The complex processes and IT systems at Jumbo require rapid development. But whenever we change or upgrade an element, we want the new version to be a genuine improvement. Until recently we used scrum methods to get where we wanted to go. But we wanted to minimize dependency between teams and speed up our development even more. That’s why we’re adopting DevOps practices. They allow our teams to operate more autonomously and that helps streamline our operations even more.
Coen van de Maade, Teamlead Finance at Jumbo Tech Campus, tells us about DevOps and about how we celebrate progress at Jumbo Tech Campus.
Getting it done
Coen starts by praising his colleagues’ speed and agility: “Here, on our Tech Campus, we have the professionals that can make the right choices and quickly take the right steps when needed. They have the qualities they need to work together and to work fast.” Adopting DevOps represents a broader cultural shift at the Jumbo Tech Campus. “We’re putting even more emphasis on collaboration, automation, and shared responsibility., Coen adds. “We will always find ways to do things smarter, better, and faster. And DevOps is a leap forward in all three directions.”
Choose a method and color it yellow
However, it’s just a matter of applying the DevOps rules to Jumbo. Coen: “Sounds great, but within an organization like Jumbo you just can’t take a standard method, hand people the manual and wish them luck. Coen: “You can’t just decide to apply DevOps principles, hand people a manual, and wish them luck.
Jumbo is a fast-growing enterprise, so we have a lot of experience adapting. That’s how we incorporated the DevOps practices; we adapted them. Or, as we like to call it: ‘We’ve painted them yellow’. Together, we designed a 6-step program that builds upon our current way of working by applying DevOps principles. And we made sure to give colleagues that are already skilled in this approach an important role in the transition.
Achnowledging each step
“As teams or individuals progress through the 6-step program, they earn badges and are honored in monthly ceremonies, led by Gosse Reinsma, our Manager at Jumbo Tech Campus. His involvement underscores the significance of adopting DevOps across our campus. Upon earning the final badge, you achieve DevOps readiness.
“As you move through those steps as a team or a team member, you gather badges. These get you invited to ceremonies which take place every 4 weeks. They’re hosted by Gosse Reinsma, our manager Jumbo Tech Campus. I think it’s great that he takes the time to do that. It shows how important the shift to DevOps is to him and to our campus.”
The final badge comes with a special prize, which will remain a mystery for now. The fact that these ceremonies are held, signifies the importance of the transition. DevOps will help Jumbo and nearly everyone at the Jumbo Tech Campus to grow and work more efficiently.
Ownership
Coen emphasizes that speedier development is the main goal. “Ownership in software development is important to us. We encourage developers to take full responsibility for their creations. By embracing DevOps we help and empower teams to implement improvements and handle possible incidents themselves.”
Developers at Jumbo Tech Campus use defensive coding techniques and comprehensive testing to spot and address issues early on. They deploy automated error detection and monitoring to help them. That way, issues become visible and can be fixed before they even get the slightest chance to become a problem. Coen: “Overall, every developer becomes more able to respond to incidents quickly and effectively. So, the impact on overall system performance is minimized.”.
Continuous learning
At Jumbo Tech Campus we see incidents as a learning opportunity. In addition to helping teams to operate autonomously, adopting Devops also helps make our systems more robust and reliable.
Coen: “We are continuously improving what we do and create. Getting to the root of issues gives us valuable knowledge. What we learn helps us prevent incidents in the future of fix them with quicker and easier, allowing us to focus even more on what matters most: creating and improving the best experiences for our customers.”
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