DevOps Workshops Coming to DOES17 London

In the fall of 2016 at the DevOps Enterprise Summit San Francisco, the programming committee experimented with a new type of conference session—DevOps Workshops. These sessions were modeled after Lean Coffee meetings, which are round-table discussions where participants build an agenda together based on what is most important to them.

The initiative was a smashing success! With little promotion of the sessions beforehand, DOES San Francisco attendees packed each workshop, leaving standing room only. Some of the most vibrant, inspiring conversations of the conference took place within these workshops. Attendees were able to meet others who had the same concerns, interests and specialties as themselves.  

Additionally, conference speakers, who helped facilitate tables at the discussion, benefited from the wisdom of the conference attendees. Many of the folks gathered had a platform, via the workshops, to share (and gather) from their wealth of experience with the DOES community.

The conference programming committee took away a valuable lesson from these pilot DevOps workshops last fall. And that lesson was:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]People love environments where their voices are heard, where mutual respect for differing opinions is shared, and where open dialogue and collaboration around issues most important to them set the meeting agenda.[/perfectpullquote]

And so … with that in mind, we are introducing DevOps Workshops at DOES London as well!

There will be two workshops at this year’s conference:

These hour-long sessions will be made up of intimate groups, around five to 10 people per table. Each table will have a facilitator and all members of the group will be able to contribute to the discussion. Attendees will be able to uncover topics of interest to the majority of participants and our hope is that this format will allow for an engaging and respectful conversation that everyone can walk away from having shared their own knowledge and learned from others.

One DOES program committee member in particular is responsible for leading the initiative to implement DevOps workshops at the DevOps Enterprise Summit. Dominica DeGrandis, Executive Consultant at LeanKit, has seen meetings like Lean Coffee and the DevOpsDays’ Open Spaces, gain in popularity as an alternative to traditional meeting styles. In Lean Coffee meetings held within an organization, the agenda follows topics that are top of mind for the majority of people attending the meeting, which often results in increased engagement and productivity.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “It’s hard to improve invisible problems—DevOps Workshops help make issues visible,” she said.     [/perfectpullquote]

Dominica will also be presenting on “Making Work Visible”, at DOES London this summer. In this session, she will discuss overcoming the challenge of having too much work in progress and how overloading ourselves and our teams inhibits efficiency and innovation.

You can join Dominica for this session on Tuesday 9:45-10:15 a.m. on the main stage!

Also, be sure to grab a copy of Dominica’s new book, “Making Work Visible” at the IT Revolution booth in the expo hall!

We look forward to having you join us for one of this year’s DevOps Workshops and we can’t wait to learn from you. What are your day-to-day challenges? What are your hopes and goals for your team and organization? In what ways are you winning where others could follow your example?

Bring your thoughts, advice and questions to Breakout D, both Monday and Tuesday at 1:45 p.m. and let’s discuss together! If you haven’t had a chance to review the full conference agenda and start planning your DOES London experience, take a look here.

- About The Authors

IT Revolution

Trusted by technology leaders worldwide. Since publishing The Phoenix Project in 2013, and launching DevOps Enterprise Summit in 2014, we’ve been assembling guidance from industry experts and top practitioners.

Follow IT Revolution on Social Media

• 
• 
•