Noah Gift - Python for DevOps: Learn Ruthlessly Effective Automation

by Noah Gift , Kennedy Behrman , Alfredo Deza , and Grig Gheorghiu

Copyright 2020 Noah Gift, Kennedy Behrman, Alfredo Deza, Grig Gheorghiu. All rights reserved.

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[LSI]

One time Noah was in the ocean, and a wave crashed on top of him and took his breath away as it pulled him deeper into the sea. Just as he started to recover his breath, another wave dropped on top. It extracted much of his remaining energy. It pulled him even deeper into the ocean. Just as he started to recover, yet another wave crashed down on top. The more he would fight the waves and the sea, the more energy was drained. He seriously wondered if he would die at that moment. He couldnt breathe, his body ached, and he was terrified he was going to drown. Being close to death helped him focus on the only thing that could save him, which was conserving his energy and using the wavesnot fighting them.

Being in a startup that doesnt practice DevOps is a lot like that day at the beach. There are production fires that burn for months; everything is manual, alerts wake you up for days on end damaging your health. The only escape from this death spiral is the DevOps way.

Do one right thing, then another, until you find clarity. First, set up a build server, start testing your code, and automate manual tasks. Do something; it can be anything, but have a bias for action. Do that first thing right and make sure it is automated.

A common trap in startups or any company is the search for superheroes. We need a performance engineer because they will fix our performance problems. We need a Chief Revenue Officer because they will fix all sales problems. We need DevOps engineers because they will fix our deployment process.

At one company, Noah had a project that was over a year late, and the web application had been rewritten three times in multiple languages. This next release only needed a performance engineer to get it finished. I remember being the only one brave or stupid enough to say, What is a performance engineer? This engineer made everything work at scale. He realized at that point that they were looking for a superhero to save them. Superhero hiring syndrome is the best way to pick up on something being very wrong on a new product or a new startup. No employee will save a company unless they first save themselves.

At other companies, Noah heard similar things: If we could only hire a senior Erlang engineer, or If we could only hire someone to make us revenue, or If we could only hire someone to teach us to be financially disciplined, or If we could only hire a Swift developer, etc. This hire is the last thing your startup or new product needsit needs to understand what it is doing wrong that only a superhero can save the day.

In the case of the company that wanted to hire a performance engineer, it turned out that the real issue was inadequate technical supervision. The wrong people were in charge (and verbally shouting down the people who could fix it). By removing a poor performer, listening to an existing team member who knew how to fix the problem all along, deleting that job listing, doing one right thing at a time, and inserting qualified engineering management, the issue resolved itself without a superhero hire.

No one will save you at your startup; you and your team have to protect yourselves by creating great teamwork, a great process, and believing in your organization. The solution to the problem isnt a new hire; it is being honest and mindful about the situation you are in, how you got there, and doing one right thing at a time until you work your way out. There is no superhero unless it is you.

Just like being in the ocean in a storm and slowly drowning, no one is going to save you or the company unless it is you. You are the superhero your company needs, and you might discover your coworkers are too.

There is a way out of the chaos, and this book can be your guide. Lets get started.