How we can use face to face conversations to improve our DevOps processes.

1. Confidential, Dynatrace LLC
Talking to People
The Forgotten DevOps Tool
Peter Varhol, Dynatrace LLC

2. About me
• International speaker and writer
• Degrees in Math, CS, Psychology
• Evangelist at Dynatrace
• Former university professor, tech
journalist

3. “Conversation? It died in 2009.”

4. Confidential, Dynatrace LLC

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

6. Why Devops?
• It’s all about these things
• We don’t talk enough

7. 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.

8. 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?

10. We Talk More Than Ever
• E-mail
• Text
• IM
• Skype
• Conference calls

11. Even
• Yes, Emoji

12. But We Say Less Than Ever
• “Let’s touch base”
• We comment on the inane
• We script our conversations
• No spontaneity

13. Why Do We Do This?

14. 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

15. 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

17. No,
We Are Not Invincible

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. What We Lose Through Our Devices
• Spontaneity
• Flow of random ideas
• Unexpected solutions
• Unexpected problems
• Most important
• Practice

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

23. The Role of Communications
• Streamline processes
• Share insights
• Get work done
• Solve problems

24. Designing for Conversation
• Put people together in non-meeting settings
• Lunchroom
• Offsites
• Work spaces
• Standups

25. And Leadership
• Lead by example
• Put the phone away during meetings
• Provide time for conversation
• Don’t send mixed messages

26. 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

27. 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

28. Why Talk?
• You solve problems more quickly
• You address issues you never knew you had
• You establish trust
• You get practice

29. 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

30. Thank You
Peter Varhol
Dynatrace LLC
peter.varhol@Dynatrace.com