“DevOps Buffet”: My talk at DevOpsDays TLV 2024
This article is a brief summary of my recent talk at DevOpsDays TLV 2024, where I discussed how to create a self-service culture for developers. The goal? To enable developers to handle DevOps and infrastructure tasks independently through a structured and efficient approach I call the “DevOps Buffet.”
Imagine an amazing reality…
Imagine a world where DevOps engineers no longer handle endless support tickets and developers have full permissions to execute tasks independently. This is the vision I presented at the recent conference, where I shared how organizations can empower their development teams through self-service capabilities.
The Problem: Overloaded DevOps Teams
During my years consulting in DevOps, I’ve seen the same problem repeatedly: developers, eager to move quickly, often find themselves waiting in line for DevOps support, leading to frustration and delays. This dependency not only disrupts development but often extends support needs beyond regular hours.
The Solution: The DevOps Buffet
The answer is not just to grant developers unrestricted access, but to create a curated self-service “buffet” that allows them to select the capabilities they need independently and efficiently. A DevOps Buffet can offer essential tools, like permission management, environment creation, microservice setup, and infrastructure updates — everything developers previously relied on DevOps for, now accessible on demand.
Key Considerations: Building the Buffet Responsibly
Before diving into a self-service model, a few factors need attention:
Knowledge Gaps:
Empowering developers with new tools requires ensuring they have the necessary knowledge to use them confidently. Training or mapping skill levels for tools like AWS is essential for success.
Reducing Information Overload:
Too much information can overwhelm developers, so it’s crucial to consolidate tools, adopt developer portals, and streamline communication, possibly using ChatOps.
Automation:
A classic but critical principle, automation should precede the self-service Buffet. Everything that can be automated should be, with the remaining actions available via a button-click interface — like setting up a new environment or managing user access.
Templating:
While flexibility is valuable, it can also lead to inconsistencies. Templates establish organizational standards, ensure quality, and make processes like microservice creation faster and safer.
Developer Experience (DevEx):
Developer experience is often overlooked but essential in creating a Buffet that developers will actually use. This involves selecting user-friendly tools, gathering and acting on developer feedback, and incorporating platform advocates to guide and validate new features. Without a strong DevEx, even the most well-designed Buffet may go unused.
The Buffet Architecture: A Serverless and Slack-Driven Solution
To illustrate the architecture of a DevOps Buffet, I showcased an example built for Melio on a serverless infrastructure, interfaced via Slack. This setup allows developers to interact directly with the capabilities they need, while other options, like a developer portal, remain viable alternatives. The serverless approach was chosen because it aligns with Melio’s needs and provides developers with the flexibility to modify components as they wish.
