DevOps Overture:
What You Need to Know When Starting a DevOps Journey
by Shawn D. Doyle
Over the last decade, more and more companies have adopted a new approach to software development called DevOps. But few people seem to understand what DevOps is—or how they might fit into a DevOps environment.
DevOps Overture answers these questions. It begins with an overview of what software development methodologies came before DevOps and of the problems associated with those systems. It then explains what DevOps is and how it works to address these problems. Finally, it offers advice to anyone who wants to position themselves for a career in DevOps and warns of common pitfalls to avoid.
Maybe your company has adopted DevOps, and you need to adjust to an Agile culture. Or perhaps your company hasn’t adopted DevOps, and you want to either advocate for the change or to position yourself to switch to a company that has. Or maybe you want to become conversant in DevOps practices. Either way, DevOps Overture is for you.
Shawn D. Doyle is a founder and CEO of ReleaseTEAM, Inc., a DevOps Consulting Firm, established in 1999. After serving in the US Army and Desert Storm, he has amassed nearly 30 years of software delivery experience, having worked with companies from midsized to Fortune 100 to solve their business-critical challenges. Shawn lives with his wife and three dogs in Colorado.
Industry Praise for DevOps Overture
"Well written and organized – an excellent jump-start/introduction to DevOps. Huge reference sections at the end with pointers all over the internet for getting whatever you need next. More focused than google and without ads. I highly recommend it!"
"DevOps Overture is great for aligning teams on their DevOps journey and should be considered a “must-read” for software development organizations."
"Shawn has over 30 years of experience in Software Development, and DevOps Overture is the result of this work improving organizations, teams, and software processes to deliver faster and deepen customer relationships."
Brilliant, thorough, concise, and fun.
"It covers some very complex topics, very succinctly. Very clearly written, enjoyable, and personable. I’d recommend it for anyone looking to get a firm understanding of DevOps principles, and get all their ducks in a row."
"I would recommend DevOps Overture for all software development teams that are focused on improving their outcomes. With an investment of just a few hours, the team will have the ability to utilize one or more the very specific recommendations around eliminating bottlenecks in the process, and incorporating customer feedback."
In my travels, both professional and personal, people frequently ask me questions about software automation and DevOps. Everything from What is DevOps? to What do I need to know to get a job in DevOps? Well, I believe in automating anything that occurs more than twice, so I decided to write a book that answers (hopefully) all of these basic DevOps-related questions.
o·ver·ture
/ˈōvərCHər,ˈōvərˌCHo͝or/
noun
- an orchestral piece at the beginning of an opera, suite, play, oratorio, or other extended composition.
- an introduction to something more substantial
Similar: prelude, introduction, opening
Why "DevOps Overture"
The industry which has grown (and continues to grow) around the philosophies and technical practices of DevOps is a vast and complicated terrain. An orchestration of tools, skill specializations, cultural adjustments, and more, designed to improve software and the software development process. DevOps Overture is an introduction to this world.
Plus "overture" is mentioned in the theme to The Bugs Bunny Show, which makes it extra fun
So What’s With the Ducks?
When the matter of needing a cover for DevOps Overture arose, Shawn called his daughter, Mindy, and asked her to use her artistic skill to present himself and his thoughts to the world.
Shawn explained that DevOps is about orchestrating the work of all entities involved in the design, production, implementation, and support of software. "Silos," when teams or individuals work in isolation from the others, is taboo in DevOps. So she needed to represent the importance of teamwork.
Now Mindy knows that Shawn has long-held that if you have a solid understanding of a subject which you need to explain to someone who isn’t familiar with the concept, there’s nothing better than a car analogy to get the job done. So maybe add a car…or better yet, a racecar? And the "Team" could be the pit crew.
Then there are the ducks. Everyone who knows Shawn, or has ever visited his office at ReleaseTEAM, knows that he collects rubber duckies (yes, like Ernie on Sesame Street). So it only made sense that the pit crew should be rubber duck-like.
And the cover design was born.
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