SPaMCAST 611 - Operational Anti-Patterns with DevOps Solutions, A Conversation With Jeff Smith

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 611 features our conversation with Jeff Smith. Jeff and I talked about his new book, Operational Anti-Patterns with DevOps Solutions. Our conversation branched out to cover DevOps and how writing a book changes your perception of life. The conversation was the most clear-eyed and penetrating conversation on DevOps I have had on the podcast. Jeff challenged all of us to recognize that we can make a difference.

Bio:

Jeff Smith has been in the technology industry for over 20 years, oscillating between management and individual contributor. Jeff currently serves as the Director of Production Operations for Centro, an advertising software company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Before that he served as the Manager of Site Reliability Engineering at Grubhub.

Jeff is passionate about DevOps transformations in organizations large and small, with a particular interest in the psychological aspects of problems in companies. He lives in Chicago with his wife Stephanie and their two kids Ella and Xander.

Jeff is currently writing a book Operational Anti-Patterns with DevOps Solutions with Manning publishing due out in Spring of 2020, but available now via their early access program. He’s also the chapter president of Blacks in Technology where he strives to introduce the community to the different opportunities in the technology field.

Contact Information for Jeff Smith:

Web:  http://www.allthingsdork.com/

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @darkandnerdy

Re-Read Saturday News 

This week we transition to Part 4: Maximizing Business Value in Knowledge-Work in Steve Tendon and Daniel Doiron’s  Tame your Work Flow. We are approximately 40% through according to the Kindle App on my laptop.  (Side note: I would like to talk with anyone in the audience that uses a Kindle to read non-fiction books that they will later use for reference; I am working on a buying decision).

Remember to buy a copy of Tame your Work Flow to support the authors and blog!  

Week 1: Logistics and Front Matter – https://bit.ly/2LWJ3EY

Week 2: Prologue (The Story of Herbie) – https://bit.ly/3h4zmTi

Week 3: Explicit Mental Models – https://bit.ly/2UJUZyN 

Week 4: Flow Efficiency, Little’s Law and Economic Impact – https://bit.ly/2VrIhoL 

Week 5: Flawed Mental Models – https://bit.ly/3eqj70m  

Week 6: Where To Focus Improvement Efforts – https://bit.ly/2DTvOUN 

Week 7: Introduction to Throughput Accounting and Culture – https://bit.ly/2DbhfLT 

Week 8: Accounting F(r)iction and  Show Me the Money – https://bit.ly/2XmDuWu 

Week 9: Constraints in the Work Flow and in the Work Process - https://bit.ly/33Uukoz 

Next SPaMCAST

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 612 will break pattern -- again. Recently I had a conversation with Allan Kelly and Woody Zuill about the topic of coaching and how if you bring all of your capabilities to the table you have transitioned to a guide. Allan and Woody are agile guides.