Identify transformation teams

  • 2 minutes

Unless you're building an entirely new organization, one of the significant challenges of any DevOps transformation project is dealing with competing priorities that conflict with ongoing business operations.

The transformation team challenge

Availability Challenge: If the staff members leading the transformation are also involved in existing day-to-day work, it will be challenging for them to focus on the transformation when their current role directly impacts customer outcomes. Desperate customer situations will always take priority over long-term transformation projects.

Organizational Inertia: Implementing existing processes and procedures to support current business outcomes can make it difficult to disrupt the status quo required for true DevOps transformation.

Building your DevOps transformation team

Research by Dr. Vijay Govindarajan and Dr. Chris Trimble in "Beyond the Idea: How to Execute Innovation" shows that successful innovation often occurs despite existing organizational processes. They concluded that it only works by creating a separate team to pursue the transformation.

Core team composition (3-7 people) suggestions

DevOps Engineer/Lead

  • Primary responsibility: Technical architecture and toolchain implementation
  • Time commitment: 100% dedicated to transformation
  • Skills: CI/CD, cloud platforms, automation, infrastructure as code
  • Success metrics: Pipeline reliability, deployment frequency, lead time

Development Representative

  • Primary responsibility: Developer experience and workflow optimization
  • Time commitment: 50-75% (with backfill for operational duties)
  • Skills: Software development, testing practices, code quality
  • Success metrics: Developer satisfaction, code quality improvements

Operations Representative

  • Primary responsibility: Infrastructure, security, and production concerns
  • Time commitment: 50-75% (with backfill for operational duties)
  • Skills: Infrastructure management, monitoring, incident response
  • Success metrics: System reliability, MTTR, operational efficiency

Change Management Specialist

  • Primary responsibility: Cultural transformation and process adoption
  • Time commitment: 75-100% dedicated
  • Skills: Organizational psychology, training, communication
  • Success metrics: Adoption rates, cultural assessment scores

Product/Business Representative

  • Primary responsibility: Business value alignment and stakeholder communication
  • Time commitment: 25-50% (advisory role)
  • Skills: Business analysis, stakeholder management, metrics
  • Success metrics: Business outcome improvements, stakeholder satisfaction

Extended team and stakeholders

Security Champion

  • Role: Integrate security practices throughout the DevOps pipeline
  • Focus: DevSecOps implementation, compliance, risk assessment
  • Engagement: 25-50% time commitment or advisory role

Metrics and Analytics Specialist

  • Role: Establish measurement frameworks and success criteria
  • Focus: KPI definition, dashboard creation, continuous improvement
  • Engagement: Part-time or consultant basis

Executive Sponsor

  • Role: Remove organizational barriers and provide resources
  • Focus: Strategic alignment, budget approval, change advocacy
  • Engagement: Regular check-ins and milestone reviews

Change management strategies for resistance

Address the "Why" First

  • Clearly communicate the business drivers for change
  • Share success stories from similar organizations
  • Connect DevOps benefits to individual team member goals

Invest in Training and Skills Development

  • Provide hands-on learning opportunities
  • Create safe environments for experimentation
  • Recognize and reward learning efforts

Implement Gradual Change

  • Start with pilot projects and early adopters
  • Demonstrate quick wins to build momentum
  • Scale successful practices incrementally

Maintain Open Communication

  • Hold regular town halls and Q&A sessions
  • Create feedback channels for concerns and suggestions
  • Be transparent about challenges and setbacks

Celebrate Successes

  • Recognize both team and individual contributions
  • Share metrics showing improvement
  • Create visible symbols of transformation progress

Team selection criteria

The separate team should be composed of staff members who are:

  • Well-regarded throughout the organization: Respected voices who can influence others
  • Focused and measured by transformation outcomes: Not responsible for day-to-day operations
  • Diverse in knowledge and perspectives: Offering broad experience to think outside the box
  • Change-oriented: Naturally inclined to challenge status quo and experiment
  • Collaborative: Able to work across traditional organizational boundaries

Consider including external experts who can:

  • Fill knowledge gaps in areas new to existing staff
  • Provide objective perspectives from other successful transformations
  • Accelerate learning through proven practices and methodologies
  • Offer specialized skills in emerging technologies and practices