Leading Change in the DevOps Era: An 8-Step Framework for Success

Organizational leaders are often aware of the benefits of implementing DevOps practices and tools, including increased agility, faster time-to-market, and improved customer satisfaction. However, implementing these changes can be challenging. One framework that can be used to guide a DevOps transformation is John Kotter’s 8-step model for leading change. This model provides a clear roadmap for organizations looking to make the necessary changes to their systems and processes to fully realize the benefits of DevOps.

This article provides a detailed guide to using Kotter’s 8-step model to lead a DevOps transformation. It will cover each step in detail, including examples and expert advice on navigating the challenges that organizations may face during a transformation process. This guide is intended for DevOps experts and practitioners looking to improve their chances of success in a DevOps transformation initiative.

Step 1: Create A Sense of Urgency

The first step in leading a DevOps transformation is to create a sense of urgency around the need for change. This involves identifying pain points and inefficiencies in the current software development and delivery process and communicating these to stakeholders. For example, suppose an organization is experiencing long lead times for delivering new features, high rates of production incidents, or low levels of collaboration between development and operations teams. These are clear indicators that change is needed.

Additionally, it’s crucial to articulate the business benefits of DevOps, like faster time-to-market, increased agility, and improved customer satisfaction. This will help create buy-in and support for change among all stakeholders.

Step 2: Build A Guiding Coalition

Once a sense of urgency has been established, the next step is to form a powerful coalition of leaders who will drive the DevOps transformation initiative. This coalition should be diverse and representative of all stakeholders in the organization, including developers, operations, and business leaders.

The coalition will lead the initiative, create a vision, and drive the change across the organization. Ensuring their goals align with the organization’s overall objectives is crucial.

I believe that, on many occasions, we undervalue the significance of assembling executives from various departments to establish a steering committee and guarantee that the aims are correctly reflected in the goals. A steering committee composed of leaders from several departments can guarantee that the teams’ short and long-term goals are correctly aligned with the company’s objectives. I would not move to the next step until this committee is in place. This cross-functional representation ensures that all business-related factors and viewpoints are considered, resulting in more thorough and efficient decision-making. In the past, I have seen projects fail because this step is omitted.

Elaine Montilla, Chief Technology Officer at Pearson

Step 3: Develop a Strategic Vision

The coalition should work together to create a vision for the future state of the organization’s software development and delivery process. This vision should include adopting DevOps practices and tools, including continuous integration, continuous delivery, and infrastructure as code.

It should also include the implementation of Agile methodologies, like scrum or Kanban, and adopting modern cloud-native technologies.

The coalition should identify specific objectives and key results (OKRs) to measure the success of the DevOps transformation.

Identifying the final state with the virtue of creating an optimistic yet achievable vision is one of the most instrumental & value-creating steps of change management in DevOps transformation. Based on several engagements, an operating model for a digitalization or transformation program concludes well with flying colors when there is a clarity of vision towards Process, People, Performance & Tools.

Ayan Saha, Global Service Design & Operations Team Leader at UPM

Step 4: Communicate the vision

The vision should be communicated to all stakeholders with certainty that they understand the benefits of DevOps and how it aligns with the organization’s overall goals. This involves creating a comprehensive communication plan that includes regular updates, town hall meetings, and training sessions. Additionally, establish a system for feedback and continuous improvement to ensure the vision is aligned with the needs of all stakeholders.

Step 5: Empower others

Remove obstacles and support the coalition and other stakeholders to ensure they have the necessary resources and knowledge to implement the identified changes. This includes providing training and mentoring and creating a culture of experimentation and learning. Establish a system for continuous improvement to ensure that the organization is continuously learning and evolving.

Step 6: Create short-term wins

Focus on quick wins to build momentum and deliver progress, like implementing a continuous integration pipeline, automating the deployment process, and reducing the lead time for delivering new features. These wins help build support for the change initiative and provide momentum for the next transformation steps.

Step 7: Consolidate gains

Ensure the changes are fully integrated into the organizations’ systems and processes and that they become part of the prevailing culture. This involves working closely with the coalition to establish metrics for measuring the success of the DevOps transformation, including lead time, deployment frequency, and incident rates. Additionally, ensure the organization’s policies, procedures, and governance are aligned with the new DevOps practices and tools.

Step 8: Anchor new approaches

Establish an ongoing training and support system to ensure the organization continues to improve and evolve. This includes providing training and mentoring and creating a culture of experimentation and learning. Additionally, implement a process for monitoring and reporting on the success of the DevOps transformation using the OKRs established in step 3.

Conclusion

When leading a DevOps transformation, John Kotter’s 8-step model for leading change can provide a clear roadmap for success. By following these steps, organizations can establish a sense of urgency, form a powerful coalition, create a vision, communicate the vision, empower others, create short-term wins, consolidate gains, and anchor new approaches. In this way, organizations can ensure that the DevOps transformation is fully integrated into the organizations’ systems and processes and becomes part of the prevailing culture.