DevOps: Myths,

half-truths, and
whole lies
From The White Paper, Getting
Grounded With DevOps
Many myths may contain a grain of truth,
but are largely rooted in
misunderstanding or
misinformation.

For example:
You lose most of your body heat
through your head.

This is true only in infants, or if the head is

the only uncovered part of the body.

Source: Knowledge Is Beautiful, by David McCandless, Harper Collins 2014

Napoleon was short.

Only by todays standards At 5 7,he was above

average height for a Frenchman at the time.

Source: Knowledge Is Beautiful, by David McCandless, Harper Collins 2014

Image: Napoleon Crossing the Alps, Jaques Louis David, 1801 (Public Domain)
 We only use a small
fraction of our brain.

A common misunderstanding the

proportion of our brain firing is task
dependent. Ultimately, all cells are important.

Source: Knowledge Is Beautiful, by David McCandless, Harper Collins 2014

These myths are based on
harmless misunderstandings
These myths are based on
harmless misunderstandings

Right?
Consider the power of a
misunderstanding

On July 23, 1983, Air Canada flight 143 (since

known as the Gimli Glider) ran out of jet fuel at
41,000 ft, about halfway through its flight.

The emergency landing was needed because

the crew confused pounds with kilograms when
fueling the aircraft.

Source: Witkin, Richard Jet's Fuel Ran Out After Metric Conversion Errors" New York Times 30 July 1983
In many companies, the process of building software is not
immune to misunderstanding, especially between those who build
and support software.

Development Operations
Historically, the relationship between development and operations
has often been challenging
with each group having specific goals to achieve, and frequently
feeling the other was a roadblock.

Development Operations
 If IT Operations was more predictable, we would be able to reduce
release cycles and improve the end-user experience.

Development Operations
 If the development team worked faster, we would be able to
continuously release quality, stable, improved products.

Development Operations
A DevOps culture can help overcome these misunderstandings, and
bridge the gap between development and operations for the
betterment of the business.

Development Operations
However, some misunderstandings can hinder
effective DevOps implementation, and should be
addressed.

Lets look at a few-

Misunderstanding 01
We need to hire DevOps roles.

DevOps is not a role; it is culture.

A formal DevOps department is not required
to implement this culture, but you need to
adopt the culture to become more agile.
Misunderstanding 02
The roles of developer, operations, and
DevOps are blending into one.

These are three distinct areas of work.

Developers write code. Operations manage
infrastructure that houses code. DevOps helps
optimize the processes and infrastructure for
application effectiveness. The number of roles
may change, but these key roles will continue
to be required.
Misunderstanding 03
Operations teams are unnecessary with
DevOps moving everything to the cloud.

The primary goal is not to move to the

cloud, but to a simpler, standardized
infrastructure that can be more easily
monitored for problems, deliver
application updates more often, and
identify system optimization opportunities.
 Misunderstanding 04
When transforming to a DevOps culture, the only
consideration is what new tools are needed.

Introducing a DevOps culture may require

new tools. However, research indicates there are
other important factors as well
Sourcing new release management
72%

Sourcing new infrastructure management like

private clouds or Paas 68%

Providing additional internal

staffing skills 51%

Sourcing new
Source: 451 Research (Analyst) Whitepaper - IT Ops Can Thrive in a DevOps World, Aug 2015
development tools 27%
Misunderstanding 05
DevOps cannot be used in a large enterprise.

The automation lifecycle has different needs at

different stages. As such, automation can be
incorporated in an enterprise, regardless of the
maturity of the IT system in use.
Misunderstanding 06
DevOps is a new name for something
previously done in IT.

In the past, there was not a large agile

presence, or tools to help simplify the
development, implementation, and
automation of applications. DevOps was
created to address the increasing need for
speed to meet customer demands and
reduce the growing complexity of IT systems.
Misunderstanding 07
DevOps gives developers unlimited
opportunities to do development.

The key to DevOps is increasing the

speed of development and the number
of developers working on a project at
the same time. Development must be
based on customer needs and
improvement suggestions gathered from
infrastructure data monitoring.
Misunderstanding 08
Developers will know infrastructure, and
operations will understand coding.

DevOps is meant to increase

communication and collaboration
between the teams and make the overall
process more agile, while enabling each
function to excel within their area of
expertise.
Misunderstanding 09
DevOps requires you to use certain tools.

There are many DevOps tools, and not all tools

are used all the time. Tools should be chosen
based on business needs, which will vary for each
situation.
 DevOps is a journey.
where are you on that journey?

Learn more about how HPEs IT has been going through its own DevOps cultural transformation

Discover more insights in HPEs business white paper Getting Grounded with DevOps

Copyright 2016 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.