A Fool with a Tool: The Dangers of Ignoring Culture by Overfocusing on Tools

[video:https://youtu.be/sjNWWqXdGx4 width:300 height:200 align:right]

Many organizations ignore culture and overfocus on picking and implementing the right tools. However, these tools have underlying cultural assumptions. If the current culture does not support these assumptions, then automation will only have limited success, or even fail altogether. So how do you address this problem? By recognizing that overfocusing on tools is a problem in the first place. Start by understanding the cultural assumptions supporting the optimum use of the tools, as well as how your organization measures up in relation to high-performing organizations. Finally, address the smells that violate the tools’ cultural assumptions. This requires the organization and individuals to move out of their comfort zone and place their primary focus on implementing a high-performing DevOps culture. Tim Guay will draw upon his experiences to help you develop an understanding of the dangers of overfocusing on tools, what the underlying cultural assumptions of key toolsets are, the common cultural smells, and how to move beyond the comfort zone into a high-performing DevOps culture.