-as-a-service (PaaS). This internal framework should cater specifically to the needs of different teams, allowing them to focus on core development tasks without getting bogged down by infrastructure management. However, the approach to platform engineering must remain flexible, as one-size-fits-all solutions can lead to dissatisfaction among teams that have distinct requirements. By customizing the platform experience, organizations can enhance developer productivity and satisfaction while reducing bottlenecks within the development lifecycle.
It’s time we recognize the idea of a ‘Golden Path’ is unrealistic.
In this episode of Dev Interrupted, host Dan Lines is joined by Cory O'Daniel, CEO of MassDriver, to discuss Cory’s provocative article 'DevOps is Bullshit'. They cover the pitfalls of DevOps, the evolution of cloud operations and whether or not platform engineering is the solution the industry needs .
Cory shares insights on why many organizations struggle with DevOps implementation, the impact of cloud technology on traditional operations, and how internal developer platforms are reshaping the industry.
Topics:
01:03 Where has DevOps gone wrong?
04:19 Have we changed or does DevOps mean something different?
11:51 Platform engineering in 2024
20:10 How can platform engineering leaders measure success?
26:40 Why are new hires being put in charge of DevOps?
29:53 Getting buy in for a better platform engineering experience
