The Antipatterns of DevOps

Defining DevOps by what it is not can be challenging, as it involves outlining everything else. In this article, we explore common misconceptions and antipatterns in DevOps before diving into its core principles.

DevOps goes beyond just technology. While state-of-the-art tools are important, adopting a true DevOps mindset relies on proper processes and skilled individuals. Without these foundations, even the best technologies will underdeliver.

DevOps is not a job title. Simply labeling someone as a "DevOps Engineer" does not automatically enable effective collaboration or resolve issues like container orchestration, trust, or observability challenges. Organizational structure plays a fundamental role, and later in this article we discuss various team topologies that can support a robust DevOps approach.

DevOps is also not an all-inclusive, end-to-end organizational software development framework. It should be seen as a supplement that enhances delivery capabilities when integrated with frameworks such as Agile or the Scaled Agile Framework. Its primary focus is on fostering effective collaboration among the crucial roles involved in software delivery—not on providing a one-stop solution for organizational management.

With these clarifications in mind, let’s examine the most frequently encountered DevOps antipatterns.

Antipattern A: Dev and Ops Silo

The first antipattern occurs when development and operations operate as completely separate teams with minimal collaboration—in essence, developers "throw things over the wall" to operations. This disconnect curtails essential feedback loops, ultimately hindering effective delivery.

Antipattern B: The Separate DevOps Team

In this scenario, organizations establish distinct teams for developers and operations, and then add an extra DevOps team intended to bridge the gap. This additional layer quickly becomes overwhelmed by trying to mediate conflicting priorities, which increases complexity and reduces overall efficiency.

Antipattern C: One-Sided Internalization

This antipattern arises when a development organization attempts to implement DevOps practices without integrating an operations perspective. Although some level of collaboration is possible, ignoring operational challenges reinforces the silo mentality and leads to incomplete integration.

Antipattern D: DevOps as a Tools-Only Team

Treating DevOps solely as a tools team isolates the operational component. Even if a dedicated tools team can streamline some processes, the lack of operational input will prevent the team from efficiently advancing production delivery in a collaborative manner.

Antipattern E: Rebranded SysAdmins

Often, traditional sysadmins are rebranded as DevOps professionals without altering the deep-rooted siloed mindset. This rebranding does not lead to genuine collaboration between software development and operations teams; it merely repackages the old approach without significant change.

Antipattern F: DevOps Absorbed into Development

When DevOps is fully absorbed into the development branch, the focus often remains solely on software delivery. Development managers tend to prioritize code delivery over essential operational tasks such as maintenance, patching, or security. While integration might evolve over time, initially placing all responsibility under development can compromise true operational excellence.

Antipattern G: Database Administrator (DBA) Silos

Embedding DBAs exclusively within operations reinforces inter-team silos and can obstruct rapid, secure deployment processes. This separation hinders the necessary cross-team collaboration required for a smooth DevOps workflow.

Antipattern H: The "Fake" SRE

The final antipattern involves rebranding undertrained sysadmins as site reliability engineers (SREs) without truly adopting SRE principles. Simply renaming the team, without cultural or procedural transformation, fails to deliver the benefits of genuine SRE practices.

Remember, these antipatterns serve as guidelines on what to steer clear of. By carefully evaluating your organization’s structure and team dynamics, you can implement strategies that foster genuine collaboration.

Next, we will dive deeper into the human aspect of DevOps—exploring how collaborative mindsets and proper communication can help overcome these antipatterns and lead to successful, agile delivery processes.

For more information on effective DevOps practices, check out related resources and best practices on Kubernetes Documentation and Docker Hub.