Flávio Araújo’s Post

🧠 I've had the opportunity to learn so much over the last year, deeply embedding into Platform Engineering communities and learning about their successes and challenges. So many recognizable patterns have emerged: ➕ Our metrics tell the wrong story when we are not continuously monitoring our systems, forcing us into teleological patterns of analysis rather than proactive understanding ➕ Systems Thinking is more important than ever, #Deming knew that only 4% of an organization's productivity is a result of the worker, while 96% is related to the underlying productivity systems ➕ Throwing more tools just leads to tool sprawl and head first into Ashby's Law, we have to think about foundational tools that align with sociotechnical challenges and culture. Read more about it in my newest contribution to The New Stack! #PlatformEngineering #DevEx #DevOps

6 reasons why developer platforms fail. 1. Product misfit 2. Overly complex design 3. Swiss knife syndrome 4. Insufficient documentation 5. Siloed development 6. Stagnant platform Whether you're developing or using a platform, it’s imperative to understand and address the unique needs of your developers. You can overcome most of these challenges by treating your platform as a product. By applying the product mindset to your platform, you chalk out a clear path for your platform and its future. ✍✍✍

“Platform engineering teams should consider themselves product owners, with developers as their customers. They should conduct discovery to understand developers’ needs and then reach out to end users to help them become successful with the resources provided. This requires marketing, communication and customer support skills, which are often lacking in very technical teams. The key here is a product-oriented mindset and culture, which allows platform engineering teams to focus on creating value for their end users (developers) by listening to user feedback and continuously iterating and improving their product (the developer platform).”

Happy Friday! Continuing with the Product Management theme from last week, today we take a look at this fantastic write up by Amanda Silver, CVP of Product at Microsoft, on how to get started with Platform Engineering and paved paths. While the entirety of the article is well worth your time, most of the insight is under the "Our Learnings" section towards the very end. Which of the lessons do you associate with the most? For me, it was #8, "Meet developers where they are – in their workflows." https://lnkd.in/eGHQyjaD

Measuring What Matters: 5 Key Indicators for Tech Project Success As someone who's been in tech for a while, I've learned (often the hard way) that measuring success goes far beyond lines of code. Here are 5 metrics I've found helpful for teams building software: 1️⃣ User Satisfaction: Are our end-users actually happy with what we're building? 2️⃣ Time to Market: How can we deliver value faster without burning out? 3️⃣ Technical Debt: Are we creating future headaches for ourselves? 4️⃣ Team Velocity: Are we improving, or just running in circles? 5️⃣ System Reliability: How often are we waking up to 3 AM alerts? 💡 A lesson I've learned: It's not about perfecting these metrics, but using them to spark conversations and guide improvements. I'm always learning. What metrics have you found valuable in your dev teams? I'd love to hear your experiences and insights! #SoftwareDevelopment #DevOps #LearningTogether #ContinuousImprovement

Ever wonder why great code doesn’t always lead to great products? 💻➡️💡 After transitioning from software engineer to product manager, I learned some hard truths about building for real people and it changed how I think about product mgmt. forever. In this article, I share stories and lessons from my journey. Article Link: https://lnkd.in/dQGppueh Hope it helps ✌️ I’d love to hear: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about building for people vs just shipping code? #productmanagement #businessoutcomes #softwareengineering

🚀 #TipOfTheDay: Embark on the Trunk-Based Development Journey! 🚀 Transitioning your team to Trunk-Based Development (TBD)? Here's a concise guide to get you started: 1️⃣ Educate & Align: Kick things off with a session on TBD's perks, emphasizing feature flags, small commits, and continuous integration. 2️⃣ Tool Up: Equip your squad with solid CI, automated testing tools, and a robust version control system. Don’t forget about implementing feature flag tools! 3️⃣ Workflow Overhaul: Establish new norms for commits, code reviews, and handling build failures. Also, set the rules for using short-lived branches and feature flags. 4️⃣ Start Small: Pilot TBD on a small project or team segment. This is your sandbox to tweak processes and tooling before a full-scale rollout. 5️⃣ Culture of Feedback: Encourage open dialogue and feedback about the new workflow. Adjust and refine practices based on team input. 6️⃣ Measure & Adapt: Monitor key performance indicators to gauge TBD’s impact. Be agile and ready to adjust based on insights. 🔑 Remember: TBD is not just about new tools but a whole new mindset of collaboration and continuous improvement. 💬 Got questions or tips from your own TBD experience? Share them below! Let's elevate our software development practices together. #DevOps #SoftwareDevelopment #ContinuousIntegration

FLOW. The first of the three "DevOps Ways". The principle of maximizing the flow of work from DEV to OPS, or more correctly, from BUSINESS IDEA to CUSTOMER. The aim is to increase value and reduce waste throughout your SDLC. How to improve FLOW in any type of SDLC? - Create an environment where people are able to talk about the issues as they see them and contribute their ideas for solutions, and listen openly to the viewpoints and ideas of others. Without this you not going to make progress. - Create a common team goal. Make it personal. Increasing value of the work makes people feel more valuable. Reducing waste also means eliminating exhausting heroics, hardship and drudgery (boring, repetitive tasks). - Look at how the system works as a whole, not just individual parts. - Make all the work you do visible (you'll be surprised how unaware you are of the work done by others). - Focus on the handoffs, here the joys and pains will be most obvious. Celebrate where the team is working well and then identify and deal with the constraints. - Where does the work get stuck waiting to be processed? Is the task too big to process quickly and easily? Is there a capacity bottleneck? Is there only one person know how to do this task? - Is it difficult to start work on a task because the inputs are of low quality? Do you have to send the work back for rework? - Look to reduce the handoffs. Identify places where team members can work together, in parallel on a specific task. Book a call with me to find out more about how we can help your team get started on their quality engineering journey. https://lnkd.in/esBKedMr #qualityengineering, #flow #devops #crossfunctional #collaboration #softwaretesting #tesena

Branching Strategies: A Look at Popular Approaches Everyone has their favorites when it comes to branching strategies. Some swear by GitFlow for its clear structure, while others prefer Trunk-based development for its speed and simplicity. In my latest blog post, I share the most common strategies I’ve encountered in projects over the years: - Feature-Release Branching: Great for isolating development work and managing collaboration. - GitFlow: A classic choice for structured release processes and long-term projects. - Trunk-Based Development: Fast iterations, continuous integration, and a focus on agility. The truth is, there’s no “one size fits all.” The best approach depends on your team’s workflow, the project’s needs, and the processes in place. Often, I see teams blending these strategies into a hybrid model that works for them. What’s your go-to branching strategy? Or have you developed a unique approach tailored to your team? Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eTpEitZT #Dynamics365FO #BranchingStrategy #DevOps