August 2019 Summaries

In this episode of the New Relic Modern Software Podcast, Ali Colleen Neff, PhD, a trained anthropologist and user experience researcher, discusses her role in gathering data about how New Relic users work and using that data to build products that can help customers resolve incidents more quickly. She shares her approach to understanding the development worlds of technical users, her background in anthropology and media studies, and how she uses qualitative data to inform product development. Neff also highlights the importance of empathy and understanding user experiences, and offers tips for companies looking to become more user-centric. The conversation is hosted by Fredric Paul and Tori Wieldt, and provides valuable insights into the role of anthropologists in tech companies.

In a podcast episode hosted by New Relic, Ali Colleen Neff, PhD, an anthropologist and user experience researcher at the company, discusses her transition from academia to the tech industry, where she applies her skills to understand the behaviors and experiences of highly technical users. Neff's role involves observing and analyzing user interactions to improve New Relic's products, aiming to help users resolve incidents more efficiently. The podcast explores how anthropology can provide valuable insights into user experience, particularly in the context of complex systems and high-stakes environments. Neff highlights the growing trend of employing anthropologists in tech companies to enhance user-centric design and development, illustrating this through stories of real-world incidents and user challenges. She emphasizes the importance of qualitative research in understanding user journeys and contributing to the broader discourse on digital development. This approach not only aids product improvement but also enriches the field of user experience research by weaving individual stories into a comprehensive narrative that can guide product strategies and organizational practices.

The 2019 Accelerate State of DevOps report highlights the growing adoption of DevOps practices and tools by software development teams worldwide. The report shows that elite-performing teams have significantly improved their lead times, deployment frequency, and change failure rates compared to low-performing teams. DevOps is a driver for business success, enabling teams to build reliable and efficient applications while deploying code faster and more frequently. Cloud computing plays a crucial role in DevOps success, with 80% of respondents hosting their primary application or service on a cloud platform. However, many teams are not fully leveraging cloud services, which can hinder performance gains. The report emphasizes the importance of automation, instrumentation, and monitoring in enabling healthy change processes and achieving elite performance. Teams that adopt these practices and tools are more likely to achieve business success and meet organizational performance goals.

The 2019 Accelerate State of DevOps report, produced by DevOps Research & Assessment (DORA) and now part of Google Cloud, highlights the growing adoption and impact of DevOps practices across software development teams globally. The report reveals a significant increase in the number of "elite" performing teams, which have tripled from 7% to 20% over the past year, showcasing the transformative power of DevOps in enhancing performance, productivity, and business success. Key findings indicate that elite teams execute code deployments 208 times more frequently, maintain significantly faster lead times, and are better at recovering from change failures compared to lower-performing teams. The report emphasizes the importance of leveraging cloud services and automation, with elite teams often adopting lightweight change processes and continuous delivery (CD) practices to maintain agility and resilience. By fully embracing DevOps cultural and organizational practices, including the use of automated tools and processes optimized for cloud environments, teams can achieve substantial improvements in speed, responsiveness, and customer satisfaction.

This software engineer spent three weeks in Tanzania working with an NGO called the Daraja Music Initiative, which promotes sustainability through music education. He learned about Tanzanian culture and how it applies to his own work as a software engineer. He was reminded of the importance of teamwork, taking care of one another, and thinking carefully before acting. The words "pamoja" (together), "kaka na dada" (brothers and sisters), and "pole pole" (slowly or carefully) symbolize these values and can be applied to his work as a software engineer. He encourages others to think about how they can bring these concepts into their own work, leading to better collaboration, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Rey Abolofia, a software engineer at New Relic, shares his transformative experiences in Tanzania, where he volunteered with the Daraja Music Initiative (DMI) to promote the conservation of the mpingo tree, essential for crafting musical instruments like clarinets. During his time there, he taught music, planted mpingo trees, and immersed himself in the local culture, learning valuable lessons encapsulated in three Swahili phrases: pamoja (together), kaka na dada (brothers and sisters), and pole pole (slowly or carefully). These cultural insights emphasized the importance of collaboration, treating colleagues as family, and adopting a patient approach to problem-solving. Abolofia reflects on how these principles can enhance teamwork and innovation within software engineering, encouraging others to integrate these values into their professional lives for improved collaboration and understanding.

The DevOps job market is currently very active with nearly 66,000 open positions in the US as of my knowledge cutoff date. To succeed in a DevOps interview, it's essential to prepare for big-picture questions that test your understanding of DevOps and its culture. A strong response should highlight your familiarity with the DevOps process, describe specific examples from past experiences, and demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning and skills development. Proper instrumentation and measurement are also crucial to DevOps, as they enable teams to monitor and gain visibility into their systems. The ideal candidate will be able to connect the dots between technical aspects of DevOps and equally important pieces like culture and measurement. Additionally, candidates should be prepared to discuss how they would take a company's DevOps strategy to the next level, including specific ideas for improving collaboration, technology recommendations, and strategies for evangelizing DevOps to the broader organization. Finally, it's essential to ask informed questions during an interview, such as those related to the team's commitment to embracing a true DevOps culture and how quickly new hires can begin contributing and deploying code.

DevOps professionals are in high demand, with numerous job openings on platforms like Glassdoor and LinkedIn, but securing a position requires thorough preparation for interviews. Candidates should research the company, understand the specific role requirements, and anticipate big-picture questions that test their understanding of DevOps beyond tools and methodologies. It's recommended to prepare for various question types and to seek expert advice on crafting genuine and authoritative responses. Key interview questions may cover topics such as defining DevOps, illustrating past successes, describing necessary skills, and discussing concepts like infrastructure as code and observability. Candidates should demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning and be ready to discuss how they've applied their skills and experience to improve business value. Interviews may also probe a candidate's problem-solving process and strategies for advancing a company's DevOps culture. In return, candidates should ask insightful questions to gauge the organization's commitment to a true DevOps culture and assess their potential work environment's health and sustainability.

New Relic has been recognized as the highest rated company for Application Performance Monitoring (APM) by Gartner Peer Insights for the third time, with a score of 4.6 out of 5 stars based on 749 verified reviews and a 92% recommendation rating. Customers have praised New Relic's value, ease of use, and ability to provide deep insights into application performance, with many citing its real-time monitoring capabilities and support as key benefits. The recognition is based on customer feedback, which highlights the tool's efficiency, effectiveness, and ability to improve app performance.

New Relic has been recognized for the third consecutive time as the top company in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) category according to the August 2019 Gartner Peer Insights "Voice of the Customer" distinction, achieving a score of 4.6 out of 5 stars. This accolade is supported by 749 verified customer reviews and a 92% recommendation rating for the New Relic APM product, reflecting a significant increase from the previous year. Customers have praised New Relic for its efficiency, robust real-time monitoring capabilities, ease of implementation, and comprehensive insights into application performance across various platforms, including Azure PaaS. The feedback highlights the tool's ability to enhance application performance, minimize downtime, and provide valuable data for improving digital experiences. Although Gartner provides the platform for these reviews, it neither endorses any vendor nor guarantees the accuracy of individual opinions, which are subjective and based on a documented methodology.

A modern observability platform is crucial for enterprise technology teams to master complexity and fully understand what's happening in their software and systems. Such a platform excels at curation, cutting down complexity and presenting relevant insights, while also supporting participation through programmability and versatility. It should focus on measuring application performance and surfacing application-performance roadblocks, be adaptable to changing technologies and priorities, deliver full transparency with both high-level and granular views, recognize that nobody knows everything, provide an easy-to-start experience, take a full-stack approach, prioritize speed and precision in alerting and issue resolution, and be open by design through the use of standards and open systems.

Observability is becoming crucial for enterprise technology teams as they navigate the complexities introduced by new technologies like cloud computing, DevOps, and microservices. Unlike traditional monitoring, true observability provides comprehensive insights into software and systems, allowing teams to understand and address issues more effectively. A modern observability platform should be based on ten core principles, which include balancing curation and participation, supporting power users, focusing on application health, embracing change, ensuring full transparency, and delivering information quickly and precisely. It should also be open by design, allowing easy integration with other systems and preventing vendor lock-in. The platform must be user-friendly and offer a full-stack approach to handle complex environments where no single person can understand every variable. New Relic's platform exemplifies these principles by providing APIs for programmability, supporting open standards like OpenTelemetry, and ensuring a quick time to value for users.