I came to DevOps from being a DBA, which is one of the most resistant IT groups to automation. My talk will focus on how the journey I took was supported by management cultures and team cultures that foster individual growth and help increase and sustain diversity on DevOps teams.
Originally presented at DevOpsDays Madison in November 2016
https://www.devopsdays.org/events/2016-madison/program/rhea-ghosh/
3. @rhealitycheck
WHO AM I?
Senior DevOps Engineer @
HERE, Highly Automated Driving
Former Business Analyst
Database Administrator (DBA) &
Data Engineer
Texan
Amateur Woodworker
Cat enthusiast
4. HOW DID I GET HERE?
■ Started career as a functional Business Analyst
using SQL queries and Excel
■ Working with data got me interested in
Database Development and Engineering
■ Worked as a DatabaseAdministrator as the
NoSQL DBA
■ Which led to my introduction to configuration
management and then DevOps
■ Now work as a DevOps Engineer
@rhealitycheck
5. HOW DID I GET HERE?
■ The non-linear route I took to DevOps developed a wide range
of skills and brings me to my main themes:
• Diversity
• Advocacy
• Inclusion
@rhealitycheck
7. INTERNAL TALENT POOLS
■ Diversity is not just about race
■ Diversity of skillsets can be found
within the people who already
surround you
■ Diversity of skillset/background can
lead to more diverse people
■ Mentoring/pairing helps diversify
your team
■ Team diversity strengthens overall
team production
@rhealitycheck
9. BE AN ADVOCATE FOR OTHERS
■ Use your voice to amplify other
voices that may not be heard
■ Recognize individual contributions
■ Give credit to those who deserve it
@rhealitycheck
10. ADVOCATE FORYOURSELF
■ Find a mentor to work with
■ This will help your voice to be
amplified
■ Don’t be afraid to ask for the
things you need to grow
@rhealitycheck
12. RETAINING DIVERSE TALENT
■ Inclusion of all team members
leads to more learning which leads
to better team members
■ Show junior team members it’s ok
to ask questions
■ Sharing knowledge leads to team
growth
@rhealitycheck
13. REVIEW
Being inclusive helps find people from diverse
backgrounds and advocating for their success empowers
team members to contribute to their fullest.
And never underestimate
the power of cat gifs!
@rhealitycheck
Remember to listen and ask your
team members what they want.
Lastly, raise your own awareness
whenever possible.
Talk came from questions about how I did it.
Not traditional path
DevOps, HERE, HAD, full AWS infrastructure
South Asian, wife, two cats & dog
Relevance to diversity, HR checklist vs unseen diversity
Query tuning & working closely with DBAs grew interest in data
AUM database gave me first real insight into DBA work
Moved on to database development and eventually DBA on NoSQL dbs, mongo, elasticsearch
Deploying Mongo in 3 environments lead me to config management – SaltStack
Entry to DevOps == SaltStack
Leads to my main themes
Why do I care about diversity?
Empathy
Obvious reasons
And less obvious reasons are non-linear background
First focus on skillset, use Andrew example
eg NoSQL config management & learning/pairing
*Listening* to your employees.
Talk about socialization
“soft”
Do not wait for them to ask you
Listening leads to empowerment for team members
Listening also shows respect as teammates
Two types of advocacy. Experience w/ Andrew brings me to the first one.
Andrew (perhaps unintentionally) was amplifying my voice
Studies on minorities and women not being heard as much or as well
Amplification!!!
Andrew example to show amplification of credibility
Scrum example of women not being heard or others taking credit for work
Remarkableness of the other person noticing in this situation and the team I work on
Amplification leads to more confidence and recognition which leads to self advocacy
No matter the environment everyone needs to self advocate
Mentors can help amplify as well as sounding board
ELK example for training & growth
Self selecting is better than having exclusive groups
Perfection example
Chat room example
Public chat room success, lead by example
Basically all these examples I’m using are to say the same thing. Being inclusive helps find people from diverse backgrounds and advocating for their success empowers team members to contribute to their fullest.
CAT GIFS ARE THE BEST
You don’t need to use this slide but in case you get a question and answer period and want to use it, it’s here.
