Zero Trust is for Networks, Not Your Teams
A presentation at KubeHuddle 2023 in in Toronto, ON, Canada by Matt Stratton
Zero Trust Is For Networks Not Your Teams @mattstratton
What’s the hardest thing about DevOps? @mattstratton
@mattstratton DevOps was aBout BREAKING DOWN SILOS BUT WE MADE NEW ONES @mattstratton
Hi, I’m Matty @mattstratton Punk Music Improv Dogs Aiven
Resilience is a verb @mattstratton
Resilience @mattstratton Rebound Robustness Graceful Extensibility Sustained Adaptability
Rebound Returning to “normal” after a surprise or incident. Work done ahead of time. @mattstratton
Robustness The ability to withstand and absorb well-modeled disturbances “Known knowns” @mattstratton
Graceful Extensibility The ability to stretch with challenges to operational boundaries As opposed to brittleness. @mattstratton
Sustained Adaptability Recognizing and managing adaptive capabilities over long timescales @mattstratton
These are socio-technical systems @mattstratton
BLUNT END / SHARP END Removed from experience Upstream decision makers BLUNT END @mattstratton People directly engaged in the work “Chop wood, carry water” SHARP END
Sharp End Constantly building and destroying systems Strong signaling Improve systems based on strain Will do so naturally if given ownership @mattstratton
Command and Control is a Fallacy @mattstratton
Conway’s Law @mattstratton
let’s flip conway’s law around @mattstratton
@mattstratton Service Design as a metaphor for teams @mattstratton
@mattstratton
“Our analysis found that this culture of psychological safety is predictive of software delivery performance, organizational performance, and productivity” - @mattstratton Accelerate State of DevOps Report
@mattstratton What is PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY? @mattstratton
“[Psychological safety is] a sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject, or punish someone for speaking up.” –Amy EdmondsonProfessor, Harvard Business School @mattstratton
@mattstratton Adapted from How Psychological Safety Affects Team Performance
Low psychological safety… ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ Lack of diversity of EXPERIENCE Unequipped to prevent failure Knowledge silos Indifference and disengagement @mattstratton
@mattstratton We need to have trust WITHIN TEAMS AND ALSO OF TEAMS @mattstratton
Trust within teams @mattstratton
@mattstratton
approach conflict as a collaborator not as an adversary @mattstratton
speak human to human “just like me” @mattstratton
replace blame with curiosity you don’t have all the facts @mattstratton
model vulnerability create emotional bonds @mattstratton
Trust of teams @mattstratton
The Open Organization CONVENTIONAL ORGANIZATION OPEN ORGANIZATION “TOP DOWN” “BOTTOM UP” COMMAND AND CONTROL WHAT TITLE AND RANK HOW HIERARCHY PROMOTION AND PAY WHY @mattstratton SETTING DIRECTION CENTRAL PLANNING MOTIVATING AND INSPIRING GETTING THINGS DONE WHAT CATALYZING INCLUSIVE DECISION-MAKING MERITOCRACY PURPOSE AND PASSION LET THE SPARKS FLY HOW ENGAGEMENT WHY
Siloed for Protection Engineering @mattstratton Operations Prod Mgmt
The Open Organization Bottom-up, Collaborative, Continuous Innovation, Agile @mattstratton
@mattstratton
Be Chris Farley. Not Michael Scott @mattstratton
“Improv is like driving while only looking in the rear view mirror”
- T. J. Jagodowski @mattstratton
@mattstratton Bring a brick Not a cathedral @mattstratton
Improv for DevOps ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ Trust in your partner There are no mistakes The team is greater than all of us The fun lies on the other side of “yes” @mattstratton
Players in a scene are the Sharp end @mattstratton
“If we treat each other as if we are all geniuses, poets, and artists, we have a better chance of becoming that on stage” – Del Close @mattstratton
Four things to do right now ➔ Establish rules of engagement ➔ Create space for open communication ➔ Measure consistently for long-term improvement ➔ Provide guardrails (buoys not boundaries) @mattstratton
Thank You! Twitter - @mattstratton Mastodon - @mattstratton@hachyderm.io BLUESKY - @matty.wtf GitHub - mattstratton Slides - speaking.mattstratton.com LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/mattstratton @mattstratton
The whole idea of DevOps was about how we could work together better. But we broke down silos, and instead built new walls. The concept of zero trust has been widely applied to network security, however, it’s not a great way to think about our teams. This talk will explore how to foster a culture of trust in organizations, with a focus on outcomes. Leaders and individuals alike play a critical role in establishing and maintaining trust, which is crucial for the success of any team.
One key aspect of building a culture of trust is facilitating and growing psychological safety within the team. This means creating an environment where individuals feel comfortable expressing their opinions, ideas, and concerns without fear of negative consequences. Moreover, trust is necessary for proper practices of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) and DevOps, but often organizations lack the right setup to allow for it.
This talk will feature practices inspired from the field of Resilience Engineering as well as proven DevOps approaches, with a focus on how leaders and individuals can create an environment where trust is valued, encouraged, and fostered. Attendees will take away insights and actionable tips to bring back to their teams to create a more resilient and effective organization.
