Effective DevOps Team Building: Strategies for Collaboration and Cooperation

DevOps isn’t just a methodology, a trend, or a set of integrated technologies. DevOps is a movement about the culture that emphasizes both collaboration and cooperation, primarily of both software developers and other IT professionals, to achieve automated high-quality product delivery. 

To truly succeed with DevOps, organizations must build teams that prioritize collaboration and cooperation above all else. But as IT leaders know, this is easier said than done. A list of challenges is an obstacle to the high-performing culture that an organization strives to outperform its competitors:

• Organizational silos from the past
• Different mindsets that result in different communication styles
• Lack of collaborative environment, e.g. finger pointing
• Focus on compliance with a process rather than open and effective communication
• Conflicting priorities

So how can organizations foster a more collaborative and cooperative culture within their newly formed DevOps teams? Let’s explore some strategies.

Overcoming Barriers to Collaboration and Cooperation

In an agile culture, management plays a critical role in empowering, enabling, and ensuring that DevOps teams collaborate successfully. According to Lencioni’s “5 Dysfunctions of a Team,” five barriers hinder successful collaboration: Lack of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Avoidance of Accountability, Lack of Commitment, and Inattention to Results.

To overcome these barriers, leaders should exhibit and encourage the following behavior models:

• Demonstrate genuine vulnerability, creating an environment where failure is an opportunity to learn.
• Give space when team members engage in a conflict, allowing for a natural resolution.
• Be comfortable making decisions that may turn out to be wrong and delegate issue closure to the group.
• Create a culture of accountability, empowering the team as the primary accountability mechanism.
• Focus on results and value delivered from the customer’s point of view.

Introducing these behaviors enables team members to trust one another to deliver on their commitments and communicate openly and honestly. Without trust, teams can become siloed and unproductive, even with the right set of tools, processes, and organizational structure.

By fostering a culture of empathy and psychological safety, organizations can create an environment that encourages collaboration and cooperation in DevOps teams, which in turn enables the team to overcome the five barriers to successful collaboration identified by Lencioni.

Fostering a Culture of Empathy and Psychological Safety

The success of DevOps teams comprising individuals with diverse backgrounds, skill sets, and perspectives is closely linked to the ability of the leadership and management to foster a culture of empathy and psychological safety in the organization. To achieve this, it’s essential to create an environment that appreciates and understands these differences, developing understanding, openness, and curiosity through cross-functional workshops, training programs, and team-building exercises.

Promoting empathy in DevOps teams involves active listening, regular team-building activities, and providing opportunities for team members to work in each other’s roles to gain a deeper understanding of their perspectives and challenges. Moreover, psychological safety is paramount for effective collaboration and cooperation, enabling team members to take risks, ask questions, and share their ideas without fear of retaliation.

To nurture psychological safety, it’s important to lead by example and create an environment where team members feel safe to express their opinions, ask questions, and share their concerns without fear of judgment or retribution. Regular check-ins with team members can also help identify potential issues before they escalate. 

These activities can help build trust and establish open lines of communication within the team. Additionally, providing opportunities for team members to give and receive feedback can help create a safe space for communication and growth.

Fostering empathy and psychological safety are included in the skills and knowledge areas outlined in the DASA Team Competence model.  With this model, organizations can enable individuals and teams to determine how ready they are for DevOps, and if the team has the right set of skills and capabilities to achieve high performance. 

Collaboration as Key Competency for High Performance

Collaboration is the backbone of any high-performing DevOps team, and it’s not just about getting along with your teammates. The DevOps Competency Framework outlines several key competencies that are critical to building a collaborative team, including communication, coordination and flow optimization, cooperation and cross-team ways of working, conflict resolution, teamwork and dynamics, inclusiveness and psychological safety, and social intelligence.

Communication is the foundation of collaboration, and it involves not only conveying information but also actively listening to others’ perspectives. Coordination and flow optimization are all about finding ways to streamline processes and workflows to ensure that everyone is working efficiently and effectively. Cooperation and cross-team ways of working require team members to be flexible and adaptable, to work closely with other teams, and to be willing to share knowledge and expertise.

Conflict resolution is a critical competency for any team, and in a DevOps context, it’s particularly important to be able to resolve conflicts quickly and effectively, recovering the flow of work as soon as possible. Teamwork and dynamics are essential for building a cohesive team that can work together to achieve common goals, while inclusiveness and psychological safety create an environment where everyone feels valued and supported. Finally, social intelligence is all about understanding how to build relationships and create a positive team culture.

By investing in role-based programs, such as Product Owner, Architect, or Test Automation Engineer, and technical programs, such as DevSecOps or Ansible which are offered at the DASA Talent Academy, organizations can equip their team members with the skills and competencies required for effective collaboration and cooperation. These programs provide a resource for ongoing learning and development, ensuring that team members stay up-to-date with the latest best practices and tools. By combining gamification with continuous learning and development, organizations can overcome barriers to collaboration and cooperation and build high-performing DevOps teams that deliver better outcomes for their customers.

Collaboration is more than just working well with others. It requires continuous involvement and effort to acquire a range of skills and competencies that are critical for building a successful DevOps team.

Metrics for Measuring DevOps Team Collaboration and Cooperation

Measuring collaboration and cooperation in DevOps teams is a crucial step in identifying areas for improvement and assessing the effectiveness of team-building efforts. IT leaders can leverage various metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure team collaboration and cooperation, such as team feedback surveys, collaboration analysis tools, KPIs for cross-functional project success, time-to-resolution for incidents and problems, and employee engagement scores. These metrics enable the tracking of the team’s performance, identification of potential roadblocks to collaboration, and facilitating the adoption of corrective actions to improve team performance.

Moreover, organizations can gauge their readiness for success in the digital age by conducting a Digital Readiness Assessment, which encompasses seven foundational dimensions, including Strategy and Governance, Organization, Leadership, Technology, Flow, Culture, and People.

Finally, Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) can be introduced to teams to define and adopt these in their daily work, measuring success and keeping teams motivated. When appropriately defined, OKRs provide transparency regarding how the team contributes to the business objectives and strategy, which can enhance their commitment to achieving results.

Next Steps

The DevOps movement is rooted in human-centered values that prioritize collaboration, communication, and empathy. While automation and optimization of software development and IT operations processes are important, building effective DevOps teams requires a strategic approach to culture and people. This is where the DASA Competence Model, Competency Framework, and Talent Academy come in. 

The Competence Model helps organizations assess their team’s current level of DevOps maturity and identify areas for improvement. The DASA Competency Framework provides a comprehensive overview of the knowledge, skills, and competencies required for successful DevOps adoption and implementation. The DASA Talent Academy provides a range of training and development opportunities to help teams acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the demands of a DevOps environment. 

By utilizing these tools, IT leaders can create a culture of continuous learning, collaboration, and innovation, and build DevOps teams that are well-equipped to drive success and achieve sustainable outcomes.