Accelerate: The State of DevOps with Dr. Nicole Forsgren
Sep 6, 2018
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Dr. Nicole Forsgren PhD discusses her report on the state of DevOps, revealing the secrets of high-performing companies and why they deliver software reliably with speed and quality. The podcast covers statistical analysis methods, the importance of testing, adopting cloud computing characteristics for elite performance, scaling challenges in the early days of the internet, and the success of her book 'Accelerate: The Science Behind DevOps'.
The highest-performing organizations prioritize both speed and stability, proving that optimizing both is achievable.
Organizations that embrace essential cloud characteristics are 23 times more likely to become elite performers.
Deep dives
The Rigorous Research
The podcast episode features Dr. Nicole Forsgren discussing her recently released report titled 'Accelerate: The State of DevOps Strategies for a New Economy.' The report stands out from typical vendor-sponsored reports as it provides rigorous, vendor-agnostic research. The research team, consisting of Dr. Forsgren, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim, follow a meticulous academic research process and publish their work in peer-reviewed journals.
The Validity of the Report
The report aims to dispel doubts regarding its authenticity. It emphasizes that their research methodology is robust, scientific, and based on hypothesis testing. The team gathers data from over 30,000 data points across various industries. It also includes a thorough method section and extensive footnotes to ensure transparency and credibility. The report provides explicit guidelines on how organizations can improve their survey methods and system measures.
Key Findings: Speed and Stability
One of the key findings highlighted in the report is that speed and stability are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the highest-performing organizations have proven that optimizing both speed and stability is achievable. These organizations emphasize small, frequent code deployments and employ efficient test suites to minimize the blast radius of changes introduced into the system. This approach leads to improved stability and ultimately better business outcomes.
Cloud Computing and Best Practices
The report emphasizes the importance of adopting essential cloud characteristics. Organizations that embrace these characteristics are 23 times more likely to become elite performers. The five essential cloud characteristics outlined in the report are on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service. The report also highlights the importance of automating processes and following industry best practices to improve performance and reduce risk.
Dr. Nicole Fosgren has a PhD in Management Information Systems and a Masters in Accounting. She's just released the Accelerate: State of DevOps 2018: Strategies for a New Economy report as well as the supporting book on the topic. Nicole talks to Scott about the state of DevOps - who are the high performers and how do they perform so well? Using rigorous scientific method we'll learn WHY companies are successful in delivering software reliably with speed and quality.