DevOps and the CIA

DevOps Culture in the CIA Karthik Gaekwad DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA @iteration1

Howdy! • I’m Karthik Gaekwad • Senior Web Engineer • Mentor Graphics Embedded • From Austin, TX • We have great BBQ, chill people and brutal summers! @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

No Dawg, I’m no secret agent… #Dammit @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

Pillars of DevOps CULTURE AUTOMATION MEASUREMENT SHARING @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

@iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

Based on… @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

Kinds of Roles… Analysts Understand trends, and gather intelligence data @iteration1 Operatives Work in the field, James Bond type DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

Sisterhood • Group of female analysts who were tracking Bin Laden in the 1990’s • Realized that there was something called Al Queda • 1995: Code name “Alec Station” • Goal: Track Bin Laden @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

“There were just warning after warning,” she said. “We knew something huge was going to happen.” Cindy Storer CIA Analyst “I was counseled once in a performance review that I was spending too much time working on bin Laden. They said we were obsessed crusaders, overly emotional, using all those women stereotypes.” @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

Other warnings also sent: May, June, July 2001 @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

9/11 The first question that was asked by everybody: How did this happen? Congress blamed CIA for negligence CIA blamed Alec Station in internal investigation Incredible feeling of guilt of not doing more, and not stopping the tragedy. @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

In our world…. The DB has been running hot for a while now. It’s going to fail soon. Cool. That’s non functional, so we’ll do it later. Sysadmin @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 PM #DevOpsCIA

In our world…. WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME???? Muffin head!!! I hate the pager, and I hate the game Sysadmin @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 PM #DevOpsCIA

Post 9/11 Mass Organizational Restructure • Intelligence Gathering • Strategic -> Tactical • One Analyst target one specific Al Queda leader (including Bin Laden) • Many of the sisterhood changed roles @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

Post 9/11 • Analysts became Targeters • Sent to the field • Worked with Operatives, field agents • Integrated into elite military units Distributed teams with various skills not a siloed organization anymore @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

Recap • Departments CIA had a common goal • Data Metrics collected -> Actionable • Shared Intelligence across teams • People of different roles collaborating Isn’t this #DevOps? @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

Let’s work together CULTURE AUTOMATION MEASUREMENT SHARING @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

“Get rid of the devs; get rid of the ops; let’s just find people who can solve problems” Alison Chaiken Embedded Linux, Thought Leader @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

This is Zero Dark Thirty for IT… “Some books you give to friends, for the joy of sharing a great novel. Some books you recommend to your colleagues and employees, to create common ground. Some books you share with your boss, to plant the seeds of a big idea. The Phoenix Project is all three.” - Jeremiah Shirk, Integration & Infrastructure Mrg Kansas State University @realgenekim @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA

Thank You for your time! • https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/ manhunt-the-search-for-bin-laden/ index.html • http://www.amazon.com/dp/0307955885 • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Manhunt:_The_Search_for_Bin_Laden @iteration1 DevOpsDays MountainView 2013 #DevOpsCIA